Hong Kong Railway Museum
Encyclopedia
Railway museum
A railway museum is a museum that explores the history of all aspects of rail related transportation, including: locomotives , railway cars, trams, and railway signalling equipment.See List of railway museums...
in Tai Po
Tai Po
Tai Po is an area in the New Territories of Hong Kong. It refers to the vicinity of the traditional market towns in the area presently known as Tai Po Old Market or Tai Po Kau Hui and the Tai Wo Town on the other side of the Lam Tsuen River, near the old Tai Po Market Station of the...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. It is now under the management of the Leisure and Cultural Service Department. Opened in 1985, it is located at the site where the Old Tai Po Market Railway Station was built in 1913. Admission to the museum is free.
History
The Kowloon-Canton RailwayKowloon-Canton Railway
The Kowloon–Canton Railway refers to a railway network in Hong Kong which is now combined with the MTR railway system, comprising rapid transit services, a light rail system and feeder bus routes within Hong Kong, and intercity passenger and freight train services to the rest of China...
(British Section) opened in 1910 in Tai Po Market was one of the stops in the New Territories
New Territories
New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory. Historically, it is the region described in The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory...
. The station building was erected in 1913. Since then, it acted as a centre of administration and trade which indirectly boosted Tai Wo Market's economy by bringing traders there.
The KCR was electrified in 1983 and the station was taken out of service, with new stations being opened to the north (Tai Wo) and south (Tai Po Market) of it. One year later, the Old Tai Po Market Railway Station was declared a monument
Declared monuments of Hong Kong
Declared monuments of Hong Kong are places, structures or buildings legally declared to be "protected". In Hong Kong, declaring a monument requires consulting the Antiquities Advisory Board, the approval of the Chief Executive as well as the publication of the notice in government gazette.As of 12...
. The site, together with the buildings and relevant exhibits, were then given to the government by the KCRC
Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation
The Kowloon–Canton Railway Corporation was established in 1982 under the Kowloon–Canton Railway Corporation Ordinance for the purposes of operating the Kowloon–Canton Railway , and to construct and operate other new railways...
for the construction of the Museum.
Architecture
The building of the station is unique in the way of architectural style among original Kowloon-Canton Railway (British Section). It is of indigenous Chinese architectural style, with many small figures decorating the exterior, such as are commonly found in existing old southern Chinese temples.Inside the museum
On the left of the museum, there is an exhibition room of train tickets and train models of not only KCR trains but also Japanese ShinkansenShinkansen
The , also known as THE BULLET TRAIN, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-shinkansen with a...
and Eurostar
Eurostar
Eurostar is a high-speed railway service connecting London with Paris and Brussels. All its trains traverse the Channel Tunnel between England and France, owned and operated separately by Eurotunnel....
. The further internal part of the room is a refurnished ticket office and signalling house.
Vehicles on the track
Two locomotives are on exhibition at the museum:- EMD G12EMD G12The EMD G12 was a class of locomotive built by GM-EMD, and its Canadian affiliate General Motors Diesel. In addition, Australian licensee Clyde Engineering built ten locomotives for New Zealand in 1957, five for Hong Kong, 23 for Queensland, 14 for Western Australia and seven for BHP. Australian...
Diesel-electric locomotive #51, introduced in Hong Kong in 1955, which is called "Sir Alexander", named after former Governor Alexander GranthamAlexander GranthamSir Alexander William George Herder Grantham, GCMG was a British colonial administrator who governed Hong Kong and Fiji.-Early life, colonial administration career:... - A W.G. Bagnall 0-4-4T narrow gauge steam locomotiveSteam locomotiveA steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
, restored from the Philippines in 1995. The locomotive is one of two that formerly ran on the narrow gauge Sha Tau Kok RailwaySha Tau Kok RailwayThe Sha Tau Kok Railway was a gauge narrow gauge railway running from Fanling to Sha Tau Kok in the northern New Territories of Hong Kong. The line began service on 1st April 1912. It was built with the narrow gauge tracks of the Kowloon-Canton Railway when the latter was converted to standard...
line between FanlingFanlingFanling , also known as Fan Ling and Fan Leng, is an area in the New Territories of Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the North District...
and Sha Tau KokSha Tau KokSha Tau Kok or Shataukok or Sathewkok is a town in the northeastern corner of Hong Kong. Located on the border with mainland China, there is another town of same Chinese name, Shatoujiao, romanized using Hanyu Pinyin, across the Sham Chun River-defined border in Shenzhen of mainland...
. When that closed, they were used by sugar mills in the Philippines. The other locomotive of the pair was also brought back to Hong Kong and is reported to be undergoing restoration.
There are six coaches on the tracks for public viewing and appreciation of the contrast between the old and the new.
- A 1911 third-class compartment, #302
- A 1921 engineering coach, #002
- A 1955 third-class compartment, #223 (an educational video room)
- A 1955 luggage compartment, #229
- A 1964 first-class compartment, #112
- A 1976 ordinary-class compartment, #276
Besides, there are a pump trolley and a diesel-engined railcar.
A 1:1 scale model of a non-refurbished East Rail Line Metro Cammell EMU
East Rail Line Metro Cammell EMU
East Rail Line Metro Cammell EMU is an electric multiple unit owned by and originally operated by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation , now operated by MTR after merger of both companies. Rolling stock of this model are currently serving on the East Rail Line in Hong Kong...
was once on display at the Museum, but was removed to make space for locomotive #51.