Steam in Taiwan
Oldest Reports

Please see the Taiwan section on my Asia (East) page for possible updates.

The earliest reports on this site confirming active steam in Taiwan date from 1998/9. I wrote then that there were a number of active preserved steam locomotives including CK101 and CK124 on the mainline.

Wayne Weiss sent me this snippet (18th October 1998) which concerns the Alishan railway::
"A Chinese co-worker of my brother showed him a copy of the Chinese Central Daily News with a picture of a crane lowering a restored #26 cab onto a Shay inside a large machine shop. She told him it said that it was restored for special operations and was the only operating Shay." Click here for a report of the revival of CK101 in 1998/9 (29th October 1999).with Lee Chung Jen's further picture and Shay (26) Lives! - (more pictures added 6th March 2000).

Continental Railway Journal 150 noted that specials were run from 22nd to 24th December 2006 and again on 3rd/4th February 2007, the latter based on Changhua (this added 23rd July 2007), see also the earlier report below), The two pictures on the left are courtesy of Su I-Jaw: The third picture of Shay 25 is courtesy of Hsieh Ming Pin.

CK101 and CK124 ventured out from time to time, Continental Railway Journal 150 noted that specials were run from 22nd to 24th December 2006 and again on 3rd/4th February 2007 with CK 124 with CK 101 sidelined needing retyring (23rd July 2007). Apparently CK 124 did a round Taiwan special in June 2007 according to Hsieh Ming Hsiu (27th July 2007).

Reports of that period were at best intermittent and I lamented that I got little information on steam here as few steam enthusiasts speak much English) so I was pleased to hear from Hsieh Ming Hsiu that Hsin-Ying sugar mill had repaired 762mm gauge Tubize 370 to run tourist trains on the Wu-Shu-Lin sugar mill system (15th February 2005). The first picture dates from 2005, the second from June 2007 (added 23rd July 2007).

Hsieh Ming Hsiu also sent me pictures of a second Tubize locomotive being restored - 346 at Hsi-Hu sugar mill where it was previously a static exhibit (added 27th July 2007).