View Full Version : Rail History & Heritage Lines
von Hirschhorn
18-08-05, 08:20 AM
Taiwan, an island on the rim of the pacific. The Portuguese called it ‘Ihla Formosa’ – island beautiful.
ROC - Republic of China, a shelter for Chang Kai Shek after the defeat and these days still considered as a renegade province by a handful old communist leaders in Beijing.
The quest for territory for one and recognized independence for the other, seems to be an almost endless process without or in the end with war to achieve questionable goals.
A geographical novelty and no move possible - other than pleasing big brother - without strong protest from the mainland.
The railways seems not to be affected by the political struggle, a sort of Chinese sword of Damocles.
And railways they have. In the nineties this is what one could expect.
First of all the TRA = Taiwan Railway Administration with a 1072 km network the island around in Cape gauge = 1067 mm / 3’6’’ a heritage from the Japanese.
In 1991 498 km was electrified, (25 Kv 60 Hz) the west coast line: Keelung - Taipei - Chiayi - Kaohsiung - Pingtung and double track.
In the centre of Taipei the line goes underground, before that it runs through one of the busiest main shopping streets.
A brand new central station was build with shopping mall and head quarters of the TRA. The whole resemble a temple, especially the typical shaped roof. The holy house for rail worshipers although the trains are deep beneath.
South from Chiensan the west coast line divides in two branches and comes together again at Chang-hua.
The east coast line has only double track until Suao and fully diesel.
In the nineties the southern connection between the two coasts was build.
There are also branch lines:
Hsinchu - Neiwan
Ershui - Checheng
Fengyuan - Tungshih
Tantzu - Shengkang
(Houtung) Santiaoling - Chingtung (former coal mine line)
And last but not least Taipei - Hsin Peitou (Xinbeitou)- Tamshui (Danshui), closed in the end of the eighties and transformed into a subway (red line 22.8 km) as part of a new build system with several lines include one based on the French VAL system (Véhicule Automatique Légère) (Automatic light vehicle on rubber tires) This is the brown line, 10.6 km long and complete elevated, opened in 1996.
Furthermore 1367 km narrow gauge - 762 mm / 2’6’’ - most operated by the TSC = Taiwan Sugar Corporation. The rest belongs to the only forestry railway that survive, the AFR = Alishan Forestry Railway.
From Chiayi till Alishan, from almost zero till 2200 meters high, through a big spiral and over zigzag tracks, a touristy adventure for today’s traveler but no more logs to transport.
Another forestry line: Checheng - Wushe is closed and so are the saw mills in Checheng.
Even smaller in gauge is a line at Wulai (near Taipei) from the entrance of a national park to the lower station of a cable car to a big amusement attraction in the hills and waterfall. Taiwan’s interior is 100% mountainous. On the east coast even with cliffs rising from the ocean. Small lorries pulled by a motorized one form the mode of transport.
A vague remembrance of old days when more of these lines were in use. The so called ‘push car’ lines. An open lorry, two person’s maximum and one Chinese man pushing the thing upwards. The way back nature was friendlier and the bugger could jump on (the) board and only had to break.
In 1990 I was lucky to see some industrial narrow gauge railway still in working order.
(I measured 440 mm - very narrow indeed, almost miniature)
Transportation of ‘black gold’ (crushed) from mines in the mountains to a point where it was transshipped in TRA goods wagons for further transportation. Such a transship installation stood in Houtung and another – smaller one – in Shihfen down the branch line to Chingtung.
The latter reached by a small suspension bridge for rail only. The lorries were hauled by a continuous moving cable while the tiny diesel locomotive was waiting on the embankment for their empty return and new ride to mine(s) somewhere inland.
A spectacular and magnificent enterprise and system, however, a few years later complete disappeared.
Except the transportation of coal by truck this time but still transshipped in TRA goods wagons.
Only Houtung looks in 1997 deserted with some rolling stock rusting away and slowly falling apart on half demolished tracks.
The end of an era, the end of a dream, at least for a guy from the lowlands beneath the sea.
In the series a railroad monograph, Charles S. Small published a book about this particular subject: Rails to the Mines.
Rare railway literature at least for this side of the ocean (Europe) and hardly to get. I like to order a copy the only question is: where?
A second hand copy will do also.
Taiwan, a more than interested island, especially the railways in past and present like the newly build and almost finished high speed line between Taipei and Kaohsiung.
Let’s start a quest for other facts and figures.
