#3544
China Railways SY
🇨🇳 China ·built by CRRC Tangshan Co., Ltd.· from 1960· class of Chinese 2-8-2 locomotives
7 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. SY1721 at Tangshan Works: Ericmetro· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. China Railways SY-0309 Steam Locomotive at Beijing: Romain· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 3. China Railways SY 0652 in Dalian - 2014: JesseW900· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 4. China Railways SY 0913 20190926 01: Changzhensky· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 5. China Railways SY 1000 20171127: Changzhensky· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 6. China Railways SY 1504 20180114 01: Changzhensky· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 7. China Railways SY 1770: 高坂千一久· CC BY 4.0
what is it?
The China Railways SY (Chinese: 上游; pinyin: Shàng Yóu; lit. 'Aim High') are a type of 2-8-2 "Mikado" type steam locomotives, they were operated by the China Railway and hauled both heavy freight and mainline passengers trains. They were built mostly by the Tangshan Locomotive and Rolling Stock Works between 1960 and 1999.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 66 years ago, in 1960.
- 1.1 MW is about 13 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 14 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 21.6 m long: about 5 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 62 years (1960–2022).
steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.
spec sheet
- built
- 1960–1999
- in service from
- 1960
- retired
- 2022
- status
- preserved
- number built
- 1,820
- kind
- Steam
- traction
- steam
- origin
- 🇨🇳 China
- builders
- CRRC Tangshan Co., Ltd., CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd., CRRC Shandong Co., Ltd., CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co., Ltd.
- operators
- China State Railway Group, Knox and Kane Railroad, New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway, Belvidere and Delaware River Railway
- top speed
- 80 km/h
- power
- 1.1 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- wheel arrangement
- 2-8-2
- length
- 21.6 m
- weight
- 84 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q2583372, Wikipedia: China Railways SY (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.