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Bogey change, Mongolia/China border

One of the things that fascinated me most about the Trans-Mongolian was the bogey change between Mongolia and China. I had read that the gauge of track changes, and as a result they had to change the wheelbase on the carriages. In my mind, I couldn't quite picture how this was done or how the difference in track gauge would appear, and I arrived at the border with great anticipation.

The train was backed into a shed, and the cars were uncoupled from each other. Pneumatic pumps then raised each car off of their bogeys (the blocks of wheels at either end of the carriage). Once all the cars were sufficiently raised, workers wheeled out the bogeys and replaced them with new ones on the other end. We remained on the same track, and I wondered what the difference in track gauges could be that we didn't shift tracks. Workers then lowered us back down.

The movement was fluid; I hadn't realized we were being lifted until I looked out the window and saw that the ground had receded. On a track across from us, I watched as other tourists coming from China to Mongolia took photos of each other by the window. Once we were out of the sheds, customs officials finished checking our passports and we were back on our way.