Country Map (Colourful, Big & Slow; just the way I like 'em ;) ) which seems to show most of the current railways:-
http://202.39.225.132/uploadfile/folded_map/08305_TAIWAN.jpg
Schematic Map of Alishan Forest Rlwy:-
http://202.39.225.132/uploadfile/folded_map/07151_ES03M03.jpg
Schematic of Tamshui MRT:-
http://202.39.225.132/uploadfile/folded_map/07090_EN08M03.jpg
Schematic Taipei MRT:-
http://202.39.225.132/uploadfile/folded_map/08182_taipei_m.jpg
String on 'Taiwan (ROC) Maps':-
http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showthread.php?p=5878#post5878
Description of the Touristic attractions of each line:-
http://www.worldpress.org/Asia/2012.cfm
Map Selection Page:-
http://202.39.225.132/jsp/Eng/html/map/index.jsp#
http://www.roc-taiwan.org/taiwan/2-visitor/map/map/x03.gif
http://www.roc-taiwan.org/taiwan/2-visitor/map/map/x04.gif
Taiwanese Railways do seem to feature quite heavily on the net. Here's the map on the back of an Alishan Forest Railway Ticket, courtesy of one Dewi Williams:-
http://dewi.ca/trains/alishan/alishan.html
http://dewi.ca/trains/alishan/alishan.html
http://www.atmos.ucla.edu/~cwhung/taiwan.html
http://www.atmos.ucla.edu/~cwhung/tai-map.JPG
Formosa!!!
Anyone fancy translating this lot. Must rate as far more confusing than SRT Maps. Too big for [Image] inclusion in this string. Expect a slow-load, but you will be glad you did:-
http://www.citycat.hdud.idv.tw/map1925.htm
CityCat's Site also has a lot of 'Loco' stuff:-
http://www.citycat.hdud.idv.tw/indexeng.htm
One of the more systematic maps, 1947:-
http://www.citycat.hdud.idv.tw/maps/map8.jpg
Old Sugarcane Railway Scene from 'CityCat':-
http://www.citycat.hdud.idv.tw/sugar1/sgr01_8.jpg
CityCat also provides us with these 'Paul Holmes' Links:-
Legend:
http://www.citycat.hdud.idv.tw/maps/01.jpg
Keelung:
http://www.citycat.hdud.idv.tw/maps/05.jpg
Tai-Pei:
http://www.citycat.hdud.idv.tw/maps/04.jpg
Yingge & Panchiao:
http://www.citycat.hdud.idv.tw/maps/03.jpg
Taoyuan & Chungli:
http://www.citycat.hdud.idv.tw/maps/02.jpg
Hsinchu:
http://www.citycat.hdud.idv.tw/maps/07.jpg
Neiwan:
http://www.citycat.hdud.idv.tw/maps/08.jpg
Fulung:
http://www.citycat.hdud.idv.tw/maps/06.jpg
Yilan:
http://www.citycat.hdud.idv.tw/maps/10.jpg
Taipingshan:
http://www.citycat.hdud.idv.tw/maps/09.jpg
Suao:
http://www.citycat.hdud.idv.tw/maps/11.jpg
Hoping:
http://www.citycat.hdud.idv.tw/maps/12.jpg
Taitung:
http://www.citycat.hdud.idv.tw/maps/21.jpg
http://www.urbanrail.net/as/taip/taipei.htm
Taipei MRT (elsewhere):-
http://www.taiwan-map.com/EngMap/en_mrt.asp
http://home.trtc.com.tw/EINFO/eroutehome.asp
http://english.taipei.gov.tw/dorts/index.jsp
von Hirschhorn
23-08-05, 08:32 PM
Nice stuff all those cards and maybe useable for Khun Dick. I must admit, before I started this thread I did not look for any additional information on the Internet, thanks to GWR just click and here we are. Everything you always wanted to know but afraid to ask for.
Paul Holmes’ cards are most intriguing although I spotted a few omissions regarding narrow gauge in the mine area near Shih-fen. (Related to my story)
Furthermore keep on digging although there’s hardly anything new. A lot of books about this subject have been published in Taiwan, unfortunate only in Chinese, but a good source for historical information.
Thanks GWR for al these maps. At the moment I'm busy with illustrated work for a book about High Speed lines all over the world (exp. publishing date 2006), so also a chapter for Taiwan.
von Hirschhorn
20-10-05, 01:25 PM
Well Dick,
Do not work to hard although there is so much temptation. Indeed, these maps surprised me as well, and although known (to a certain extend) this is what we called in Dutch " een mooie aanvulling."
In our still to start website about Southeast Asia Rail - foremost in the Dutch language - this will certain comes back. ;)
paulholmes
02-12-05, 12:47 PM
Hello, Im Paul Holmes, the compiler of the Taiwan Railway Maps discussed above.I found this thread purely by chance.
I stated to research and compile the maps out of sheer frustration at bugger-all being available in English and whenever I asked anyone "where did that go" all I got was a "I dunno, why do you want to know anyway?" eg the universal Chinese "Not my concern, cant eat it, screw it or make money out of it so I am not interested."
With my good friend Su-I-jaw (the eponymous "Citycat") I have been researching the Taiwanese railway systems for a year and am now in the sugar cane area.... and difficult it is too.
So, if any of you out there have any comments, observations and/or corrections I be very pleased to know.
Paul
von Hirschhorn
16-12-05, 07:40 AM
As stated before, I like these map for more than one reason. By now its a few years ago since I went to Taiwan for the last time.
