Decorated QJ 2692 made a splendid sight as it climbed from Modaoshi with a long train of empty coal wagons on 2 March 1990. The wagons were probably returning to the Jixi mines from Mudanjiang, Harbin or further afield. Coal was king in 1990 and the Jixi coalfield was the second most productive in China at the time, second only to Datong in terms of annual output.