View of Tai Po in 1910
While the Tai Po Market featured in yesterday's post is a living reminder of the folk history, the Hong Kong Railway Museum adjacent to it gives a glimpse into the way of life under the British colonial history.
The Hong Kong Railway Museum was converted from the actual Old Tai Po Market Station, occupying some 6,500 square metres. Facing the main entrance is a distinctive station building which was architecturally different from other old stations along the railway line. It is built in a traditional Chinese style with a pitched roof. The ridge and gables of the building are adorned with auspicious Chinese motifs such as red bats, peonies and magpies, which are characteristics decorations on traditional Chinese residences. The station building alone is worth a special trip to the museum.
The Old Tai Po Market Station served the then Kowloon-Canton Railway (British Section) which was open on 1 October 1910.
Until 1949, through train service between Kowloon and Canton (now Guangdong Province in the Mainland China) had been operated by the KCR. The service interrupted by the communist takeover of China in 1949 was resumed eventually in 1979.
Situated about halfway along the old railway line, Tai Po was developed into a centre of administration and trade. The location of the Old Tai Po Market Station on the south back of the Lam Tsuen River (the Lam Tsuen village holds a tree wishing ceremony each year during the Chinese New Year) brought prosperity to Tai Po Market.
Of course, the museum also has exhibits of used engines and coaches. For fans of Thomas the engine, don't miss the narrow-gauge steam locomotive which is the same model as Duck.
A coach built in 1911
I was lucky enough to have some experience riding on the old coaches when I was a small child. As long as I can remember, the lighting of the coaches went off every time the train drove through a tunnel. As the windows were open, the puffing of the engine and chuffing of the coaches going echoed through the compartments, which was flavoured by the burning smell of the smoke from the engine.
Third-class coach
First-class coach
The compartments were busy with people going from one car to another to find available seats. Hawkers were somehow allowed on the train to sell drinks and fruits which were put in two large rattan baskets tied to the separated ends of a bamboo carried on the hawkers' shoulder.
Diesel electric engine No. 51
These hawkers added to the traffic of people passing along the compartments throughout the trip. The leftovers of whatever were bought and consumed were simply thrown out of the windows.
Crossing from the Chinese border to take the train at the British Section was a painful experience. Passengers simply elbowed their way through the crowds to get on the train and get a seat. Everyone was exhausted after long travelling in China and desperate to get a seat for some rest before the train could reach Kowloon in an hour.
The rails have been raised and realigned for the museum which originally ran in below the platform.
I still recalled how people would jumped down the platform to cross the railway to the other platform to buy food from hawkers or for the loos. The busy pedestrian traffic on the railways was quite a spectacular scene to a small child. My dad even held me down to the railway and showed me how to detect the coming of a train.
The levels to control the signalling signs
He would put a coin on the rail. When the train was coming to an adequately near distance, the coin would vibrate. The nearer the train was to the station, the crazier the coin would dance. The young me was amused and thought that my dad knew a lot.
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