基隆炭鉱鉄道

At the time, Wudu Station had a large yard with sidings because cargo arrived either by cable cars crossing the river or by small mine railcars. The station was not yet electrified, and trains were pulled by diesel locomotives or railcars. The locomotive shown is R1, the first electric diesel locomotive of the Taiwan Railways Administration, manufactured by Hitachi in 1959. Before being delivered to Taiwan, it was used in Japan as DF911 for test runs on the Joban Line. This locomotive is historically significant as it operated on both Japanese and Taiwanese national railways. Today, all R0-class locomotives have been retired, with only R6 preserved at the Miaoli Railway Museum.

On the Keelung side of the station, a long belt conveyor extended over the siding for loading coal. Although the station has since been elevated, there remains one freight track leading to a storage area for maintenance cars near the Railway Reconstruction Engineering Bureau on the Keelung side.

Coal brought in by train was piled in a yard and later loaded onto TRA freight cars using the belt conveyor visible at the bottom right of the photo.

Freight cars being pulled by cable crossed the bridge in succession. On the left (Keelung side), there is a bridge intended only for pedestrians.

After crossing the bridge, workers connected the freight cars to the cable wire. The child visible at the far left appears to be wearing a Japanese-style yukata or similar clothing. Laundry is hung nearby, suggesting there were homes around this area.

Since connecting the freight cars to the cable was not as physically demanding as mine work, the task was often done by women.

This was the freight yard and engine depot known as the “Main Coal Car Yard (鉱車総站).” Many steam locomotives and freight cars were parked here for repairs and inspections. In the background, the MacArthur Highway (now the Zhongshan Expressway between Taipei and Keelung), Taiwan’s first highway, was under construction. The road opened in July 1977, so this was the final stage of construction. Due to the proximity of a military garrison, police officers warned us not to take photos.

Oil drums and other materials are scattered around. A water tower is visible on the left, and flatbed cars used for carrying timber can be seen.

The yard was relatively spacious and even had a proper office building. Besides coal hoppers, there were flatbed cars and other cars with simple roofing and benches. Though this was a freight-only line, some people seemed to ride along unofficially.

There was a structure that looked like a locomotive boiler mounted on a flatcar and roofed. Although its exact purpose was unclear, it was certainly intriguing.

In one corner of the yard, scrapped locomotives and unused boilers were left abandoned and overgrown with weeds. Ironically, this added to the atmosphere of a light railway on the verge of closure.

The locomotives still in operation were far from well-maintained. Saying they were “barely running” might be an exaggeration, but from an outsider's perspective, they looked like that. This particular 6-ton tank locomotive was built by Kusunoki Manufacturing in Osaka. A total of 76 such locomotives were produced and used not only in Japan but also in Taiwan, Korea, and Karafuto. Two were delivered to the Keelung coal mine. This locomotive likely dates to the 1930s, but no detailed records exist.

The railway curved left beyond this point and passed under the expressway, but up to here it ran parallel to the highway. This was near the current boundary between Keelung City and New Taipei City. The area has now become a paved road, but back then it was a muddy dirt road shared by trains and vehicles. Since there were no longer any military police around, I resumed photographing without issue.

The underpass beneath the expressway is still used as a road today. At the time, the tunnel walls were blackened by smoke from the locomotives.

The area just beyond the highway underpass no longer exists due to road widening, but it used to be a rocky cut section. Since freight operations had already decreased significantly, and because photography was difficult due to the proximity to the highway, I gave up on trying to capture trains in this spot.

The railway gradually entered the mountains and the scenery changed to rural fields. The railway and the light rail for miners didn't always run side by side—they would come close and then separate again. The road beside the railway was paved but narrow, and I didn't see any cars. People mostly used bicycles, scooters, or three-wheeled vehicles.

The tributary of the Keelung River, Yourui Creek (友蚋渓) (or Luliaokeng Creek (鹿寮渓)), ran alongside the railway, sometimes near and sometimes at a distance. Further upstream, it flowed through a beautiful valley.

A little girl was sweeping with a broom and dustpan. Behind them, other children were playing. The area along the tracks also served as a playground.

Although this railway was a single-track line, it had a passing facility called Yourui Branch Station. In the past, it handled heavy traffic and had more extensive facilities, but by this time, only two tracks remained for train passing. The locomotives, including this one, leaked steam from various places. This 5.5-ton engine was one of four built by Kawazoe-kikai Works (川副機械製作所) of Osaka (known in Taiwan as "kaji-kikai Works (鍛冶機械製作所)" due to local pronunciation).

Perhaps the sandboxes on the locomotives were missing or broken, because workers were seen spreading sand manually by hand. There was also a water facility for the locomotives here. After arriving first, the engine would take a short break, but once it started again, it had to fight wheel slip while hauling heavy coal cars. Again, sand was being spread manually.

I don't quite remember if the locomotive was switched here or not, but in this photo, it's not connected to any freight cars. In any case, steam was escaping from so many places that the engine was almost invisible at times.

A water buffalo overtakes the steam locomotive. Back then, it was still common to see buffalo used for farming or pulling carts. It's a peaceful sight that seems unimaginable compared to Taiwan's current stage of economic development.

A freight train heading toward the mine was transporting timber used in mining operations along with empty coal cars for return. On one of the cars, a man dressed in a suit and hat—probably a mining official—was riding along.

Even while running, workers manually scattered sand to prevent wheel slip. Although the train wasn’t moving fast, this was a dangerous task that involved clinging to a moving locomotive while spreading sand.

When transporting coal from the mine mouth, the locomotive had to exert significant power due to the heavy load. To the right, the Youliang Bridge and a pedestrian bridge over Yourui Creek can be seen intersecting at a right angle. These bridges have since been widened and now serve as a bus route.

The freight cars heading to the mine mouth were carrying timber and returning empty coal cars, so they were relatively light. Still, a worker rode at the front spreading sand manually, making for quite a dramatic scene. Unfortunately, this coal mine railway was abolished in 1977, the following year.