JS 8190 slipped violently as it eased its train away from the electric shovel at Xikeng on the afternoon of 26 November 2016. Almost every train to load here had the same difficulty and some skilled driving was required to get them moving.
JS 8190 didn’t appear to be in the best condition when we arrived at Sandaoling but was descended on by a gang of fitters one morning at Dongbolizhan and put in some impressive performances after that.
The surviving locos are now approaching 30 years old and, with no overhauls for some time, it was surprising how well they coped in the arduous conditions.