I did not make a detailed study of the maps (yet) but on map 05 Keelung http://www.citycat.hdud.idv.tw/maps/05.jpg
one thing strikes me most.
At Shih-fen you situated the Taiwan Coal mine museum railway from a car park to a mine, since when in operation? I never saw it nor can I remember seeing a transshipment installation were you placed it.
However, just at the end of the station yard (embankment side) there is / was a transshipment installation for crushed coal coming in by narrow gauge from the other side of the river, spanned by a suspension bridge for lorries only and hauled by cable. The loco waited on the embankment for their return and afterwards disappeared into the mountains to collect a new load. I never walked the whole track or had in mind to do so another time. That other time came indeed but no rail traffic what so ever, only ordinary trucks delivering the ‘black gold’ for transshipment into TRA goods cars. The suspension bridge was gone and no trace of tracks on the other side. The same applies for the big transshipment installation at Houtung although traces were still there. (track in pavement)
Anyway the line at Shih-fen should be on the map.
It’s quite clear that I witnessed the last survivors if what once was a mighty industry. To bad these are gone by now!
paulholmes
22-12-05, 04:34 PM
Dear Mr “von Hirschhorn” (terribly formal this!!!!)
Thanks for your reply. It is good to talk to someone with your knowledge of Taiwanese Railways. I currently live in Taiwan and work for THSRC on the High Speed Line and am very interested in Taiwan Railway history, as I stated in my earlier correspondence. I am glad you like the maps and any information you have to help will be gratefully received. I am only interested in loco-worked railways of a permanent nature, hence not the temporary “field” lines of TSC which changed from year to year or the push cart lines.
Your messages open up some interesting points.
(Note the following acronyms: THSRC – Taiwan High Speed Rail, TRA Taiwan Railway Administration, TSC Taiwan Sugar Corporation)
The TRA railways here seem to be stable (-ish) at last and cash is being invested. (This has released some surplus locos that are up for sale as are some ex TSC Diemas – if anyone needs more information please let me know) Amongst the many current investments going on are the sinking of the line to the east of Taipei firstly into tunnel, then raising on viaduct to eliminate the numerous level crossings, ditto though I-lan, new workshops at Chi-du to replace the older shops in Taipei and Sung-shan (the latter have now closed and been demolished), new locos and EMUs, colour light signals and CTC, a new branchline from Hsin-chu to the THSRC station etc etc. TRA is now electrified from Su-ao in the east, anti-clockwise through Taipei (with the Keelung branch) - Chunan (both Mountain and Coast Lines) - Chunghwa – Tainan – Keelung - Pingtung with the remainder Pingtung- Taidong – Hualien – Suao diesel but with electrification planned. The Tunnels though Taipei to which you elude currenly extend from Banchiao in the west to Sungshan in the east with stations at Pingtung, Wanhua and Taipei Main station. Separate parallel tunnels are in situ for the THSRC lines currently under construction.
Regarding the branch lines:
Hsinchu – Neiwan – still open (The “Nei-wan Line”)
Santiaoling - Chingtung – still open (The”Ping-hsi” Line)
Ershui – Checheng – still open (The “Chi-chi” Line
Each of these branches seems to be doing very well, particulalry at weekends when it is standing all the way (I haven’t personally been on the Chi-chi branch yet but it was considerably rebuilt after the 9/21 earthquake). The local drivers are a friendly bunch and will allow an interested visitor up front where I have videoed the first two lines above from the cab. They are single track, with the minimum of fencing (The Ping-his line runs down Shih-fen main street and the tunnels are used by walkers at the waterfalls!!!). They are operated by single line token machines and electric telegraph, are well maintained and popular.
Fengyuan – Tungshih - Closed when the old “Mountain Line” was diverted to a new high speed double track alignment, largely in tunnel. I am told it is still largely extant.
Tantzu – Shengkang - Closed – I don’t know much about this yet.
The Taipei metro is currently being hugely extended, including the Brown “Mucha” line using the French rubber-tyred system you referred to. This is looping around the north of the city with a station at Sungshan Domestic airport. Another metro in Kaohsiung should be opening to trafic shortly
TSC have now almost abandoned both sugar production and rail traffic. Last year it was said that there would be no sugar trains this harvest (during December to March) but there have been some reported somewhere in the Chia-yi area. TSC also operate some tourist undertakings, including a section of line based on the old TSC station at Wu-shu-lin, near Tainan (NB TSC once operated an extensive narrow gauge passenger system but this started to contract in the 1960s and ceased over ten years ago (????not sure of these dates)). At Wu-shu-lin there is also an operative narrow gauge steam loco that is steamed on a regular basis. I expect to be able to report most fully on this when I have researched and drawn the maps of the area.
