The most fascinating stop on the trip is no doubt at the Chinese border. They really aim to impress. The station is huge and lit up in neon. Dozens of soldiers stand at attention along the tracks. Music blares from speakers attached to all the light posts. I was trying to answer a Chinese customs official's questions, but I couldn't hear him because Beethoven's "Fur Elise" was blasting just outside the window.
But what really makes it interesting is the bogey shed. The rails in Russia and Mongolia are a different gauge (width) than those in China, or anywhere else, for that matter. So when trains cross the Mongolia-China border the bogeys, or wheels, must be changed.
The train is separated into two sections, which are pulled into the shed side by side. The carriages are disconnected and pulled apart in alignment with devices attached to the platform which will later be used to lift them. The bogeys are disconnected from the carriages, which are then lifted about four feet into the air. The old bogeys are wheeled out, the new ones are wheeled in, the carriages are lowered, the new bogeys are attached, the train sections are moved out of the shed then reconnected, then train moves on. Simple!
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