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Would I have the money and free time, this would be my dream itinerary in China:
I picked only routes I know to be worth a day trip for the scenery. About a quarter of it is high-speed, the rest conventional lines. Other than major cities and archaeological sites, it could include detours to all of the Five Great Mountains, two of Buddhism's and three of Taoism's Four Sacred Mountains. I estimate that with the stops at the scenic sites, it would take me at least six weeks to complete... maybe when I'm retired :-) *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Vienna - Beijing - Dandong
Part 3: "our special train"
There are lots of interesting photos, ranging from decrepid freight wagons to a mysterious unnumbered carriage in the charter train, which has tinted windows and might have been taken from Kim Jong Il's private train.
In the first diary, I find this strange animal – a Soviet M62 diesel-electric loco rebuilt as electric:
decrepid freight wagons
Huh, decrepit is an understatement... with this much corrosion, they should have wagons breaking apart mid-train! *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
I see that Wikipedia now has a detailed list of North Korean locomotive types, with citations to a Japanese book about North Korean railways. The converted M62s are called the Kanghaenggun (Forced March) class.
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