The fate of the forest train _ Destiny Forest

due to the decision of the state to ban logging, the workers who have lived together with the forest railway all their lives have been laid off. Just as the small train once brought them an unforgettable experience, after experiencing the glory of the past, because of the disappearance of the small train, their fate suddenly took a fundamental turn ...

The fate of the railway workers was a swan song

Standing at the empty Weihe Railway Station, I was in a trance for a while. It was a day in June 25, and the station in front of me was not as busy as it used to be, and it seemed deserted. You know, in the past, all the trains that stopped in the whole station were transporting big logs. Workers were loading and unloading goods in the station nervously and orderly. Old-fashioned steam locomotives were braving thick white smoke and there was a lively scene everywhere. It used to be an important hub for timber transportation in Changbai Mountain, but now, with the decision of the state to ban logging, Weihe Railway Station has slowly disappeared out of people's sight.

Because I care about the fate of many forest workers who live with me day and night, I have come to Weihe River many times to try to find out their different living conditions in the past and now.

The Centennial Monster of Sentie

When it comes to the forest railway of Weihe River (hereinafter referred to as Sentie), it is necessary to talk about the development history of small steam trains. Britain is the birthplace of small steam trains. As early as 184, in order to solve the problem of coal transportation, scientist Trevithick developed the prototype of steam locomotives. In 1825, Stephenson, a famous inventor, made the "Sports One" steam locomotive, thus announcing the birth of the world's first steam locomotive. In the same year, the world's first railway was officially born in Britain. In 1852, in order to transport wood, the United States built the first wooden track Sentie, and in 1876 formally built a Sentie line for laying rails. Since then, Sentie has been widely used in forest areas all over the world.

Weihe River is located at the west foot of Zhangguangcailing in Changbai Mountain range of Heilongjiang Province, and it is adjacent to Dahailin and Yabuli Forestry Bureau in the east. South Lianshan Hetun Forestry Bureau; Wuchang city to the west; Shangzhi city is adjacent to Yibo Town in the north. The earliest Sentie in China is here, which was built by Russia in 1912, with a total length of 2 kilometers and a gauge width of 1,524 mm.. At present, the total length of Weihe Sentie Railway is 193 kilometers, with 9 28-ton steam locomotives. Looking back, it can be said that Weihe Sentie experienced the crazy plunder of forest resources by Japanese imperialism during the fall of Northeast China, participated in the material guarantee during the national liberation war, and made great contributions to supporting the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea and developing the socialist economy.

After nearly a hundred years' history, Weihe Sentie has become the oldest and most well-preserved small train railway line in China, and it can be called a living Sentie Museum, so Weihe has become an influential and well-known characteristic area at home and abroad. Every year, thousands of tourists come to Weihe River to watch the small train, including many foreign tourists from Britain, the United States and Japan. In these developed countries, steam locomotives have long since withdrawn from the stage of transportation history. They came to China not far from Wan Li, just to remember and record this century-old "behemoth" of Sentie.

The family of the old "oil bag"

Time has passed, just like an old man in his twilight years. The century-old Weihe Sentie has now reached the end of its destiny. The once brilliant "behemoth" of Sentie finally bowed his unruly head. Over the years, I have been listening to the tenacious pulse of this "behemoth" in my contacts with Weihe Sentie, and have forged a profound friendship with the workers here.

Generally speaking, the steam locomotive group consists of three people, including the chief driver, the assistant driver and the stoker (small fire). Their division of labor is clear: the driver is sitting on the left side of the locomotive and looking out, responsible for manipulating the whole locomotive; The assistant driver sits on the right side of the locomotive to observe, and is responsible for playing the whistle and assisting the driver; The stoker is only responsible for burning fire and adding coal. Most drivers suffer from rheumatism because they have been looking out of the window for many years. Usually, it takes a long time to go to work (sports car), most of them eat on the road, and there is no accurate time. They usually suffer from stomach problems. In operation, because the railway is a one-way street, locomotives sometimes have to wait for the front car or the back car to pass on the platform, which is often a few hours late. Sometimes it is common to go out for a day and a night, and it takes several days to go home. Therefore, the three people in each car group live together for the longest time and get along with each other most harmoniously. They are all called "buddies" and steam locomotives are also called "buddies" by them.

In the days when I got along with the workers, what impressed me the most was Zhang Hongyou's family, all of whom were steam locomotive drivers. Zhang Hongyou, who is nearly 6 years old, has a red face and a particularly strong body. In order to entertain me, his wife specially made a table of local specialties for me, including auricularia auricula, wild vegetables and mushrooms. While drinking the old mountain artillery in a big bowl, we listened to Zhang Hongyou telling the past of Weihe River.

