最后的小火车

在四川南部的崇山峻岭中，有一条名叫芭石的小铁路。铁路上开行着一列轨距仅为76.2厘米的蒸汽机小型火车，车厢要比普通火车小一半。这种火车因其权属四川嘉阳煤矿，故人们亲切地称它为“嘉阳小火车”。

2004年岁末，我随四川乐山电视台到石溪镇采访。头一回看到这列铁锈色的小火车时，给我们的第一感觉是：它像一个大玩具!当时它吐着白雾，鸣着汽笛，正从山岭中逶迤迎面驶来，它是那样小巧生动，使得每一个童心未泯的人都会一下子联想起孩子们手中的玩具火车!

嘉阳小火车使用的机车，是我国运用国外技术自行改进生产的蒸汽机车，它以蒸汽机作原动机，由蒸汽锅炉、汽机、车架、走行部、制动装置以及贮存燃料和水的煤水车等组成。蒸汽机曾经引发了机器大生产，它是工业技术革命的里程碑。从1825年世界上出现第一辆蒸汽机车到现在，这种蒸汽机车已有180年历史了。在我国上个世纪50—80年代，这些蒸汽机也曾为我们的社会进步发挥过巨大的作用。

嘉阳煤矿小火车从1959年开始在这个深山区运行，主要用于煤炭运输。后来由于有许多职工要去山里的煤矿上班，故小火车就在煤车后面加挂客车车厢，开始客货两运。到了1980年后，随着电子、网络时代的悄然来临，嘉阳的蒸汽机小火车在完成其特定时期的历史使命后，逐步退出历史舞台，嘉阳的煤炭运输改用了效率更高、马力更大、环保功能更好的电力机车担任。

然而嘉阳小火车并没有从人们的视野中消失。因为地处崇山峻岭的山民要走出深山到外面的世界去闯荡，一时还离不开这种传统的交通工具呢!据嘉阳集团工程师介绍，从石溪镇到芭沟镇，全长有19.8公里，一路上不仅弯道多、隧道多，坡度也大，就连小火车跑起来也得注意控制速度，让它“悠着点”，因而这样的山道如果改用现代化的“大家伙”来跑运输，那就好比“电线杆当筷子”，既是大材小用，事实上也没法用，于是这古老而简陋的小火车，在这深山区倒成了生命力特强的一种“现代化”工具哩!

小火车在山坡上动力十足，它的爬坡性能比内燃机和电力机车都来得好，所以几十年来一直成了这里山区的货客运输主力军。有趣的是，当世界各地一列列蒸汽机车相继退役逐渐从铁路线上销声匿迹之时，四川省的芭石小火车却因其特殊的原因和特殊的作用，成了世界上唯一还在运行的窄轨火车，它被人们称为“最后的蒸汽机”、“工业革命的活化石”。

当我们走进小火车时，只见8节车厢坐满乘客。不过它实在太小，每节车厢只能乘坐18个人，看起来就像个小中巴。听乘务员介绍说：小火车每天来回跑四趟，最早的一趟凌晨5时30分开始发车，风雨无阻，准点率很高，所以当地的住户都养成了听火车呼啸而过的声音来判断时间的习惯。它从起点站石溪镇到终点芭沟镇，在短短的19.8 公里铁路沿线设立了7个小站和一个“招手停”小小站。火车也能招手停，这可真是嘉阳小火车的一大特色呢!

