ALISHAN FOREST RAILWAY
Taiwan’s mountainous heritage railway is well worth the journey to the other side of the globe.
Taiwan, an island in the Far East just one seventh the size of Britain, boasts astonishing scenery despite its small size, with mountains rising to nearly 13,000ft. On any railway journey in Taiwan, you are likely to see high mountains, sometimes with the coast on the other side of the train, not at all like the rolling countryside in Britain. Railways are very much part of the landscape in Taiwan. Except for metros and the new high-speed railway (THSR), all the railways are narrow gauge, either the 3ft 6in main railway system (TRA) or 2ft 6in, encompassing forestry railways, former sugar mill railways, and ex-mine railways.
Interest in preserving the island’s railway heritage stems from the end of the 20th Century. As the political climate became more open, so interest in discovering local history grew. After many years of discussion, a national railway museum was established on the site of the former Taipei Railway workshops and is expected to open to the public in 2024. Meanwhile, old tunnels, derelict bridges and historic station buildings still in use can be found all over the country.
Steam locomotive preservation has followed the same pattern. In 1998, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) restored a Japanese-built
3ft 6in gauge 2-6-2T, CK101 to working order. One year later, 2ft 6in gauge Shay No. 26 was restored by the Alishan Forest Railway (AFR). Since then, railway preservation has grown steadily. The TRA now has five steam locomotives restored to working order, which can be seen in action on special trains throughout the year or at the historic roundhouse at Changhua, while the Taiwan Sugar Corporation (TSC) has five short heritage lines and two working steam locomotives, one of which is in use every weekend.
The AFR has also gradually positioned itself as a heritage railway. Notwithstanding the work of the TRA and TSC, steam locomotives, the forest environment, the historic settlements along the railway – not to mention the challenges involved in climbing over 7,000ft in fewer than 50 miles – make it the pre-eminent example of railway heritage in this Far Eastern land.
On the one hand, it is possible to make a complete circuit of the island by train in ten hours. On the other hand, discovering everything the Alishan
Forest Railway has to offer could easily take ten days or even more.
Mission: a logging railway
In the early 20th Century, Taiwan was a Japanese colony and the Japanese government decided to construct a railway to ship timber from the abundant forests in the mountains around Alishan. However, they underestimated just how difficult construction would be. Eventually, after setbacks and opening in stages, the line reached Zhaoping station, 7,500ft above sea level and 45 miles from the start in Chiayi, in 1914.
Like other mountain railways such as the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway in India, the Alishan Railway makes extensive use of horseshoe curves and zigzags to ascend. The highlight is perhaps the triple spiral loop at Dulishan, which local folklore likens to the lines on a snail’s shell, and which demonstrates the ingenuity of the builders in finding a way up the mountain. Most important of all, American Shay locomotives, which were seldom used in Europe, were chosen to haul trains at Alishan because of their ability to run on the steep and winding track.
In the beginning, eight 18-ton, two-cylinder Shays were introduced. However, they were soon found to be not powerful enough to handle trains on the steepest zigzags, so a further 12 ‘B’ class 28-ton, three-cylinder Shays were purchased. These locomotives constituted the main motive power of the AFR until the early 1970s. The 28-ton Shays were used for the long, steep main line section between Zhuqi and Zhaoping, and the 18-ton Shays on the flatter section between Chiayi and Zhuqi and branch lines around Alishan.
After commercial logging ended in Taiwan in the 1980s, the AFR gradually transformed into a heritage railway. Since then, three 28-ton Shays (Nos. 25, 26, and 31) have been restored to working order, two of which (25 and 31) have been converted to oil firing. A further Shay is currently undergoing restoration.
Continuous climbing
Operating a steam locomotive on a 5% gradient for more than 40 miles is no simple task, so today regular operations on the AFR are handled by modern diesel locomotives built by Nippon Sharyo, and the image of a red liveried locomotive in the forest has become the symbol of Alishan. The three Shays are still in use in the high seasons and on special occasions, mainly for shorter trips on the branch lines. However, even behind a diesel locomotive, a journey on the main line is still a memorable experience.
