Old Takao Station Story Museum Introduction
The Old Dagou Station Story Museum was formerly the earliest train station in Kaohsiung. The urban development, docks, and railways of Kaohsiung all began here. With the efforts of the dedicated, it became the first railway museum in Taiwan to operate regularly and served as a base for the "dynamic preservation" of railway vehicles. The Dagou Station officially opened on November 29, 1900, coinciding with the operation of the Southern Line of the North-South Railway, marking the beginning of modernization in southern Taiwan. For instance, the Qiaotou Sugar Factory was able to use the railway for importing materials and equipment while sugar was exported via the railway. At that time, the station was located close to the coastline, with extremely limited land, prompting the railway department to plan land reclamation. They began dredging seabed silt and sand to create land in the south while also improving the internal port waters and navigation channels. The outline of modern Kaohsiung Port began to take shape at this time. After nine years of construction, the North-South Railway was fully opened on April 20, 1908. The Dagou Station's area expanded southward into the newly formed land, and new facilities, including a station building and platform, were constructed. This platform has been preserved to this day, and with the operation of the tourist train, the Harmas Star, the old platform is once again fulfilling its original function. In 1920, Dagou was renamed Kaohsiung, and the station was renamed accordingly. In 1941, in line with urban planning, Kaohsiung Station was relocated to its current site in Dagang, while the old station was renamed Kaohsiung Port Station to continue handling freight operations. Until the opening of the highway, the advantages of railways diminished, and Kaohsiung Port Station was eventually discontinued in 2008. Two years later, the Kaohsiung City Government adopted the idle space and established the Railway Story Museum in the old station building, transforming the station yard into the Harmas Star Railway Park. This case later influenced the designation of the entire Taipei Railway Workshop as a national historic site and the establishment of the National Railway Museum. In 2014, Taipower donated a decommissioned train, which became the first operational train for the museum. However, over the years, the railway tracks in the park deteriorated continuously, compounded by the obstruction of existing bike paths and the impact of light rail construction, leaving less than 100 meters of track in front of the platform that could still operate. After years of negotiation and with the assistance of volunteers who manually "built the railway," a total of 540 meters of tracks were completed by early 2024, featuring three tracks that could be utilized. Many of the switches are operated using the dynamic preservation of the North Signal Tower, providing a basic scale of heritage railway. The park contains three dynamically preserved trains, all acquired through purchases or donations by the operational team and related organizations, playing an important role in promotion and demonstration. On November 30, 2024, the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Kaohsiung City Government launched the "Coastal Line Journey" project, with the director of the Old Dagou Station Story Museum, Gu Ting-Wei, as the chief planner. Spanning a year and a half, this project combined official and civil efforts to complete the park's upgrade work, including establishing a vehicle collection strategy, creating the coastal line tourist train "Harmas Star," increasing the number of displayed vehicles from 14 to 31, reconstructing the old platform scene and the new entrance at the northern end of the park, and encouraging the city government to establish "November 29 as Kaohsiung Railway Day," marking a new phase for the Old Dagou Station Story Museum and Harmas Star Railway Park.
Hamasen Railway Museum Vehicle Exhibition
Binhai Line Sightseeing Train "Hamasen"
