Huadu Railway Bureau Depot
Led by Shi Yunnan, Lin Sanqi and his companions walked into a parking lot located in the eastern suburbs of Huadu, next to the old Guangzhou-9th Line.
Lin Sanqi swore that he had never seen so many trains appear in front of him at the same time in his entire life, especially those locomotives, which were connected one after another, like candied haws in a string.
Moreover, the locomotives at that time were painted in various colors, including red, blue and green, which were very beautiful, unlike the later unified military green, which was very tacky.
The two young secretaries, Zhu Xinyue and Yao Zhuohan, were excitedly taking pictures with their mobile phones.
Even Lin Sanqi was a little eager to try. Every man has a motorcycle dream. Some people dream of motorcycles, some people dream of cars, and some people dream of trains.
As Shi Yunnan walked, he introduced Lin Sanqi:
"Director Lin, this parking lot you see is a train storage area under the jurisdiction of our Huadu Railway Bureau. It's mainly used for ordinary trains. If it's a high-speed rail storage area, it's near the South Station. There's also a freight yard."
Lin Sanqi already understood that Director Shi wanted to sell these outdated ordinary trains.
But he didn't dare to buy it easily:
"Chief Shi, I understand what you mean. I need these trains of yours, too. After all, I'm exporting them to Africa. They've never seen anything good there. Our discarded trains are treasures to them.
But I remember the snowstorm in southern China in 2008. The entire southern railway power grid was paralyzed, and millions of passengers were stranded at various railway stations in the south. None of the electric locomotives could move.
In the end, they had to deploy diesel locomotives. I heard that even steam locomotives in museums were deployed to overcome the crisis. If you sell all the diesel locomotives now, what will happen if another ice disaster occurs?"
After all, Lin Sanqi is not a black-hearted capitalist, but a person with a sense of social responsibility.
Shi Yunnan and the railway bureau staff nearby laughed when they heard this:
"Mr. Lin, no wonder your business is so big. It seems you still have a strong sense of crisis. But don't worry, things are different now than they were in 2008. Most of the trains we operate now are high-speed trains.
We have emergency plans for when the power grid of high-speed trains encounters extreme weather conditions such as freezing, so large-scale paralysis will basically not occur, and we can definitely ensure that we can transport passengers.
Mr. Lin, come and see these locomotives, including these green carriages, they've all rusted from being unused for so long. Our Railway Bureau has to spend a huge amount of money every year maintaining these locomotives, which is completely uneconomical.
According to the previous market conditions, these locomotives could not be sold at all, so they had to remain parked, occupying a large amount of resources. Finally, when they were all rotten and could no longer be used, they were sold as scrap metal.
This time, we heard that Mr. Lin was looking for a diesel locomotive. We discussed it and thought, what a coincidence! You want a locomotive? We have plenty of locomotives. Look, this deal can be done.
As for your concern about not having diesel locomotives in a pinch, you don't have to worry about that at all. Our Huadu Railway Bureau has over 3,000 diesel locomotives, most of which are parked in the Zhuzhou depot. This is just a small portion of them."
Lin Sanqi looked around, but the locomotive was so far away that he couldn't see the bottom.
"Director Shi, how many diesel locomotives are there here?"
"There are 208 of them in total, of all types, including the Dongfanghong series, the later Dongfeng system, and the Shaoshan system. Every locomotive is usable. Just add diesel and they're ready to go."
Lin Sanqi thought that his thinking was still too limited.
What he thought were good treasures were actually second-hand goods discarded by others and had no value at all. Now he wanted to find a sucker to sell them to.
How arrogant are the people at the Railway Bureau? They condescended to talk to him today, and they were very determined to sell the locomotive.
In that case, what else does Lin Sanqi have to say?
"Okay, Director Shi, I'll buy all 208 locomotives. I'll test the waters first. I guess 200 locomotives won't be enough. We'll contact each other then."
Shi Yunnan was overjoyed when he heard this.
"Okay, okay, Mr. Lin, don't worry, we can negotiate the price. We will definitely give you the best deal."
Huadu Railway Bureau has always been troubled by these old diesel locomotives. Just as Lin Sanqi said, they cannot be thrown away because who knows what emergency will happen or what national defense needs will arise.