The Alishan Forestry Railway is the last surviving of the six original forestry railway and is one of the wonders of the railway world, deserving much more recognition than it gets as it easily matches the Darjeeling and Himalayas Railway. I have travelled this line three times and never get tired of it. There is much investment going on here too with new tunnels and viaducts, work taking place to reopen the Monkey Rock line and rebuild Alishan station (in truly grand style, believe me) both of which were damaged in the 9/21 earthquake). There are seven brand new locos on order and a batch of coaches are being equipped with proper driver’s positions to allow them to be used as driver trailers in push-pull formation. Two Shays are also now steamable, the second to be restored being equipped with a computer controlled oil-fired boiler. (Amazing but true!!!). There are also a small tourist operation on parts of the Taipingshan and Chinan forestry lines, the former being quite extensive but the latter being a mere 100 meters or so.
There are no man powered “push car” lines left, with the exception of the former example now used as the petrol-operated tramway at Wulai to which you refer. This is, however, extremely popular at weekends. These push car lines originally reached many parts of the island and a couple of examples are described in the book by Charles Small to which you referred. I have a photocopy of this as it has been out of print (A mate of mine found a copy at a second-hand railway book shop in London,of all places!!!). Another source of information is an English published map (can’t remember the book title, I only have a photocopy of the page for Taiwan but the atllas it came from was for all of China) which, according to my friend and mentor, Su I-jaw (otherwise known as “Citycat”) incorrectly shows some of the push cart lines as loco-hauled railways.
You also refer to the Checheng - Wushe line as a “forestry line” but my information is that this was only another man powered push cart line and was never loco operated. Hence it is not included on the maps I am currently drawing.
There are no operating coal mines in Taiwan any more and the coal railways have all closed, as have the other mineral working (salt, gold and sand). The tourist line to the mining museum is the line to the east of Shih-fen to which you refer. The TSC sidings have been disconnected but restored with a “pump-trolley” for tourists to play on. The hoppers and conveyor equipment from the upper level where the narrow gauge railway terminated are derelict and falling down but a path leads up to where the narrow gauge railway originally discharged in to the conveyor system. The narrow gauge line was orignally electrified on an overhead trolley wire system but this has been de-energised and largely removed and the locos now are powered by battery. Passengers travel in crude unsprung coal tubs with seats fitted. The old mine adit has been restored and a museum built around it. It was the last mine in Taiwan to shut and ended a long history of mining in the Ping-hsi Valley. The other system to which you refer at Shih-fen station has left little remains. The suspension bridge over the river still exists (I think it has been converted for pedestrian use). I was told this was also manually operated but obviously this is incorrect. Please supply me with any information you have.
Houtung is still an interesting place. The old colliery company workshops, offices and loading buildings are still extant but very derelict and covered with “Danger – Keep Out” warning signs (totally unneccessary – any one going in there would have to be crackers!!!). The beautiful bridge still exists over the river and has been gentrified a bit with old coal tubs restored and placed on lengths of rail. The exchange sidings have gone but there is a derelict TRA shunting loco still inside the building!!
This is an amazing island for a train buff and almost ignored by the railway fraternity. Any help you or anyone can give in my researches will be gratefully received.
Best wishes and Merry Christmas toyou and your family.
Paul Holmes
Taipei,Taiwan.
paulholmes
22-12-05, 07:23 PM
I made a mistake in the above missive, the stations in the TRUPO tunnels are BANCHIAO (Not Pingtung) - Wanhua - Taipei.
I tired to correct the above but it wouldn't let me!!!!
Paul
von Hirschhorn
28-12-05, 08:47 AM
Dear Paul, (less formal I guess and less terrible)
A very nice update of the Taiwan Rail Scene, I am always eager to hear from systems I have given a piece of my hart. I visited the island only three times until now and only within the first visit the last running remains of coal transportation were still there. (early nineties) Houtung and Shi-fen were absolutely great. However, on my second visit no longer soft swinging suspension bridges with cable hauled lorries and when you suggest that bridge at Shi-fen is still there and use for pedestrians, than they rebuild the whole which I doubt because there was a road bridge already. The bridge and line beyond is missing on your map, maybe something to revise. Furthermore I have not much to inform you I am afraid. You’re on the spot; I am far away, at least for the time being.
I am sad to read that the TSC is minimizing the use of rail for hauling cane and other products. During all my visits I did not had time enough to explore and take pictures. Only the Hsin-ying factory I saw apparently beyond the harvest season, the Diema engines neatly stalled in the shed. Also a passenger car but above all a track maintenance machine (shifter) from Plasser & Theurer (Austrian company). This gave me hope that for long the system would be maintained and stays intact. A dream, and as many dreams only vivid in a few pictures in my collection.
You work on and with the latest railway technique and presumable like it, we cannot deny a country progress, I prefer the old things.
Industrial archeology is another thing, the way you describe Houtung today is certainly an invitation for a few pictures more.
However, the sensation of seeing the whole in full swing will never repeat.
paulholmes
02-10-06, 09:59 AM
See
www.taiwanrailways.com
for loads of information, maps, photos and movies on Taiwans Railways IN ENGLISH!!!!!!
Paul Holmes:)
von Hirschhorn
02-10-06, 08:29 PM
Here is a site you want not miss if you have any compassion for Taiwan Rail.
Things early mentioned this thread will be enlightened in a charming way include some moving captures. 2006: and the armchair travelling is all yours.
To bad for the pioneers among us, the ones hunting for the obscure or still dreaming of the former days. Humpty-dumbty in a wonder railway land. Well, the web can put the pieces together again, the fall itself was predictable but never nice to realise that much of the old is over. Beside the modern, we have to do it with a ‘touristy venture’ but still better than nothing at all.
This collection of 1950s US Army Map Service 1:250,000 topographic maps shows much of Taiwan's former railway system. Some tracks are even annotated with the comment that they are only used for 'push-carts': -
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/taiwan/
Silent movies from the 1970s: -
http://www.kurogane-rail.jp/movie/emovie_wudu1.html
http://www.kurogane-rail.jp/movie/emovie_wudu2.html
Plus some wonderfully atmospheric B&W pictures: -
http://www.kurogane-rail.jp/jinsha/j0n5-22.jpg
And a page of short silent movie links: -
http://www.kurogane-rail.jp/movie/emovie_idx.html
Other Asian Railways: -
http://www.kurogane-rail.jp/eindex.html
jpatokal
09-08-07, 11:46 PM
And one day after testing out the 300 km/h THSR, it was time to clamber on the not-even-30 km/h Alishan Forest Railway. Pictures:
http://jpatokal.iki.fi/photo/travel/Taiwan/AlishanRailway/
http://jpatokal.iki.fi/photo/travel/Taiwan/Alishan/
And blog entry:
http://extra.wikitravel.org/blog/jani/tall_taiwan_tales_mountains_mist_alishan
It was a fun enough experience, even from a neophile like me who generally prefers his trains fast and sleek, and it was particularly surprising that the trains were absolutely packed (not even standing room left!) when buses from Chiayi to Alishan are better scheduled (hourly vs twice a day), more comfortable, twice as fast (2h vs 3.5h) and half the price (NT$204 vs NT$399). It was heartening, though, to see lots of construction work all along the track and the new Alishan station, stylishly built from dark wood and fitting in very well, looks like it will be ready any day now.
As it happened, on the very day we were there, the railway was also running the old steam locos on a short jaunt from Chiayi to Jhuci. Our schedule didn't let us try this out, but we did get a photo op of loco #31 up at the Alishan end, and here are some pictures from somebody who did try it (on #31, as it happens):
http://chuwuhou.myweb.hinet.net/r6.html
von Hirschhorn
10-08-07, 03:14 PM
Great, endly someone who's been there, for me quit a while ago. Good to see everything still in order. Who knows one of these days and take a look for myself again.
And here you see; old and new doesn't bite each other.
Prevalance is one thing still happy another.;)
And one day after testing out the 300 km/h THSR, it was time to clamber on the not-even-30 km/h Alishan Forest Railway. Pictures:
http://jpatokal.iki.fi/photo/travel/Taiwan/AlishanRailway/
http://jpatokal.iki.fi/photo/travel/Taiwan/Alishan/
And blog entry:
http://extra.wikitravel.org/blog/jani/tall_taiwan_tales_mountains_mist_alishan
It was a fun enough experience, even from a neophile like me who generally prefers his trains fast and sleek, and it was particularly surprising that the trains were absolutely packed (not even standing room left!) when buses from Chiayi to Alishan are better scheduled (hourly vs twice a day), more comfortable, twice as fast (2h vs 3.5h) and half the price (NT$204 vs NT$399). It was heartening, though, to see lots of construction work all along the track and the new Alishan station, stylishly built from dark wood and fitting in very well, looks like it will be ready any day now.
As it happened, on the very day we were there, the railway was also running the old steam locos on a short jaunt from Chiayi to Jhuci. Our schedule didn't let us try this out, but we did get a photo op of loco #31 up at the Alishan end, and here are some pictures from somebody who did try it (on #31, as it happens):
http://chuwuhou.myweb.hinet.net/r6.html
New Alishan railway station opens after reconstruction
Friday, September 14, 2007
CNA
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The brand new Alishan Railway Station in the southern county of Chiayi was inaugurated Thursday after years of reconstruction since being destroyed by the devastating 921 earthquake in 1999.
The first train to depart from the station was an antique train with wooden cabins and powered by a steam locomotive that left for the Sacred Tree station.
The maiden run was arranged by the Chiayi Forest District Office (CFDO) under the Forestry Bureau to celebrate the inauguration.
CFDO Director Yeh Hsien-liang said the two-story station, built at a cost of more than NT$120 million (US$3.6 million) , is the largest railway station built of wood in Taiwan.
At the balcony on the second floor of the station, travelers are able to see Alishan's scenic landscapes and noted cloud sea, said Yeh.
