The Views Along The Historical Mountain Railroad

      After posting a preview article on the CK124 steam engine that will run again in August, I have to force myself to write this article which was in my draft box for 10 months already. The scenic along this mountain side railroad is one of my favor travel places. It is historical and a place with simplicity and spirits of the Taiwan people. 

Brief History of the Taiwan Railroad

     In 1884 Taiwan defeated the French during the Sino-French War, Taiwan became one of Qing Dynasty's provinces in 1885. The first governor of Taiwan, Liu Ming Chuan, took the railroad tracks which were being used to build their railroad system in China, but were being destroyed by the Chinese people because of superstitious reasons to Taiwan for defensive and economic developments. In 1887, he hired engineers of British H. C. Matheson and German John Bireh to construct the first railroad, 28.6 km long from Taipei to Keelung. The first running train was in 1891 with a speed of 20 km per hour. In 1888, the railroad extent from Taipei to Sinchu a total of 78 km.

     After the first Sino-Japanese War, Taiwan was given to Japan in 1895. The Japanese government in Taiwan was aggressive in rebuilding and construct new railway systems for transporting natural resources and also setting up a colonial model for its colonized counties in Southeast Asia. In 1908 it finished the most difficult segment of the railway system from Sanyi to Taian with an elevation topping of at 402.326 meter. Taiwan west railway system from Keelung to Kaohsiung was completed.

This map covering the entire mountain
railroad segment was a self guide system in
Chinese only. Click
Photo Source:
http://lib.mlc.gov.tw/webmlr/Remembrance2.asp

Want to Take CK124 Steam Engine at the Historical Mountain Railroad from Sanyi to Taian in August ?

     While I was searching for road closures information updates for my blog after Typhoon Soala hit Taiwan, I came across article stating that Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) will run its CK124 steam engine on the historical mountain mountain railroad from Sanyi station to Taina station in Aug. The old railroad was closed in 1998 and started operating only for the summer of 2010. It had attracted a lot of railway's fans, anticipating this event and a lot of people lost their opportunity for attending due to limit seats.
     Also, this event has increased Maoli County's travel revenue and improved its economic aspects. The government asked TRA to continue its effort to schedule the event in 2011 and 2012. Below is the information which I found on TRA cruise-style train website.
     The schedule will be on Aug 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26 and 31. Booking date varies, please check the schedule below. If you need more information, please check its website or call the agent directly.