JS 8189 received a boiler washout and minor repairs in the workshop at Sandaoling on 14 November 2005. Sandaoling's locos had previously been sent to Tianshui, east of Lanzhou, for major overhauls, a journey of some 1500 km each way. Such moves became more difficult due to the state railway's reluctance to move engines at restricted speed. To get round this problem, Sandaoling acquired the necessary tools and craftsmen from Tianshui and has established its own heavy repair shop on site.