Old Mountain Line - Daan River Railway Bridge Introduction
The "Old Mountain Line - Daan River Bridge" is located at the border between Taichung and Miaoli, adjacent to the southern entrance of the No. 7 Tunnel in Sanyi Township, Miaoli County, and the Houli District of Taichung City. It has a total length of 637.39 meters and consists of 8 trusses, made up of 10 spans of 62.41 meters each (one span between two bridge piers is counted as one opening). The Daan River Bridge was built in the 36th year of Meiji (1903) and completed in the 41st year of Meiji (1908). It was an important bridge for transporting goods and connecting the north and south during the Japanese colonial period. The bridge was rebuilt after the 10th year of Showa (1935) due to the Central Taiwan earthquake, and in the 52nd year of the Republic of China (1963), steel beam replacement work was carried out to enhance the bridge’s structure, allowing it to better support heavier, faster, and more frequent trains. While it is not the original structure, its appearance seems unchanged from when it was first built, with only slight differences in the trusses and connections. After the Old Mountain Line ceased operation in the 87th year of the Republic of China (1998), no trains have run over the Daan River Bridge. Currently, on the Old Mountain Line of Taiwan Railways, there are only three similar steel bridges of this truss structure: the Daan River Bridge (637.39 meters), the Dajia River Bridge (382.2 meters), and the Gaoping River Old Iron Bridge (1,526 meters). Due to the good preservation of the Daan River Bridge, a project for the "Digitalization of Old Photos of Potential World Heritage Sites along the Old Mountain Line" was carried out in the 93rd year of the Republic of China (2004). After being reorganized in the 99th year of the Republic of China (2010), it was paired with the restoration of steam trains on the Old Mountain Line. In the 105th year of the Republic of China (2016), the "Investigation Research and Principles of Preservation and Management of the Cultural Landscape of the Old Mountain Line" was executed. It is currently closed to manage visitor safety.
