Then after visiting the temple, I walked not even five minutes to the Hong Kong Railway Museum which was really right around the corner from the temple.
An open-air museum, it was converted from the Old Tai Po Market Station. It includes the beautiful distinctive station, a steam locomotive, a diesel engine, six historical coaches, and a red-brick office building. Admission was free.
Erected in 1913, the old station building is architecturally different from the other stations along the railway line, as it is built in a traditional Chinese style with a pitched roof. The ridge and the gables of the building are adorned with auspicious Chinese motifs such as red bats, peonies, and magpies, which are characteristic decorations on traditional Chinese residences. The Old Tai Po Market Station was converted to a museum in 1985 after the conservation and restoration work had been completed. The museum was opened to the public in the same year. The current Tai Po Market station monstrosity to the south is now about a ten minute walk from the museum.
The Kowloon-Canton Railway (British section) was opened in 1910. Situated about halfway along the line in the New Territories, Tai Po developed into a center of administration and trade. The electrification of the railway was completed in 1983 and the old station was taken out of service.
The next two pics is a first-class compartment of 1964 and the last pic is an ordinary-class compartment of 1974.
Wow. Kinda creepy and sad at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThis is Duke. Greg, are the original trains and tracks from the British occupation? Do the trains still run?
ReplyDeleteThey are. There are new tracks behind a fence near the old tracks. I think the old tracks no longer exist except the ones near the museum.
DeleteDIFFERENCES ON ALL THOSE SEATS..FROM WOOD, TOO CUSHIONY VINYL BLUE ONES, TO FLAT BLUE ONES. FLOORS PRETTY CLEAN. LIKE THE LITTLE TABLES AND LOVE THE TRAIN WINDOWS TO LOOK OUT. LIKE THE TREE IN THE PIC.DON'T LIKE THE DARK FRAME AROUND THE WINDOWS SO MUCH LIKE THE 1930'S---- LIKE THE PAGODA TOP OF THE BLDG......RED BATS, NEVER SAW ONE IN THAT COLOR.
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