Alishan Forest Railway Garage Park Introduction
Chiayi Depot Park, formerly known as "Beimen Repair Factory" during the Japanese colonial period, was originally located at the Beimen Machinery Depot, which was established in October 1910 when the Pingdi section of the railway began operations. With the ongoing expansion of railway construction, it was officially put into use in 1912 (the first year of the Taisho era) and primarily focused on the construction and repair of various locomotives, passenger cars, and freight cars for the Alishan Railway. It has nearly a century of history. Since the opening of the Alishan railway, the repair factory has been the main base for maintenance. Although the trains were purchased from the United States, the Beimen Repair Factory employed about two hundred workers at that time, who were highly skilled in maintenance, modification, and manufacture. They handmade parts when damaged, and also produced external boilers and steam engines in-house. The Alishan cypress wood cars are among the classic masterpieces of the repair shop, and many precious retired Alishan trains are now preserved at the Beimen Repair Factory. On August 23, 1993, a major fire at the Beimen Repair Factory destroyed the wooden factory buildings, and some old trains were also lost to the flames. Today, some of the repair factory buildings have been updated, while a few more valuable vehicles are kept in the depot for preservation. In order to allow the public to visit this historically significant site, it was renamed Chiayi Depot Park in 2005. Chiayi Depot Park serves as the stop for the Alishan Forest Railway trains, and it is a large ecological train museum that railway enthusiasts visit as a pilgrimage. Here, visitors can closely see and touch various retired steam trains, diesel locomotives, motored passenger cars, and freight cars from the Alishan Forest Railway, as well as the cypress wood car used by the Japanese Crown Prince when he visited Alishan, offering a glimpse into a century of Alishan Railway history.
