A Hundred Years of Change

A hundred-plus years have gone by, and today the railway has been electrified and the section through Taipei city has been moved underground, while former spur lines have been shut down. However a little digging reveals a great trove of old stories and relics, attracting railway buffs. In this edition of Discover Taipei, Gu Tingwei (古庭維), creator of the Taiwan Old Railways Walking Map (台灣舊鐵道散步地圖) and chief editor of Rail News (鐵道情報), introduces Taipei’s railway history and hidden relics.

During the Japanese era, the Japanese added to the railway built during the Qing dynasty, expanding the network north and south. The completion of the north-south line significantly shortened transportation time and greatly expanded the network lines. The addition of branch lines to Tamsui (淡水), Xindian (新店), Sanzhangli (三張犁), and Xinbeitou (新北投) created a web of transport lines across the area around Taipei.

Gu says that in those days trains were primarily used for the transport of goods and materials. Wood, coal, salt, and sugar were carried o n the north-south line. The Tamsui Line was originally used to transport materials used in the construction of the north-south line, and later transformed into a commuter line. The Xindian Line, one of the few private lines with the same gauge as government lines, was used to carry coal, wood, and cement. The Sanzhangli Line was primarily used for transport to and from military vehicle-repair facilities and armament factories. After the start of the Republican era, the train slowly emerged as a key mode of public transportation, and in the present day Taipei Metro lines such as the Tamsui Line, Xindian Line, and Xinbeitou Line provide fast and convenient means for moving people around the city. These three lines are in fact witnesses to history, for they follow the routes of the old branch-railway lines.

“Secret” Relics Revealed

At the corner of Lane 316, Section 3, Roosevelt Road (羅斯福路) and Tingzhou Road (汀州路) is a building with a gable roof. This originally served as a railway dormitory, and the Xindian Line’s Shuiyuandi Station (水源地站) was right beside it. The space in front was originally the front plaza; local residents, fondly recalling the days when trains trundled by, have set up a monument here to commemorate the era. Elsewhere, below the overpass near today’s MRT Xinbeitou Station you can see three iron pickets alternating black and yellow. This is what remains of a level crossing, a vestige of the old Tamsui Line. On the south side of MRT Qiyan Station (捷運奇岩站) you’ll see a simple bridge abutment by the Huanggong Stream (磺港溪), harking back to the days when travelers would wait for the train here.

At the corner of Civic Boulevard (市民大道) and Linsen North Road (林森北路) stands a white two-story building. This is the former Huashan Station (華山車站) on the north-south line. Built in 1937, the first character of its original name “樺” was different from that used today. The name commemorated Taiwan’s first Japanese governor-general Kabayama Sukenori, whose name was written in Kanji as “樺山資紀.” Taipei’s largest railway-freight depot was also once located here, with as many as 13 sets of tracks. However, because Huashan Station was a dedicated freight-handling facility few were aware of it, even among old-time Taipei residents who often rode the local trains. Beside the station is an old railway platform still in good shape. Walk over to the nearby Huashan 1914 Creative Park (華山1914文化創意產業園區) on Bade Road (八德路), and beside the complex you’ll see the only section of aboveground track left after the railway was moved underground – a “secret treasure” very few Taipei citizens know about.

The City’s “Railway Hospital”

Amidst the forest of tall, gleaming towers of the glitzy Xinyi District is the almost 80 year-old Taipei Railway Workshop (臺北機廠), the best-preserved and finest railway relic in Taiwan. Finished in 1935, on a site measuring 17 hectares, it was one of Taiwan’s key bases for train maintenance and assembly right up until it was officially retired in 2012.

On a tour of the most important buildings in the workshop complex, Gu leads us to the first stop for any train entering the workshop – the assembly workshop. An official city heritage site, this building is 168 meters long, and has a roof structure of reinforced-concrete trusses without beams or welded joints. The facility has good natural ventilation an d lighting, and a covered ridge and sidewall openings along with large Japanese-style iron-grille window. In that era, the architectural technique of this building was the top of the world.