After three rounds of drinking, Zhang Hongyou's voice became louder: "These mountain products were sent by friends during the Spring Festival, and they are still very fresh. In the past, there were many animals in the mountains. In winter, pheasants flew indoors. Every time they went to work, they could see large animals such as deer, roe deer and bears, and small animals such as pheasants and rabbits were everywhere. Once, at the end of the shift to Daling, there was a big, dark thing on the railway line, and my master pulled the whistle hard, but it didn't hide. Because it was uphill, the car couldn't stop, and it was almost there, so it slowly walked down the railway line, which made us sweat. When we got close, we saw clearly that this was a big black bear weighing several hundred kilograms. If we accidentally hit it, it would be strange if our train didn't derail. " At this point, we all burst out laughing.

Zhang Hongyou joined the work at the age of 19 and worked as a fireman, assistant driver and driver. When I first went to work, most of the locomotives running on Weihesen Railway were German 6-ton and 8-ton locomotives, which were very small. Later, there were 18-ton and 21-ton steam locomotives. After running for decades, it was replaced by 28 tons of domestic locomotives in Harbin and Shijiazhuang in the 197s. Later, he drove a 28-ton steam locomotive in Shijiazhuang, No.54.

Zhang Hongyou's two sons also drive a small train. The two brothers work on a locomotive, driving a 28-ton steam locomotive made in No.53 Harbin. As the two brothers are very busy, their children are placed in their father's house. Zhang Hongyou helps his wife take care of his grandson every time after work, or waters his beloved azaleas, which makes him happy.

Although it's hard to drive a train, Zhang Hongyou loves his old "buddy" very much. He regards it as the apple of his eye and polishes it black and shiny every day. "Although man-made like an oil twist in a day, I still love this line and have great feelings for steam locomotives. Now I hear that the old' buddy' who lives with us day and night is going to be dismantled, and my heart is not in the taste. In the future, it can no longer cross the mountains with me. You know, my old' buddy' has never given me any trouble on the way. " As he spoke, his eyes began to get wet. In the past, the original 6-ton steam locomotive was very small and could only be used for reversing or grouping in the station. That kind of locomotive could not get on Daling. Nowadays, the tonnage of locomotives is getting bigger and bigger. In the past, there was a lot of wood, all of which were straight logs. Every train had to hang more than a dozen carriages. When going to Shuangfeng Daling, two single machines were used for traction, or they were pushed and pulled, otherwise they couldn't get on. After going up the hill, you have to beware of slipping when going down the hill. This is because the car body is too long and the speed is getting faster and faster when going down the hill. The rear car will push the front car out of the track and cause an accident. This is also a matter that general narrow gauge steam locomotives should pay special attention to when going down the hill.

At that time, the Railway Bureau was very prosperous, and Zhang Hongyou, a train driver, earned a high salary. Sentie implements semi-military management and its operation is very formal. "Watching flags during the day is called semaphore, and watching portable signal lights at night is called semaphore. During the operation of steam locomotives, it is generally impossible to stop the fire without major problems after ignition. Generally, it is only half a year before the fire is stopped for maintenance, and the locomotive driver is replaced without changing cars. When running, there must be a first car, and the captains all sit on the first car to observe whether there is wood left under the car. At night, the signal light should be hung outside the car. If the driver can't see the signal light, he has to stop immediately to check whether there is a broken hook in the car. At that time, I was young. I just cleaned the car, added water and lit the fire every day, and I didn't know I was tired. Wood is transported all year round, and it takes only three or four days to go home. Every day, it seems to be soaked in oil. Walking on the road after work, people are far away from us, for fear of getting dirty all over them, and everyone calls us' oil bag'. Later, my family called it so. Whenever I came home from work and didn't enter the house, my family shouted: Throw the' oil bag' in the shed. " Speaking of these past events, Zhang Hongyou's narrow eyes suddenly gave off a strange brilliance.

On both sides of the Weihe Sentie Line, there are thousands of forestry workers like Zhang Hongyou. These people have deep feelings with Sentie. This is a group of people who live on Sentie. Sentie is not only their means of transportation, but also brings them all living materials. Zhang Hongyou said: "Because the virgin forest is decreasing sharply every year, the national natural forest protection project has been started, and the dismantling of the forest railway is inevitable. What worries me most now is my two sons. I don't know if I can find a job to support my family. "

while speaking, Zhang hongyou has to leave work again. He wiped the steam locomotive black and bright, and sounded the whistle of the train. "Woo … woo …" The train was smoking and moving slowly. I looked up, and the locomotive ran faster and faster, and drove into the depths of the mountains ...

The last days of Mori Railway

When people increasingly realized that the ecological value of a big tree was far higher than its economic value, the limited forest resources became more and more precious. The ban on forest logging has been implemented in the national forest areas, which undoubtedly means that the historical mission of Sentie, which lasted for more than 1 years, will also end, and the forest train will soon enter its last time.

The Forest Railway Management Office of Weihe Forestry Bureau plans to dismantle all the lines in the hinterland of the forest area at the end of March 23, and finally finish the task of timber transportation and enter a new track of developing green environmental protection industry. Although I was prepared, this decision made Zhang Hongyou unhappy all the time. The locomotives that used to puff smoke and fog, and the railway tracks that stretched for thousands of kilometers, will disappear. Since then, the "old buddy" who has lived together with him for many years will never be seen again, and an era will end in the forest area.