The station is on the narrow-gauge Alishan Forest Railway, which stretches across Chiayi City, Chiayi County and Nantou County carrying passengers up and down the mountain in a series of tight switchbacks.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/2007/09/14/122517/New-Alishan.htm
:) Work to relocate historic Taipei Workshop begins
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/news_images/20071211/p20c.jpg
Photo: The China Post - Engineers yesterday kicked off a challenging job of moving the 100-year-old Taipei Workshop, a train manufacturing and repair facility located near the North Gate in downtown Taipei, 30 meters to the southeast, to save the historic relic during the construction of a new Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line.(Akie Ang, The China Post)]
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
CNA
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The Taipei city government began the challenging task yesterday of moving the nearly 100 year-old Taipei Workshop -- a train manufacturing and repair facility located near the North Gate in downtown Taipei -- 30 meters to the southeast in an effort to save the historic relic during the construction of a new Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line.
Taipei City Director of Cultural Affairs Lee Yung-pin praised the relocation as a landmark move in the capital city's efforts to preserve its cultural legacy.
During a ceremony filled with sound of gongs and drums, the old workshop, with a net weight of 1,040 tons, was lifted from the ground by 35 huge oil jacks. Six computer-controlled oil-pressure machines were commissioned to push the building to its new location, according to a local house-moving company contracted to carry out the work.
It will take an estimated nine days to move the building to its new temporary location, where it will remain until 2012, when the construction of the new MRT Songshan Line is completed, Taipei City Department of Rapid Transit Systems officials said.
It will then be moved back to its original location, the officials added.
The Taipei Workshop was constructed in 1909 as the Machine Bureau controlled by the Qing Dynasty. During the Japanese occupation, it was used for maintaining and repairing trains, as well as for making and assembling new trains.
The workshop built 10 wooden trains, each around 14 meters long, in the early part of the 20th Century, according to the Taipei City Department of Cultural Affairs, which also revealed that the rigid frames for the workshop's roof are guessed to be abandoned railway tracks built during the period of Liu Ming-chuan (1836-1896), Taiwan's governor during the late Qing Dynasty who is acclaimed as the mastermind behind the construction of Taiwan's rail system.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/2007/12/11/134381/Work%2Dto.htm
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/2007/09/14/122517/New-Alishan.htm
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/news_images/20080331/p19a.jpg
[Photo: The China Post - (March 31) -
Officials of the Forestry Bureau investigate the cause of the derailment of a Mt. Ali tourist train yesterday. None of the more than 230 passengers aboard the train were hurt. (CNA)]
The China Post news staff
CHIAYI, Taiwan -- The forestry train system operating on the Alishan (Mt. Ali) in the southern county of Chiayi yesterday derailed again, for the third time in April, yet leaving no passengers injured.
With five cars loaded with over 120 passengers, the train departed for the Alishan Station from the Chiayi Station at 1:30 p.m. But after crossing the No. 46 tunnel at 61.2 kilometers away from the Chiayi Station three hours later, the uphill train saw its "locomotive" derailed, yet without causing the cars to deviate from the rail.
As a result, no one was injured, according to the forestry administration under the county government.
The administration soon arranged a new train to pick up passengers and carried them to the terminal station at 6:30 p.m., lagging behind normal schedule by one and a half hours.
This was the third derailment of the forestry train system so far this month, but the administration officials kept a low-profile attitude toward the accidents.
The officials said they would look into the accidents to see if there is anything out of the ordinary involved.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/local/chiayi/2008/04/14/151830/Alishan%2Dforestry.htm
Monday, March 31, 2008
Train derails in Alishan resort area
The China Post news staff
CHIAYI, Taiwan -- None of the more than 230 passengers aboard a tourist train in the Alishan (Mt. Ali) resort area in Chiayi were injured after the train derailed from the narrow-gauged railway tracks.
A train of eight coaches carrying over 230 tourists left Chiayi in southwestern Taiwan at 9 a.m. for the Alishan forest park.
But for unknown reasons, the fourth coach of the mountain train derailed near the Jialipin Station at 11:50 a.m.
Passengers on the sightseeing trip were jolted by the accident but no one was hurt.
Officials of the forest administration praised Fan Chung-shan, the driver of the train, for averting a possible disaster.
They noted that Fan made a wise and urgent decision to apply the brakes to slow the train down after finding the fourth coach had been shaking irregularly.
It turned out that the wheel axles of the No. 4 coach had become disengaged from the track.
Most passengers aboard the train said they were not even aware of the incident because there were no abrupt changes in speed or movements of the coaches.
New trains were assigned to take the passengers to continue their journey.
It took around one hour to clear the tracks and bring the train services back to normal.
The train's busiest day occurred yesterday when people from all around the island went to Alishan to appreciate the glamorous cherry blossoms.
The forest administration launched the month-long cherry blossom season on March 15, luring a growing number of tourists over the weekends.
Officials said they had started a thorough inspection to find the cause for the derailment.
But they emphasized that all the mountain trains are maintained and operating well within safety standards.
