The China Railways QJ () was a class of type steam locomotives used primarily for heavy freight trains. They were introduced in 1956 by the Dalian Locomotive Works, and the majority of the class was built by the Datong Locomotive Works. The prototypes and early production of the class were designated HP (), being redesignated as FD () class during the Cultural Revolution, before becoming the QJ class in 1971.
The class became the primary mainline freight locomotive on the Chinese rail network by the 1980s. Manufactured until 1988, a total of 4,717 were produced. After the end of steam on the national Chinese railway network, many QJ locomotives were used on industrial lines, as well as on the Jitong railway, and the latter also phased out their QJs in 2005. Several members of the class have been preserved in several countries.
As early as 1954, the Dalian Locomotive Works began studying 2-10-2 locomotive designs to assist China Railways' increasing freight traffic. At the time, the People's Republic of China was allied with the Soviet Union, and as part of the latter's economic aid for the former, Dalian's engineering process was assisted by Soviet experts with Soviet technology. Dalian's new 2-10-2 design was consequently based upon the Soviet class OR21, a more powerful variant of the class OR18.
The first prototype 2-10-2, HP-0001, was completed by Dalian on 18 September 1956, and it was designated an HP (). In accordance with the design, the HP prototype was identical to the OR21s, as it came with all-boxpok driving wheels (diameter of , flangeless center driving wheels, an all-welded boiler (diameter of , and an operating boiler pressure of , and it could generate a tractive force of . One difference from the OR designs was that the HP also included a delta trailing truck akin to those on another Soviet 2-10-2 series, the class FD.
From 1956 to 1961, 41 additional prototype HPs were also built: four more (HP-0002âÂÂHP-0005) by Dalian; eight (HP-1001âÂÂHP-1008) by the Tangshan Locomotive and Rolling Stock Works; six (HP-1501âÂÂHP-1506) by the Shenyang Locomotive Factory; three (HP-2001âÂÂHP-2003) by the Mudanjiang Locomotive Factory; two (HP-3001âÂÂHP-3002) by the Changchun Locomotive Factory; and eighteen (HP-3501âÂÂHP-3518) by the Datong Locomotive Works. The latter prototypes were the very first steam locomotives to be built by Datong.
While the prototypes were being developed and tested, China Railways acquired 1,000 secondhand class FDs from the Soviet Railways in 1958âÂÂwith another 50 in 1961âÂÂas stopgap measures for their increasing freight traffic, until production on the HPs were able to begin.
After the final prototypes were completed, multiple modifications were made to the HP's boiler design. The boiler barrel diameter was enlarged to ; the smokebox and blast pipe orifice were enlarged to improve drafting; a combustion chamber, which the prototypes lacked, was installed in the firebox to improve combustion; the number of tubes was increased, while the tube length was decreased from the firebox tube plate being extended past the grate; and the maximum cutoff was increased to 72%.
The first locomotive with the design modifications, HP-101, was completed by Datong on 28 September 1964, and Datong officially began production on the rest of the HPs. In September 1966, amidst the Cultural Revolution, the HPs were re-designated as the FD class (Ã¥ÂÂ帠Fandi meaning 'anti-imperialism'), and then in 1971, the class was re-designated again as the QJ class (Qian Jin, meaning 'march forward' or 'progress').
The 500th locomotive of the class was built in 1968, the 1,000th in 1970, the 2,000th in 1974 and the 3,000th in 1979, with production rates varying from 150 to over 300 per year between 1966 and 1985. Production ended in 1988 with 4,717 QJs produced.
The prototypes used eight wheel tenders, while later production models used twelve wheel tenders. The QJs were equipped with mechanical stokers, feedwater heaters, electric lights, and air horns. Various modifications were used on some engines, including an ejector similar to the giesl type and smoke deflectors. One unit was used as a test bed for a 'Gas Producer Combustion System' (GPCS) in the 1980s.
The class became the primary freight locomotive on both the primary and secondary lines of the Chinese railway network by the 1980s, having displaced both JF and FD classes. From the late 1980s and through the 1990s the class were retired and replaced by diesel locomotives. Steam traction officially ended on the Chinese national rail network in 2002, but a few units remained in use up to 2003 on minor lines.
The locomotives were also used on large passenger trains, when their high tractive power was advantageous.
After withdrawal from the Chinese national network many units were acquired by industrial railways as well as the regional Jitong Railway in Inner Mongolia which operated ~100 units. On 8 December 2005 the Jitong Railway had also replaced the QJ locomotives with diesel engines. Some remained in use on industrial lines in China in 2010.
Two engines withdrawn from use in China, numbers 6988 and 7081 (both former Jitong Railway), were originally acquired by the Iowa Interstate Railroad in 2006 and later donated to Central States Steam Preservation Association. A third, number 7040 (re-numbered to 2008), was acquired by the Lexington, Kentucky-based RJ Corman in 2008, and operated until 2013, when it was placed on display in a specially built glass display building in Lexington. In 2020, Corman donated the engine to the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation. Both the IAIS QJs are out of service as of 2022 for mandated FRA 1472-day inspections with repairs for overhaul to restored.
Iowa Interstate 7081 retains its original Chinese appearance with the exception of the Jitong lettering and logo being replaced with the Iowa Interstate's, and the mandatory changes required by U.S. law such as hand rails and a bell. IAIS 6988 was "Americanized" in time for operation at Train Festival 2011 in Rock Island, Illinois. The diesel-style bell originally installed when it arrived in Iowa was replaced with a steam engine type bell, the Chinese headlights were replaced with an American style light with a cast number plate under it, and an American steam whistle was installed. The steel sheet on the front was removed and all red paint was painted over in black, with white trim on the running boards, wheel rims, etc. The RJ Corman locomotive has been heavily modified. Most notably the smoke deflectors have been removed along with new paint and skirts along the running boards.
Several of the class are on static display around China: