mijobooks Chapter 14: Dedication
Chapter 14: Dedication
night.
After the handover between Lutai and Gong'an, nothing else happened, and we arrived in Shenyang smoothly.
It was past 11 p.m., and the carriage had quieted down. Passengers were either catching up on sleep with their heads tilted to the side, or dozing off with their heads on someone else's shoulders. Some clever ones had spread things out on the floor, stretched their legs out, and you could tell how soundly they were sleeping just by listening to their snoring.
The newly relieved train attendant went from carriage to carriage reminding passengers: "Wake up, everyone, we've arrived at Shenyang Station. Those getting off, please take your luggage with you."
"Comrade, tuck your legs in a bit. How are other people supposed to get on and off the bus if you're sleeping like this? It's not appropriate for them to step on you, is it?"
A child was woken up by the noise, rubbed his eyes, looked out the car window, and murmured that he wanted to get off the car, which earned him a scolding from his parents.
"Those who want to get off and move around can get off now. Our stop will be forty minutes."
The water car on the steam locomotive can store approximately 40 to 50 tons of water and 14 to 15 tons of coal.
During operation, a large amount of water is required to perform work by heating the steam produced by coal combustion and boiling. Therefore, the water consumption is very high and needs to be replenished in a timely manner.
Although there are locomotive water hydrants every so often along the route, and the person in charge of this work is called a water supply worker, the coal and water cars usually need to be replenished again at major stations in addition to the midway inspection.
Large stations like Shenyang are shift change points for train crews. It's impossible for a single crew to work all the way to the final station. A cross-bureau shift change model is implemented, where several crews sometimes change on a single train. Through coordination between districts and lines, the goal of rotating crews without stopping the train is achieved.
It was late at night, and there weren't many people getting on the train. Tang Zhenghong couldn't sleep, so he decided to get off and stretch his legs.
As for Lu Zhang, he was called by his colleagues from the Shenyang Public Security Bureau to go to the station for a smoke and tea.
Zou Yishui and Huo Chong were on duty at the moment. There weren't many people boarding the train, and with the conductor keeping an eye on them, the two of them were smoking together.
"Zhenghong, how are you feeling?"
When Zou Yishui saw Tang Zhenghong coming over, he took out a cigarette and offered it to him.
Huo Chong, shaking his leg, looked Tang Zhenghong up and down and said with a smile, "Is that even a question? Look at his face, he's not sleepy at all, just like we were back then, finding everything new and exciting, full of energy."
"It's pretty good. We've covered more than half of the way, right? Everything else is fine, but I feel really uncomfortable with this layer of oil on my body. I wish I could take a shower right now."
"Haha, this is nothing. It'll be even worse in the summer. Just bear with it, and when we get back, your brother will treat you to a bathhouse."
The three brothers chatted casually for a while.
Zou Yishui glanced around and asked in a low voice, "Zheng Hong, do you have any money on you?"
"I brought some, but not much. How much do you need, Brother Zou?"
"I'm not asking you for money. We'll have at least a day or two to spare after we get to Andong. Shouldn't we bring something back with us? There's a leather saddlery shop in Andong that makes leather shoes and boots at reasonable prices. If you have the money, you can buy a pair for your family and friends. If you're short on cash, just let me know."
When Tang Zhenghong was a railway soldier, his comrades mentioned that pigskin, cowhide, and horsehide shoes were very popular in Andong. Before the Korean War, when they moved to the mainland, there was a factory that specialized in producing leather shoes, five-eyelet leather shoes, and military leather shoes.
After hearing what Zou Yishui said, Tang Zhenghong was actually somewhat tempted. When the meat ration coupons were issued in July, he would need coupons to buy shoes.
Besides, what young man doesn't like leather shoes and boots?
"Okay, I'm not familiar with Andong, so I'll have to trouble you two to guide me. By the way, Brother Zou, are we going to stay in Andong for so long? I thought we could go back after the handover."
"It's hard to say. Sometimes we're lucky and it only takes half a day, but other times it often takes a day or two. When we hand over the equipment to the other side this time, it will take time to adjust the tracks and change equipment."
Seeing that Tang Zhenghong was still confused, Zou Yishui explained, "For example, our northern counterparts use 1520mm broad gauge for wartime purposes, while we use 1435mm standard gauge, a difference of 85mm. During this handover, their conditions are limited, and they're still using the narrow gauge built during the occupation. Once they arrive, they'll need to go to the transshipment workshop to replace the bogies and wheelsets, which takes a lot of time. After our handover, this train service is only half complete; the other half is the train service from Pyongyang to Beijing. Does that make sense?"
Tang Zhenghong finally understood the ins and outs, and sighed, "I get it now. We'll have to change clothes when the trains arrive. Sigh... the comrades at the railway section have it tough."
"So our work may seem dangerous at times, but it's much better than theirs. Apart from spending less time at home, many people can only envy us in other aspects."
Huo Chong sighed, "Nothing is as tough as being a railway soldier. Zheng Hong was a railway soldier."
Mentioning the railway soldiers, Tang Zhenghong looked dejected: "Yes, many of my comrades never returned home."
"It's all for the construction of our motherland. If you don't sacrifice and I don't contribute, how can we surpass those imperialist aggressors?"
These words were spoken by Huo Chong, who usually seems quite unreliable.
Perhaps noticing the surprise in Tang Zhenghong's eyes, Zou Yishui explained on Huo Chong's behalf with a somber face: "Huo Chong is also a martyr's family member. His elder brother fell on the other side of the Yalu River and didn't go home either."
Tang Zhenghong felt a lump in his throat. One day, his mother would take her children home.
At 6:09 a.m., we arrived at our final destination, Andong Station. The journey wasn't too delayed, but it was still more than two hours later than the expected travel time.
After the carriages were emptied, the train was pulled into the transshipment depot for maintenance, including the replacement of bogies and wheelsets.
Of course, passengers going to Pyongyang must wait where they are and cannot leave the station.