According to Gu, it is said that during the American bombing of Taiwan during WWII a bomb hit the assembly workshop on the east side, but only minor damage was caused – demonstration of the quality of the construction. Adjacent to the assembly workshop is the metalworking workshop, where parts and components were forged. The upper area of this facility is dense with pipes, all connected to the engine room opposite, used to transport steam generated by the boilers in the latter, and the power source for the entire complex. Among the many intriguing items you’ll see in the metalworking workshop is a steam hammer with “1889” engraved on it, said to have been purchased from Britain by Liu Mingchuan. It is the oldest machine extant in Taiwan.

Another structure in the complex that has been declared an official city heritage site is the employee bathhouse, provided by the Taiwan railway administration out of care for employee welfare, built in Japanese-bathhouse style with a vaulted ceiling. Surplus steam from the engine room boilers was used ore bathers. Though closed down long ago, the air still feels thick with the sounds of friendly banter and rising steam.

Taipei Railroad Culture Festival

The Taipei Railroad Culture Festival (臺北鐵道文化節) will launch at the end of September. Jointly organized by the Taipei City Government and the Taiwan Railways Administration (臺灣鐵路管理局), part of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (交通部), there will be tours of the Taipei Railway Workshop, in-depth talks on railway-theme topics, an introduction to the technician training school, exhibits of artifacts and wooden models, a display on the subject of train repair and inspection, large-scale multimedia creations, a nostalgic concert of railway-themed songs, eco-tours, showings of a documentary on the Taipei Railway Workshop, and another railway-themed concert, for symphony orchestra. This unique collection of workshop architecture, machinery and artifacts, and artistic works will be a richly rewarding showcase of the history and culture of Taipei’s railroads.

One sunny autumn afternoon, spend some time strolling around the Taipei Railway Workshop area, viewing the trains lined up in the garage, in a tableau unique amidst the busy hubbub of the surrounding city. Visitors cannot help but slip into quiet contemplation, envisioning the many intriguing chapters that have unfolded during the story of Taipei’s railways.

1. Gu Tingwei, railway expert.

2. The Taipei Railway Workshop, long a key Taiwan train maintenance/assembly base.

3. This gable-roof facility started as a railway dormitory, located beside the Xindian Line’s Shuiyuandi Station.

4. An outing with Gu unveils Taipei’s railway history and hidden relics.

5. By the Huanggong Stream on MRT Qiyan Station’s south side is a bridge abutment that is a reminder of a time when this was a stop for passenger trains.

6. The white two-level building at Civic Boulevard and Linsen North Road was the former north-south line’s Huashan Station.

7. An old, well-preserved railway platform stands beside Huashan Station.

8. The sole remaining section of aboveground track after the railway’s placement below ground is beside Huashan 1914 Creative Park.

9. A steam hammer believed purchased from Britain by Liu Mingchuan, in the metalworking workshop, is Taiwan’s oldest machine.

10. The assembly workshop was the Taipei Railway Workshop’s first stop for trains and the most important building.

11. Located amidst the Xinyi District forest of shiny towers, the Taipei Railway Workshop is almost 80 years old.

12-13. Surplus steam was collected from the engine-room boilers as a heat source for the employee bathhouse. The old washstand faucets at the side of the bathhouse are other reminders of yesteryear. (Photo courtesy of Qiu Jia-Zhong)

14-15. During the Taipei Railroad Culture Festival, the Taipei Railway Workshop will offer the public a rich historical and cultural showcase of Taipei railroad workshop architecture and machinery.

Information

Taipei Railroad Culture Festival 臺北鐵道文化節

Time: 9/27~10/26

Add: 48, Sec. 5, Civic Blvd. (市民大道五段48號)

Tel: (02)2336-2798, ext. 218

Website: www.2014trcf.com