Hong Kong Trains and Trams

The Kowloon - Canton Railway (British Section) ran passenger and freight trains on a 22 miles long standard gauge line between Kowloon and the border with China. It was all diesel in 1976, the last steam being withdrawn in 1962*. Entry to China, which had lots and lots of steam, including, I believe, workings to the Hong Kong border, was not possible in those days - it was very much closed to foreigners.

Three pictures depict the KCR terminus at Tsim Sha Tsui, in use until 1975 when a new one opened at Hung Hom. The first photo was taken from the Star ferry coming over from Hong Kong island.

A long KCR passenger train at a station in the New Territories. In 1976 the railway ran 22 passenger and 10 freight trains daily each way. Some of the railway was double track though as seen below there were still single track sections. The line was electrified in 1982/83.

Loco No.51 was a General Motors USA design, built by GM subsidiary Clyde Engineering of Sydney, Australia and arrived in Kowloon on 5 August 1955, along with No.52, the first two diesel locos on the KCR. 51 was named 'Sir Alexander' after the then Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Alexander Grantham.

An against the light shot of a freight. In 1976 the KCR owned ten diesel locos, all from Clyde Engineering or General Motors of classes G12 (5), G16(1),G18(3) and G26(1), with two more G26 on the way.

Another passenger train on a single line section in the New Territories.

The KCR is nowadays known as the East Rail line of the Mass Transit Railway. It still carries freight as well as passengers. The clock tower at Tsim Sha Tsui, seen in pictures above, survives today.

* Some of the steam locos would have looked very familiar to British eyes, being ex War Department Austerity 2-8-0s, same as the large British Railways class of WD 2-8-0s.Twelve of these locos came to the KCR.

The history of the KCR was covered in a book 'Kowloon - Canton Railway (British Section) A History' by Robert J Phillips and published by the Hong Kong Urban Council in 1990.

There is an extended history of the KCR and other railways in Hong Kong here https://industrialhistoryhk.org/?s=railway

Check out the Wikipedia entry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon%E2%80%93Canton_Railway

Then there are Hong Kong Tramways with the famous double deck trams. Here are some pictures in the Central district, including a couple with single deck trailers.

History of Hong Kong Tramways https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Tramways

And not to ovelook the Peak Tram!

History of the Peak Tram is here https://www.thepeak.com.hk/en/heritage/history-of-the-peak-tram

The KCR was standard gauge, but had a seven and a quarter miles long two foot gauge branch from Fanling to Sha Tau Kok in the New Territories opened throughout in April 1912 using the two locos used on the line's construction, Hudswell Clarke 0-4-0T, later joined by an Orenstein & Koppel 0-4-0WT.

The service in the early 1920s consisted of four trains each way daily.

In 1924 two new 0-4-4T arrived from Bagnalls of Stafford. Sadly their time on the line was fairly short-lived as it closed in April 1928. However, both were sold to the Victorias Milling Co's very extensive sugar cane railway system on the island of Negros in the Philippines. They were still there on my visit in 1976 kept for use on weedkilling trains, being too light for heavy cane haulage.

Subsequently both have been preserved,18 - BG has returned to the UK for eventual display at the Vale of Rheidol Railway, Aberystwyth, whilst 17 - BG is back in Hong Kong at the Railway Museum. 17 - BG's large spark arrestor has been replaced by a straight chimney so it now looks pretty much like it did on the Fanling line.