"For the braking system alone, there are four devices to bring the train to a halt once the drivers feel anything unusual," they added.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/local/chiayi/2008/03/31/149656/Train%2Dderails.htm
See also previous post & photo.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
No sabotage discovered in investigation of derailed train [Part 1]
CNA
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/news_images/20080415/p20a.jpg
[Photo: The China Post - A Mount Ali train under inspection. It derailed on Sunday. No injuries were reported, however. The derailment was the third in a week. The Mount Ali Forest Administration, which runs the mountain train line, said yesterday the service will be suspended until further notice. (CNA)]
CHIAYI, Taiwan -- No signs of sabotage were discovered at the site where a small tourist train derailed Sunday in one of Taiwan's most famous national scenic areas, local prosecutors said yesterday.
The investigation was launched soon after the Chiayi Forest District Office, which manages the mountainous railway network on Alishan, reported a derailment for the third time in just two weeks.
The office decided to suspend operations of the railway's main line beginning yesterday for a comprehensive inspection and investigation, said office head Yeh Hsien-liang.
Services will not be restored until all safety concerns are resolved, Yeh said, with the only exception being an early morning train on a spur line that will continue to take travelers to see Alishan's famous sunrise.
Never in the history of the nearly 100-year-old railway -- inaugurated in 1912 by the Japanese to transport logs down the mountain -- have so many derailments occurred so closely together, leading some to suspect human sabotage may have been involved.
Yeh described the first derailment that occurred on March 30 as an accident and attributed the cause to mud and rocks that happened to fall on the track.
The second derailment on April 1 at the same site as the first one was also an accident because it took place on a rainy day and the track was slippery, Yeh said.
He was at a loss, however, to explain the latest derailment, which occurred at a different point on the line. He said his office inspected the locomotive and the five carriages prior to the accident and found no problems.
In addition,the railroad ties in the section where the derailment occurred -- about 30 minutes after the train departed from the station -- had been replaced several months ago, Yeh said, and no other problems were detected.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/local/chiayi/2008/04/15/151926/p2/No%2Dsabotage.htm
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
No sabotage discovered in investigation of derailed train [Part 2]
CNA
Yeh said none of the 125 passengers on board panicked or were hurt because the train was operating at a slower-than-usual speed.
The third accident was different from the previous two in that it was the locomotive, not the carriages, that derailed.
After stepping out of the train to check out what was causing the noises, he found the locomotive had derailed, Liu said, who noted that the weather and the track's condition at the time were both fine.
Lin Shan-ben, an office official, said the only unusual signs found by the agency's inspection were two three meter-long markings on the rails that may indicate the train ran over something.
The investigation also came amid speculation that the derailment was caused by sabotage to protest a build-operate-transfer (BOT) project passed in 2006 to privatize the management of the railway network for the next 30 years.
One rumor suggested that Chiayi-based Hungtu Construction Co., which won the BOT bid, did not want to take over the network, which generates NT$100 million (US$3.3 million) in annual revenues but has cost NT$300 million each year to operate.
According to another rumor, low-level train employees were said to be outraged that the office enriched the construction company by purchasing hundreds of millions of Taiwan dollars worth of equipment for the railway before Hungtu took over its operations.
Yeh dismissed the speculation and insisted the derailments will would not halt the privatization project because the company has agreed in the contract that it would unconditionally take over the train network in June.
The Alishan mountain resort area, known for cherry blossoms and trees that are thousands of years old, has attracted nearly 900,000 local and foreign visitors annually in recent years.
The area's cherry blossom season, which began on March 15, has attracted over 100,000 visitors, many of whom come from China.
A Chinese tourist surnamed Zheng said Monday that she felt very disappointed by the suspension of the rail line because she traveled all the way to Taiwan from China via Thailand in order to take a ride on the forest train, which can take tourists as high as 2,316 meters above sea level.
The office now provides shuttle buses to transport tourists.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/local/chiayi/2008/04/15/151926/p2/No%2Dsabotage.htm
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Railway momentos available for anniversary
CNA
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- A total of 34 types of railway commodities, including the pocket watches used by train conductors or station masters in the 1950's, will become available in the market starting Wednesday to celebrate the 121st anniversary of the railway in Taiwan.
This is also to mark the 100 anniversary of the completion of the Western Line connecting the northern Keelung City and the southern port city of Kaohsiung, according to Li Kpun-kuang, a division chief of the Catering Service Department at the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA).
In addition to 100 pocket watches priced at NT$ 33,000 (US$1,089) each, figurines of train stewardesses and conductors in the TRA's 1978 uniforms, will also hit the market and are expected to be snapped up by railway fans and collectors, Li told a CNA reporter in a telephone interview.
"Ticket punchers that are no longer in use in Taiwan are also worthy of collection," Li said, adding that those devices will also become available.
Noting that railway culture is closely connected with people's lives in Taiwan, Li said he hoped through the sale of souvenirs, people's love and support of "the railway culture in Taiwan will last forever."
Li further suggested the interested parties hoping to collect the items can purchase them from the TRA's Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung, and Hualien stations between June 7-9.