But even in case of emergency, it is a complete waste of resources for a railway bureau to have thousands of diesel locomotives.
As for the so-called emergency, it is enough for you to keep one or two hundred locomotives.
If it really doesn't work, it's no big deal to borrow from other railway bureaus. The economy of Dongguan Province is developed and there is no place for diesel locomotives.
If this is parked in a parking lot, the annual maintenance cost will be huge, and it also takes up space.
Therefore, the Huadu Railway Bureau has always wanted to sell some of the diesel locomotives, including those green-skinned train carriages.
There was no way to sell it before because the railways were state-owned and monopolized, and private individuals were not allowed to operate passenger trains. No matter how they were sold, the trains still circulated within the 18 railway bureaus across the country.
For example, the famous Nanning Railway Station is a second-hand railway station. Because Nanning is poor and cannot afford new trains, it can only purchase a large number of second-hand goods.
The key point is that with the rise of high-speed trains, even second-hand stations like Nanning no longer want diesel locomotives, so they can only be parked and rot, becoming a heavy burden.
Lin Yangping was very happy when he heard that his cousin bought so many old locomotives in one go. After all, this was also one of his political achievements.
Although the Huadu Railway Bureau is not under the management of the local government, the two sides have a complex relationship. In the officialdom, isn't it like you help me today and I help you tomorrow, just to keep the relationship going?
So he smiled and said:
"Director Shi, I brought this Boss Lin to you, but you can't let my cousin suffer any loss. He also said that these 208 locomotives are just the beginning, and more will be purchased in the future."
Lin Sanqi also added at this time:
"In this way, I won't let Huadu Railway Vehicle Co., Ltd. work in vain. I will purchase two additional diesel locomotive repair and maintenance workshops."
Hong Yanlai, the general manager of Huadu Railway Vehicle Co., Ltd., was also delighted when he heard this:
"Okay, okay, thank you, Director Lin. We will definitely supply you with the goods as quickly as possible."
Hong Yanlai was definitely a pleasant surprise, because they had backups of all the equipment and tools in the maintenance and inspection workshop, so it was a piece of cake to get the tools from the two workshops.
They make a fortune by making a profit from the difference in price.
Lin Sanqi looked at Shi Yunnan and said:
"Director Shi, how do you calculate the price of this locomotive?"
Shi Yunnan rubbed his hands excitedly:
"Mr. Lin, the price of diesel locomotives of different models and years varies, so our proposal is a package deal for 200 million RMB. In addition, we'll give you 50 additional green carriages."
Lin Sanqi did some calculations and thought that a diesel locomotive cost 1 million yuan. He didn't know whether the price was too expensive or too cheap.
The secretary Zhu Xinyue was very smart. She immediately took out her tablet and started searching for prices.
There is a sale information on a railway company in a northern province online:
Depending on the condition of the vehicle, the empty shell of a used internal combustion engine locomotive costs about 300,000 yuan, a whole vehicle that is in a dilapidated state and cannot be driven costs about 1 million yuan, and a second-hand vehicle that can be driven costs between 1.2 and 2 million yuan.
Therefore, Shi Yunnan sells the locomotive at an average price of 1 million yuan. This price is neither expensive nor cheap. After all, it is a wholesale price now.
But at least 50 green carriages were delivered.
This thing is usually used for landscape decoration or creative hotels, but if it was sent to 1962, it would definitely be a treasure.
Lin Sanqi thought about it for a moment, then nodded in agreement:
"I can accept a package price of 200 million, but Director Shi, I also want the manufacturing technology for internal combustion locomotives. It doesn't have to be too advanced, even models that have been discontinued by the government will do. I wonder if the Huadu Railway Bureau has any relevant information?"
Shi Yunnan's eyes rolled, and he thought, if you want high-speed rail technology, I can't help you at the moment, but if you want obsolete technology like internal combustion engines, wouldn't there be plenty of it across the country?
The Huadu Railway Bureau didn't have it, but other sister bureaus did. Furthermore, internal combustion engine technology wasn't confidential, so retrieving the information was just a matter of a phone call from the leaders. (End of this chapter)
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