At 10 o'clock last night - the border had been completed and we were officially Elian, China - we drove past a big red shed. The pilot was so long that it seemed there was a whole train would fit. Because I knew the bogies of our train at the border could be changed so that the train on the track narrower Chinese could further drive, I was alert to anything that resembled a central undercarriage changeable. Initially it seemed to drive past the shed, but soon after passing the train slowed and became a shipping corridor in the opposite direction used. The train was inside the shed.
A lot of shaking and banging ensued. The train was disassembled. Each wagon was separated from the others between 4 red orange lifting maneuvered. The pilot was shorter than I thought and the train was careful only by him in two parts next to each other. Piece by piece I saw the wagons are lifted into the air. A few blows were the bases from the train and were ingeniously in one smooth motion, by a simple cable-driven mechanism, all chassis pushed wide and narrow bases took their place.
Two hours later, all the wagons again and landed with new bogies. A lot of banging and shaking took the train again to put together. Meanwhile it was already noon and had kept my eyes open no longer. This morning I woke up with a familiar, but apparently not identical, cadence. Many work for little effect. The only really visible changes, the dining car: who is now sober and efficient. The romance of the Mongolian car has disappeared and made way for 'free meal' coupons and Chinese effectiveness.
