Forty -Two Inches Apart -
Taiwan and Japan
TAIWAN
Condensed Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) timetable issued in January 1976 shows the Coast Line and Mountain Line, the latter leaving the Coast Line at Chunan, serving Miaoli and Taichung before rejoining at Changhua, and the I Lan branch.
'World Railways 1952-53' edition didn't have much information about Taiwan's railways, quoting the TRA as having 590 miles (960kms) of 3'6'' gauge and 111 miles (178kms) of 2'6'' gauge public service railways, plus over 1700 miles of industrial lines. There were no details of locos or rolling stock.
The 'Railway Magazine' published an article on Taiwan's railways which stated there were 225 steam locos in 1959. TRA's steam locos were the same as their Japanese National Railways counterparts. The article included this map showing the TRA system, all 3'6'' except the isolated 2'6'' East Coast line.
My first visit to Taiwan was in March 1976, the very month that steam finished in regular service on the JNR (see http://steam.fan.coocan.jp/lastday/lastday.htm.) But fortunately for me Taiwan's steam fleet was still very busy.
Trains were diesel or steam, but electrification works were underway - two years later it was well advanced and steam was on the way out. Diesels worked the express passengers shown in the condensed timetable, but steam had a fair share of stopping passenger services from Keelung in the north to Kaohsiung in the south, a distance of 404 kilometres.
The I-Lan line to Suao which branched off just before Keelung also saw a few steam worked local passenger trains.
Freights were numerous and worked by steam and diesel. Branch lines were mainly diesel railcar, with some loco hauled services, including mixed trains.
Two old locos were preserved in the New Park in Taipei, unfortunately getting any picture at all was very difficult.
One is a 2-4-0T, number 9, built by the Avonside Engine Co of Bristol, England in 1871, which worked in Japan between Tokyo and Yokohama until 1892. It was later given to the government in Taiwan where it worked until 1925.
The other loco is an 0-4-0T from Hohenzollern of Germany in 1887.
I mentioned that steam had a fair share of stopping passenger train work. In 1976 Taipei station saw 30 stopping passengers daily between 8am and 10pm on the Keelung -Taipei - Changhua section covering both Coast and Mountain lines. There were nine early and late ones I didn't see, but of the rest, eleven were diesel and ten were steam hauled - of those five had a 4-6-2; four had a 2-6-0; and one had a 2-8-2.
It would have been possible in 1976 to travel from Keelung to Kaohsiung behind steam, as shown by just two of the many workings I saw on different parts of the route:
Sunday 14 March 1976 train 251 15.40 Keelung - Taipei - Hsinchu with 4-6-2 CT259.
Tuesday 16 March 1976 train 230 18.35 Kaohsiung - Hsinchu with 4-6-2 CT283.
It was not unusual to see a loco on both ends of a passenger train to reduce line occupation by light engines on congested parts of the system such as Keelung - Taipei.
Whilst I did not encounter any problems taking pictures at stations, it should be remembered that Taiwan was under martial law. Significant railway structures such as bridges and tunnels were guarded by armed soldiers, so it was not a good idea to attempt photography at those locations.
I was able to obtain permission to visit the loco depot at Hsinchu - escorted by an official who travelled with me from Taipei - and unofficially went round the busy shed at Chia i without a problem, plus one or two small depots.
Six steam classes were active in 1976, totalling around 150 locos and I saw about 75% of them, either at work or on shed and still in use.
The classes and their number series were:
CK120 2-6-2T (JNR class C12) CK121 to CK127
CT150 2-6-0 (JNR class 8620) CT151 to CT194
CT250 4-6-2 (JNR class C55) CT251 to CT259
CT270 4-6-2 (JNR class C57) CT271 to CT284
DT580 2-8-0 (JNR class 9600) DT581 to DT619
DT650 2-8-2 (JNR class D51) DT 651 to DT687
All working locos appeared to be in good order.
Also extant were a few withdrawn locos from other classes.
On 16 March 1976 CK120 class 2-6-2T CK126 is shunting at Ershui, where a branch goes to Checheng. Two more of the class - CK121,CK123 - were in steam at the depot, while CK122 was working main line train 283 between Taichung and Ershui and CK127 was shunting at Changhua. So that was five out of the seven in this class seen in a short time! (On a later visit I saw the other two, CK124 and CK125).
A couple of the earlier 2-6-2T of CK100 class were noted elsewhere out of use.
The CT150 class 2-6-0s were widespread and here is CT157 at Hsinchu roundhouse, outside stall number 15 in March 1976.
In 1977, I saw this loco at Taipei with passenger train 247 13.55 Keelung to Miaoli on 26 March and train 260 16.30 Taipei - Keelung on 9 April.
My depot visit in 1976 found eight CT150; six DT580; and four DT650 all in steam. Official allocation was approximately 30 steam.
Two Pacific classes were still in service in the 1976 - 78 period. CT250 class representative CT256 is heading a freight rather than passenger. I had seen CT256 on 14 March 1976, at Keelung as station pilot, probably between other duties as next day it was working train 256, 12.30 Hsinchu - Taipei.
