Changhua Roundhouse

Changhua Roundhouse (Chinese: 彰化扇形車庫; pinyin: Zhānghuà Shànxíng Chēkù) is a railway roundhouse operated by the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) in Changhua City, Changhua County, Taiwan. The roundhouse is located directly north of Changhua railway station. Built in 1922, it is the only surviving railway roundhouse in Taiwan.

Changhua Roundhouse
Native name
Chinese: 彰化扇形車庫
Changhua Roundhouse and its turntable seen from the observation deck
TypeRailway roundhouse
LocationChanghua City, Taiwan
Coordinates24.0855°N 120.5401°E / 24.0855; 120.5401
BuiltOctober 1922
VisitorsAround 350,000 (in 2019)[1]
OwnerTaiwan Railway Administration

Overview

Changhua Roundhouse is composed of twelve stalls for trains surrounding a turntable. The roundhouse is still operational and houses many historical trains on a rotating basis: as of October 2020, the roundhouse currently displays two steam locomotives: CK124, a CK120 locomotive, and DT668, a DT650 locomotive.[1] Changhua Roundhouse is still operational and is used for maintenance of locomotives, but visitors are allowed to enter for free.[2]

History

Changhua Roundhouse was completed in October 1922 (Taishō 11) during Japan's rule over Taiwan, and its opening coincided with the Coastal Line section (Zhunan to Changhua) of the West Coast Line. Originally, the building had six stalls; this was increased to eight stalls in 1923, ten stalls in 1924, and twelve stalls in 1933. Allied forces bombed the roundhouse during World War II, causing damage to stalls 5 and 6. With the introduction of the R20 diesel locomotive in 1970, stalls 1 to 7 were fitted with platforms for their maintenance. Then, when the E100 electric locomotive arrived in 1980, stalls 1 and 2 were also fitted to support maintenance for electric trains.[3]

Originally, Taiwan had five other railway roundhouses, but all of the other ones were demolished. In 1994, Changhua Roundhouse was also planned to be demolished to build a larger depot, but due to local pushback, the plan was never carried out. The depot was built south of Changhua railway station instead.[4] On 25 October 2000, Changhua Roundhouse was protected as a county-designated monument. The rationale highlighted the building's "unique architecture" and "significance in Taiwanese railway history".[3]

In 2015, the Changhua County Government proposed elevating the train tracks running through Changhua City, which would cut off the Roundhouse from the rest of the railway network.[5]

References
  1. 劉明岩 (31 October 2020). "嗚嗚嗚…CK124蒸汽火車開了 滿載遊客參加二水跑水節" (in Chinese). United Daily News. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  2. 劉明岩 (23 May 2020). "可以來追火車了！彰化扇形車庫5月27日重新開放" (in Chinese). United Daily News. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  3. "彰化扇形車庫". Bureau of Cultural Heritage (in Chinese). Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  4. "認識彰化". Changhua Travel (in Chinese). Changhua City Government. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  5. 張聰秋 (28 July 2017). "全國唯一扇形車庫能活了 彰化鐵路確定高架化" (in Chinese). Liberty Times. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
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