Luodong Forest Railway
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| Line length | 36.4 km (22.6 miles) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Luodong Forest Railway or Bong Bong Train (Chinese: 羅東森林鐵路) was a 36.4 km (22.6 miles) long narrow gauge forest railway with a gauge of 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) near Luodong in Yilan County, Taiwan. The track was opened in 1924 and closed in 1979. A section will be re-used for tourist trains.
Track
The railway was an extension of the Taiping Mountain Forest Railway. There were ten stations along the track, which passed seven tunnels and 17 or 22 bridges. A single trip lasted approximately 2 hours and 50 minutes.[1]
History
The Luodong Forest Railway was inaugurated on 27 January 1924 for goods services. Passenger transport commenced in May 1926 with 10 stations.[1]
In 1970 Lin-Tailong railway station north of Luodong railway station was inaugurated. Chinese diesel rail cars were introduced in 1971, to improve the quality for the passengers while reducing the operating cost. The goods volome of forest produce declined after 1976, and passenger transport lost in importance due to increasing road traffic.
The track required many wooden bridges, and as a consequence it was prone to flood damage. Thus the track was de-commissioned on 1 August 1979 after 56 years of service.[2]
Preserved buildings
The rails were lifted and scrapped after de-commissioning, and the bridges and tunnels collapsed over time. There are still some railway station buildings and similar buildings as well as tunnels, dams and bridge pillars, of which some are listed as cultural heritage.
Tunnel No 8 of 1921 is still in sound condition fertiggestellte Tunnel Nr. 8 is well preserved and has been listed in July 2012 as a Grade II listed historic building. It is near the Lan Yang CreekDamm, approximately 350 metres off the settlement of the Zhiban tribe. It is only 40 m (44 yards) long. At its entrance are concrete vaults and in other areas solid rock of slate. The interior was originally reinforced by wooden struts which have disappeared over time.[3]
Tien-sung-pi railway station
Turntable in Tien-sung-pi
Chu-lin railway station
Restoration
New railway tracks were laid on both sides of the road at Tien-sung-pi railway station. New rolling stock in the historic style was manufactured and successfully tested. A 3.9-km-long piece of track is planned to be used for regular heritage trains starting with effect of October 2017.[4]
References
- 1 2 行政院農委會林務局©版權所有 (Executive Yuan COA Forest Service): 太平山森林鐵路 (Taiping Mountain Forest Railway). Downloaded on 25 November 2017.
- ↑ "羅東林鐵八號隧道" (in 中文). 行政院文化部文化資產局. 2012-07-23. Archived from the original on 2017-11-26. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
- ↑ Tony Huang: Tony的自然人文旅記（994): 宜蘭大同．樂水部落．桂竹林步道．濁水神社遺跡．羅東林鐵八號隧道. (Tunnel No 8 of the Luodong Railway). Downloaded on 25 November 2017. (Chinese)
- ↑ 太平山林鐵五分仔車 月底試營運. 10 October 2017. Downloaded on 26 November 2017.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Taiping Mountain Forest Railway. |
- 從八仙山到太平山 羅東林鐵的蒸汽機車傳奇 (From Baxian Mountain to Taiping Mountain. Legend of the Luodong Steam Railway). 15 July 2014.
- 林務局羅東林區管理處 (Luodong-Lin Forest Office): 走訪羅東森林鐵路的軌跡 探訪千年檜木的的旅程. (Visit Luodong Forest Railway). 10 August 2016.
Coordinates: 24°39′45″N 121°37′12″E / 24.662518°N 121.619969°E