Note the electrification masts in this early 1978 view at Ershui .
The CT270 class Pacifics had distinctive boxpok type wheels. This 1977 photo is of CT276 on a stopping passenger.
Working 2-8-0s were represented by the numerous DT580 class dating from the 1920s. This one is DT592 on Hsinchu shed. I saw a couple of DT560 class 2-8-0s out of use at I-lan, built by Alco in the USA to a Japanese design.
DT650 class 2-8-2s were the main steam freight locos, though could also be seen on passenger duties. DT666 is shown at Chia i on a freight in January 1978. Note the new base for an electrification mast.
DT662 pounds southbound through Ershui with with a long freight on 18 March 1976. The branch from here to Checheng (for Sun Moon Lake) appeared to be all railcar on the passenger service, but a goods train was seen with 2-6-2T CK126.
A CT150 2-6-0 and CK120 2-6-2T are ready to leave the depot at Ershui for further duties on 7 January 1978.
2-8-0 DT584 makes up a train including timber at the important railway junction of Chia i where traffic was exchanged with two 2'6'' systems. Taiwan Sugar Corporation had an extensive network of lines with a terminus here and some TSC wagons are in the foreground. On the other side of the main line was the famous Ali Shan Forestry Railway with its fleet of Shay geared locomotives. Both 30'' railways catered for passengers as well as freight.
Chia i had a loco depot with some through steam worked passenger trains changing locos here. Pacific CT271 is departing on a train heading for Tainan and Kaohsiung on 4 January 1978. There were rarely any dull moments at Chia Yi, always something happening on the steam front.
Possibly the I-Lan line was the only one that saw DT580 class locos with smoke deflectors, depicted with DT617 at I-Lan on a pick-up freight for Suao on 5 November 1977.
This line also had timber traffic, glimpsed on the right, which came from the 30'' gauge Lotung Forestry Railway. No Shays there, just humble 0-6-0T whose duties included mixed trains with passenger coaches and wagons. Again railcars worked some services.
When I visited I-Lan loco depot on 4 April 1978, all steam was out of use, including a CK100 2-6-2T, two DT560 American built 2-8-0s and DT617.
The Neiwan Branch
I was able to spend the afternoon of 12 November 1977 on the branch from Hsinchu to Neiwan, 27.9kms in length. Opened in September 1951 it served cement works en route as well as having a regular passenger service, mainly railcar operated.
DT591 on train 589, 12.39 Hsinchu to Neiwan. The carriages had earlier formed the 11.20 from Neiwan, brought in by DT596. At Chuchung, we crossed CT192 with two coaches on train 3150, marked as a railcar in the timetable.
Further up the branch, at Chutung, my train picked up nine empty wagons and proceeded to Hohsing where the wagons were dropped off, before carrying on to the terminus of the line at Neiwan.
An orange diesel shunter, built by Cockerill of Belgium, was noted at the cement works.
Heading for the mountains now with DT591 on its train of nine wagons and two coaches. My reading of the timetable suggested there were three of these mixed trains each way each day. DT591 working hard on the mountain section.
Arrival at Neiwan with just the two carriages.
After shunting, DT591 returned down the branch with a brake van.
So there I was at Neiwan without a loco for my train, thinking I would go back in a railcar.
But then CT192 arrived on train 3151 from Hsinchu, due at 15.00, but running about ten minutes late.
CT192 took me back to Hsinchu on train 3154. en route I saw DT596 on a short freight, which I suspect worked back from Neiwan on a passenger train.
Railcars were also running on the branch so it was pretty busy. The steam substitution on some railcar services may be down to this day being a public holiday.
The branch is very scenic with four tunnels, two longish river bridges and hefty gradients. I understand it sees plenty of tourists nowadays.
Electrification of the TRA main lines proceeded apace during my visits between March 1976 and April 1978. By the latter date, there did not appear to be any regular steam workings - as far as I am aware - on the I-lan line or between Keelung and Hsinchu, though steam might still be seen on electrification works trains.
Footnotes:
https://citycat.neocities.org/indexeng.htm is 'CITYCAT'S RAILWAY WEBSITE' and has a lot of information about all Taiwan's railways and locomotives, well worth a look.
'Round the Isle of Taiwan' was a two-part article by M H Baker in the August and September 1966 issues of 'Railway Magazine' with a good amount of information about the railways of Taiwan, also called Formosa.
The book 'Rails to the Setting Sun' by Charles S Small has a chapter on Taiwan which includes an excellent description of TRA passenger services in the 1960s and 1970s.
The TRA's Mountain Line section,15.9 kms in length from Sanyi to Houli, was superceded by a newer route in 1998 but has since been used occasionally for steam trains hauled by 2-6-2T CK124. There are plans in 2020 to spend money on renovating the line.
A new line off the Neiwan branch, from Chuchung to Liujiu, was opened in 2011. From Hsinchu to Liujiu is electrified, but from Chuchung to Neiwan remains diesel worked.
