It’s very rare to see a museum as a work in progress. This
is what I saw on my visit to the Taipei Railway Workshop Museum. This was the
actual workshop where Taiwan’s trains were repaired beginning during the Japanese
occupation and used through the turn of the century. This is a huge complex
with many large buildings that housed the locomotive engines and passenger cars
for repair. Also, adjacent was a machine shop which could fabricated any part
needed for the trains.
After Taiwan’s rail system was electrified and maintenance
facilities spread along the new line the large workshop in Taipei became redundant and obsolete.
Many people had a vision of turning the old workshop into a Railroad
Museum. For more information on the museum's progress, check out this link here.
The employee bathhouse was first to be designated a
historical landmark in the early 80's and preservation was carried out shortly
after. The other buildings are pretty much how they were when the workshop
closed earlier this century.
 |
| Communal bath |
I went on a ‘reservation only’ tour. The only way to
currently see the workshop is by a guided tour and the tours are only given in
Chinese. There is a very limited schedule for tours. Check this website for
more information here.
From what I saw, there is a lot of work that needs to be
done to make this a world class museum. The preservation of the huge buildings
I’m sure will be very expensive. Then you have the restoration costs of the locomotive
engines and passenger cars. Regardless
of the current state of the workshop, I felt honored to have seen it as it was left when the shop closed. It was kind of eerie how the tools were
still left out and the workers’ names were on the chalk board.
My hope would be that Taiwan can turn this into a Taiwan transportation
museum displaying everything from pedicabs to the high-speed train. I think for
this size of undertaking they will need help from corporate sponsors or income
from renting out some of the space in those huge buildings. I could see the
restoration of the old trains keeping many people busy for a long time. All Aboard
Taiwan!
Find us on:
Facebook #allaboardtaiwan
Instagram @experiencetaiwan