"After June 9 the public can also choose the souvenirs at TRA stations of Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung," Li noted, adding that between June 4 and July 17, consumers can also order the souvenirs at the 7-11 convenience stores nationwide.
The concept of building railways in Taiwan was first raised in 1887 by Liu Ming-chuan, a Chinese official during the Qing Dynasty who was appointed the first governor of the newly established province of Taiwan after it was separated from Fujian province in 1885.
During Japanese colonial rule, the railway system in Taiwan was further developed and became the most important system of transport for locals traveling between the north and the south of the island.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national%20news/2008/06/04/159425/Railway%2Dmomentos.htm
Friday, June 20, 2008
Alishan forestry railway transferred to private operator
The China Post news staff
CHIAYI, Taiwan -- The nearly 100-year-old Alishan Forestry Railway, which runs between Chiayi City and a scenic mountain resort area in Chiayi County, southern Taiwan, was officially transferred to a private operator amid strong protests from local residents.
The Forestry Bureau under the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture transferred the railway operation right to the Hungtu Construction Co., which won a build-operate-transfer (BOT) project that was passed in 2006 to privatize the management of the railway for the next 30 years.
Chen Hong-yi, chairman of Hungtu, said that it is a long way to go and a great responsibility to assume for his company to undertake the BOT project for the Alishan Forestry Railway. "No matter how long the way is, we have the confidence and sincerity to keep the ball rolling in a responsible way," Chen said.
Starting yesterday through June 24, the forestry railway will be open to the public free of charge to celebrate the launch of the BOT project.
During the inauguration ceremony, residents of the Alishan and environmental protection groups protested the transfer of the operation right to a private company by lying on the rails, trying to block the movement of the trains, but they were soon driven away by police.
Yen Jen-teh, director of the Forestry Bureau, told the protesters that the entire BOT project for the Alishan Forestry Railway is a legal one.
But officials with the Chiayi Forest District Office, which has operated the forestry railway for over 60 years, were quite upset about the transfer of the operating right to a private firm, and therefore chose to be absent from yesterday's ceremony held to officially launch the BOT project.
Under the project, worth NT$1.7 billion (US$56 million), Hungtu is contracted to operate the railway, including the stations along the route. It also won the contract to build a five-star hotel on 2.2 hectares of state-owned land near Jhaoping Station, the last stop of the Alishan line, which is the main line of the network.
The private company has also the right to develop 0.9 hectares of land surrounding Peimen Station in Chiayi City, for the construction of another hotel.
The Alishan Forestry Railway is an 86km narrow gauge railway network running up to and throughout the popular mountain resort of Alishan. It was originally constructed by the Japanese colonial government in 1912 to facilitate the logging of cypress and other lumber, but today the line caters mostly to tourists.
In 2003, 17 people were killed and 156 injured when a train derailed near Alishan Station.
The area attracts nearly 900,000 local and foreign visitors every year.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/local/chiayi/2008/06/20/161864/Alishan%2Dforestry.htm
Looks like rather a kiddy-orientated thing from the rather bizarre-looking website.
Antique train festival to begin on Saturday
CNA
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
NANTOU, Taiwan -- A popular annual antique train festival, titled "Nantou Doodoo Trains,"
is scheduled to take place July 19-Aug. 24 in central Taiwan's Nantou County, the county magistrate announced yesterday.
During the exposition, visitors can take rides on an antique CK124, steam-powered train and look at antique trains in the scenically pretty county of Nantou, which is known for its abundant natural and cultural resources, said Magistrate Lee Chao-ching.
The rides will take passengers back to the old days in Taiwan when people mostly got around on trains and trains ran back and forth on the Jiji railway line between 1936 and 1979 to transport people, logs and agricultural products.
The antique train, no longer in service, has been listed as one of the country's national treasures. It is now preserved as a historic monument displayed during special occasions, such as the 120th inauguration anniversary of the Taiwan railway in 2007 and the 2008 Nantou miniature train exposition.
According to the organizer, the Nantou County government, the CK124 steam engine train will run between the Ershuei and Checheng stations every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday during the exposition, passing five stations, including the Jiji station, one of Taiwan's popular tourist attractions.
Other activities include rides on miniature model trains built like the real ones and performances by street artists and local students.
Besides the rides, the organizer will also sell three different kinds of railway lunch boxes made of local specialties, like tea produced in the Mingjian township, fruits from Jiji and plums from Shueili, which are only available along the Jiji railway line during the event.
This year's exposition is held in the summer school break instead of the winter break to cope with expected large crowds. The summer break is longer, giving people more time to attend the exposition.
When the exposition was first held in the winter of 2007, it drew so many visitors that traffic on almost every road leading to Nantou was paralyzed, said Magistrate Lee.
Visitors this year need not pay for the entry ticket to any of six theme exhibition centers spattered at six railway stations in six different townships.
Detailed information of the activities, transportation options, and train schedules are available on the Web site
http://www.doodoo.com.tw.
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/arts%20&%20leisure/2008/07/15/165516/Antique%2Dtrain.htm
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