The TRA's main lines are now all electrified including the formerly isolated 2' 6'' gauge East Coast railway converted to 3'6'' and linked by new lines to the rest of the system to form a continuous circle around the island.
Steam locos CT273 and DT668 worked a main line special train on 27 October 2020.
JAPAN
The six active steam classes I saw in Taiwan had been very well represented on JNR - there were 1115 D51s; 784 class 9600; 687 class 8620; 201 CT57; 62 CT55; 293 C12.
But by 1977 when I was in Japan JNR steam had finished.
There were loco museums in Tokyo and Kyoto - going to the latter gave a good reason to travel on the famous Bullet Trains, which I did.
The Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum in Kyoto was - and still is - situated in a former roundhouse, so is in an appropriate setting. When I visited, two locos were in steam and moved on and off the turntable. Another 20 or so steam engines were housed there.
What a splendid sight to greet visitors to the Museum - a selection of
ex Japan National Railways steam motive power.
One of the locos in steam was 2-6-4T class C11 64 which has shuffled on to the turntable. As far as I am aware, none of this type went to Taiwan.
Now C11 64 is back in the house with 2-6-2 C58 1 alongside also in steam. The C58 class was another which did not go to Taiwan. Five of the six latterday steam types found in Taiwan are represented in the roundhouse. The one that isn't listed at Kyoto is the C12 2-6-2T, which was the CK120 class in Taiwan. There is at least one C12 preserved, at the private Oigawa Railway Company (see further down).
Ome Railway Park in the western suburbs of Tokyo had on display some early types of steam loco that worked in Japan. Most of the nineteenth century steam locos were British built, a period before Japan established its own loco manufacruring industry.
This one is 110 a 2-4-0T from Yorkshire Engine Co in 1871, which worked on the first railway line in Japan opened in 1872. Sadly, and quite frankly unforgivably, the loco has been sectioned, as can be seen if you look at the dome!
Note miniature railway in the background.
55 40 is a 4-4-0 with sloping cylinders which pretty well identifies it as being a product of Beyer, Peacock's Gorton Works, Manchester. This was a popular and long-lived type on Japanese railways, including the numerous private railways in the Tokyo area as well as the JNR.
A contrast at Ome Railway Park to the old British locos was this monster 2-10-4T E10 2. Five were built in 1948 for JNR as banking engines. This type was too big for Taiwan, which had a few 0-10-0T class EK900 for banking duties. I never saw any. One was said to be stationary boiler at Kaohsiung loco depot in 1966.
The Tokyo Transportation Museum housed two more old locos built in England - a Vucan Foundry 2-4-0T of 1871 and a Manning, Wardle 0-6-0ST of 1881. It also had another sectioned loco, an 0-6-6-0 tender Mallet built by Henschel. While the desire to show the innards of a steam loco is laudable, it's a shame they used such interesting and historic locos when a standard JNR 2-6-0 or 2-8-0 of which there were many would have done just as well.
Another popular early type were these 0-6-2T built from 1890 by Dubs and Co and Sharp,Stewart, also by their successor, the North British Loco Co. No less than 285 saw service on the JNR.
2109 is shown at the Senzu yard of the private Oigawa Railway Company. Also there was a C12 2-6-2T, same type as the CK120 in Taiwan, and a 9600 type 2-8-0, same as the DT580 class in Taiwan.
The Oigawa Railway started operating preserved steam locos in 1976, and it still does in 2020. This provided some steam action in 1977 when I was fortunate enough to see two locos working on passenger trains.
This ex-industrial 0-6-0T was in steam on the Oigawa Railway at Senzu. Information from the internet says it is ex-Ministry of Railways 1275/Nippon Stainless Steel/Niigata Port Development Corporation No. 1 (Orenstein & Koppel 10313, 1922) weighing 21.5 tonnes. Nowadays it is in Shin-Kanaya Station's Plaza Loco Museum.
1275 did short trips from Senzu to Kawane-Ryogoku on the Ikawa Line and is shown here under the electric wires with a well patronised train.
Ex-JNR 2-6-4T C11 227 and train at the Oigawa Railway's station at Kanaya. Trains with preserved steam locos started operating the previous year. The Oigawa Railway dates back to the 1920s and had steam power until 1950 when it went electric.
C11 227 waits for an electric unit to pass before it proceeds on its journey between Shin Kanaya and Senzu with a five coach train. The loco has been a stalwart for many years of the Oigawa Railway which currently owns five steam engines.
Footnotes
http://www.japaneserailwaysociety.com/jrs/members/naito/ome/ome.htm has more information on Ome Railway Park.
http://steam.fan.coocan.jp/museum/E-museum.htm has information on 'Restored Steam Trains in Japan' updated in 2020.
http://oigawa-railway.co.jp/en/index.html is the official website - in English- of the Oigawa Railway Company. Thanks to Rob Dickinson for pointing me to information on loco 1275.
https://www.kurogane-rail.jp/kurogane-doc/oume/eom-idx.html has pics of Ome Railway Park in 2010 when the locos I saw were better presented.
Japanese built Pacific at Chia i in the setting sun with the loco shed in the background.