It began as every other day at Sandaoling, with a trip to Dongbolizhan in darkness, wondering what colour the dawn would be today. It turned out to be blue with a bit of pink around the edges, as can be seen in this shot of JS.8190 preparing to leave with the "staff train" to Ba'erzhan, reduced now to just a light engine with a couple of passengers riding in the cab. Lifting safety valves and steam from the blowdown valve ensured that 27 November 2016 go off to a good start.