“麻雀虽小，五脏俱全”，别看它小，可它每节车厢都有一位乘务员，整车还有一位列车长和乘警。每到一个小站，村民们上下车的时候，乘警、乘务员便要卖票收钱，维持秩序，有时还帮村民们搬运货物。特别是到了过年时，这里也会掀起春运小高潮呢！那时得挂上11节车厢才行！更有趣的是，因为嘉阳小火车采用的是第一次工业革命时期的动力技术，尽管它现在已经大大地落伍于时代了，可这个世界上就有那么一些人不知道为什么，总是特别迷恋过去古老的东西，许多外国人他们不远万里来到中国，就想看看这种属于几个世纪以前的东西。从20世纪90年代以来，陆续来这里看这“活化石”的有英国、德国、美国、日本等10多个国家的游人，他们携带着各类照相机、摄像机，总是对着小火车猛拍。有的人不过瘾，索性包了小火车作为“专列”反反复复地开过来开过去坐上一坐，直到把自己背包中的胶卷和磁带都耗完为止。当那些老外坐在简陋的车厢里，晃晃悠悠于蜿蜒曲折的崇山峻岭之间，他们风趣地把这种感受称之为“晃舞”。坐在小火车上，他们一边欣赏着这儿的迷人风光，一边感受着这儿丰富的人文景观：那密布的层层梯田，传统的农耕方式，历尽沧桑的清代古寨，今古相映的山区民居和充满神秘色彩的清代古桥等等。特别是外国游客看到了小火车时那种高兴劲，那种手舞足蹈的样子，不禁让人生发出许多的感慨：嗨，一份古老的科技成果，一个被称为“工业革命的活化石”，一种对世界文明作过巨大贡献的“最后的蒸汽机”，人们还是对它怀有很深的眷恋的啊!……

当我们结束采访时，得到这样一个消息：就在不久的将来，一条宽敞的乡镇公路将铺进大山。到那时嘉阳小火车就将停止运行了!消息让那些和小火车一起度过了多少个日日夜夜的人们感慨不已：是的，人们完全有权利享用更快捷、更高效的交通工具，但人们又多么希望能为传统、为往昔的记忆保留一点回味的空间啊! 小火车将被取代的消息带给我们一份思考、一个启示：如果我们有意将芭石小火车保留下来，将它包装成一条休闲观光的旅游线，让这列喷吐着一团团白雾的“老掉了牙齿”的小火车，继续穿行在四川那迷人的自然风光和古老的农耕文明的崇山峻岭间，这是一种多么具有经济价值的设想啊，这对“小火车”来说，也许是一种最理想的归宿吧?!

Small Steam-Powered Train Still Runs

By Yang Lie

In the mountains of southern Sichuan Province a 19.8-km narrow-gauge railway is still operating. The track gauge is only 76.2 cm wide and the cars are half that of ordinary train cars in size. As the railway and the train are owned and operated by the Jiayang Coal Mine, local people call it the Jiayang Small Train.

The steam-powered small train started its operations in 1959 to carry coal from the mine to the outside world. As some employees needed to commute between their houses and the coal mine on weekdays, the freight train soon had passenger cars attached. Later a special passenger train came into use for both coalminers and villagers. In the 1980s, freight trains began to use the electric locomotive, but the passenger train remains steam-powered even today.

As the whole journey has many bends, tunnels, and slopes, the train chugs slowly for the sake of safety. And the small train is better at mounting slopes than trains powered by electricity or the internal-combustion engine. Even though steam trains have gradually diminished and faded into history all over the world, the steam-powered small train on this special railroad still operates in full swing. The narrow-gauge train is regarded as a living fossil of the industrial revolution and the last operating steam-powered locomotive in the world.

For people who first see the train, it looks like a toy, emitting fogs of white steam and roared lazily. The train has only eight cars. They are so small that each has only 18 seats. But the service is not negligent. The train has a conductor and a policeman, and each car has an attendant. It runs four times every day between Shixi Town and Bagou Town. There are seven regular stations and one wave-and-stop station along the line. The first train leaves Shixi Town at 5:30 in the morning. The train runs on time. For decades villagers along the railway have used the train as their clock. When the train stops, the policeman keeps public order and attendants work as conductors. During the Spring Festival, the train adds another three cars to cater to the increased traffic volume.

Since the 1990s, the small steam train has attracted passengers from overseas. Tourists from Britain, Germany, USA, and Japan have come to see the small train. Foreigners not only photograph the train but also seat themselves on the train to view the rural scenes along the way. The mountains have many sights to offer: terrace fields, traditional farms, ancient houses, and bridges built in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Villagers are often amazed by the way foreign tourists get excited. They dance literally and their ecstasy knows no bounds when they swing on the train along the narrow-gauge railway into deep mountains.

It is said that a highway will soon replace the railway. Local people wish to keep the steam-powered antique as a tourist attraction in memory of an unforgettable way of life.

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