It begins at Chiayi Station (98ft above sea level), where it connects with the TRA line on the other side of the platform, making transfers very convenient. On leaving Chiayi, the train
Operating a steam locomotive on a 5% gradient for more than 40 miles is no simple task
passes through the back streets of the town before coming to Beimen, site of the main workshop and locomotive shed. Part of the rail yard is open to the public, and old Shays, withdrawn diesel locomotives, railcars, wooden carriages, and special vehicles are on display. Nearby, some buildings of the former Chiayi Sawmill have also been restored to show how timber was processed.
The line then passes through gentle countryside, covered in pineapple fields which provide a tropical atmosphere, before reaching Zhuqi station (417ft above sea level). Here, the mountain climbing starts. Leaving the station, the train crosses a steel truss bridge then enters the first of almost countless horseshoe curves. As far as Zhangnaoliao (1,781ft) betel nut palms dominate the scene, then the train crosses another bridge and climbs Mt Dulishan by three concentric spirals.
From the right-hand side of the train, the station at Zhangnaoliao can be seen four times, as the spirals culminate in a unique figure of eight. Midway up the loop is an observation platform where special trains sometimes stop, giving an excellent view of the spiral and the plain below.
As the line climbs, so the forest becomes steadily thicker, but there are still occasional glimpses of the plantations where Alishan’s famous Oolong tea is grown. After several little villages, the train arrives at Fenqihu (4,603ft), a division point in steam days and the largest intermediate station on the line. Many tourists alight here to stroll around the nearby old street. In the past, when the journey to Alishan took almost the whole day, passengers would have their lunch here, and the village is still famous for its ‘railway lunch boxes.’
Between Shizilu (5,033ft) and Zhaoping (7,461ft) there are three zigzags, not to mention more horseshoe curves. Erwanping (6,562ft) is a wonderful spot for a stunning view of the sun setting on the sea of clouds, while Shenmu (Sacred Tree) station (7,014ft) at the third zigzag commemorates a nearby 3,000-year-old giant tree. For safety reasons, the withered tree had to be removed in 1998. It is followed by Alishan station, at the fourth zigzag. Until 1981, Alishan station was at present-day Zhaoping station but the new site is more convenient for the tourist facilities.
Finding branch lines
At one time, more than 20 miles of branch lines extended from Alishan. Today, trains run on the Zhushan line, in addition to shuttle services to
Shenmu and Zhaoping, while it is possible to hike along parts of the former Shuishan and Mianyue lines. Historic Shay No. 31 is normally based at Alishan and in the high season it works heritage trains with wooden carriages made from Taiwanese red cypress timber on some of these services. The heady scent of the cypress wood is noticeable on entering the carriages.
The Zhushan line is the most notable because of its early morning services to take tourists to see the sun rise over Yushan (Mt. Jade, 12,967ft), the highest peak in Taiwan. On normal days, trains run only in the early morning, the departure time varying according to the time of the sunrise. The ascent is always in the dark, and sometimes as early as 4am, but if the weather is good, the view is ample reward for the early start.
Although today’s AFR is mainly a passenger railway, logging trains can still be seen occasionally when forest-thinning operations take place along the line. Cut timber is taken by train from the forest to the nearest road entrance, sometimes even behind a Shay.
Forest network
Compared to other heritage railways, the AFR is more of a complete railway network. Different groups of people experience its essence in different ways: by enjoying the scenery, visiting remote villages, seeing how the forest changes with altitude, or learning how the railway was built.
For railway enthusiasts, however, the highlight must be the Shays, for this is one of the few places outside America where they can still be seen in use. Add to these the nostalgic wooden carriages, the mountain scenery and the amazing engineering of the main line, and the Alishan Forest Railway is surely a must for your bucket list.