Old Mountain Line - Daan River Iron Bridge Introduction
The "Old Mountain Line - Daan River Bridge" is located at the junction of Taichung and Miaoli, adjacent to the southern entrance of Miaoli County's Sanyi No. 7 tunnel and between Houlit District in Taichung City. The bridge has a total length of 637.39 meters and consists of 8 trusses made up of 10 spans of 62.41 meters (one span consists of a truss between two piers). The Daan River Bridge was constructed in the 36th year of the Meiji era (1903) and was completed in the 41st year of the Meiji era (1908). It was an important bridge during the Japanese colonial period for transporting goods and facilitating connections between the north and south. The Daan River Bridge was reconstructed after the Central Taiwan Earthquake in the 10th year of the Showa era (1935) and underwent steel beam replacement in the 52nd year of the Republic of China (1963) to enhance the bridge's structure to accommodate heavier, faster, and more frequent trains. Although it is not in its original construction, its appearance seems to be similar to that at the time of its initial construction, with only slight differences in the trusses and connecting parts. After the Old Mountain Line ceased operations in the 87th year of the Republic of China (1998), no trains have run on the Daan River Bridge since. Currently, on the Old Mountain Line of Taiwan Railways, there are only three iron bridges with this type of steel bridge construction: the "Daan River Bridge" (637.39 meters), "Dajia River Bridge" (382.2 meters), and "Gaoping River Old Iron Bridge" (1,526 meters). Due to the good preservation of the Daan River Bridge, a project for the digitalization of historical photographs of the Old Mountain Line, which is a potential world heritage site, was conducted in the 93rd year of the Republic of China (2004). In the 99th year of the Republic of China (2010), it was reorganized and reopened alongside the steam train services on the Old Mountain Line. In the 105th year of the Republic of China (2016), the "Research on the Cultural Landscape of Taiwan's Old Mountain Line and Principles for Preservation and Management" was implemented. It is now closed for management to ensure the safety of visitors.
