National Taiwan Museum - Railway Department Park Introduction
The National Historic Site of the Taiwan Governor-General's Railway Bureau is located between Zhongxiao West Road, Tacheng Street, Zhengzhou Road, and Yanping North Road, under the jurisdiction of the state-owned Taiwan Railways Administration. In 1885, Taiwan's governor Liu Ming-chuan invited British and German advisors to build a machinery bureau at the Tamshui River pier for the assembly of firearms, ammunition, and coinage. It housed a foundry and a forge, among other facilities. In 1895, the Japanese military received the machinery bureau and converted it into the Taipei Arsenal, which manufactured and repaired military weapons under the Army's administration, producing shells, fuzes, ammunition, explosives, vessels, and railway bridges. It was subsequently renamed the Taiwan Artillery Factory, and in 1900, it was transferred to the Railway Bureau by the Army Ministry and renamed Taipei Factory the same year. In 1908, the west coast trunk railway was opened, increasing railway transportation capacity and vehicle maintenance needs. In 1909, Taipei Factory expanded eastward, creating new facilities for vehicle repairs and painting. Starting in 1915, the original buildings on the southern side of the base were demolished, and in 1918, a new Railway Bureau main building was established alongside the Taipei Factory, forming a layout of a southern hall and a northern factory that lasted until 1934 when Taipei Factory was relocated to Songshan (now the National Historic Site of Taipei Machine Factory). Originally, there were nearly forty buildings within the block, but following the construction of the MRT in 2005 and the restoration and demolition of non-preserved sites in 2013, only ten buildings remain, among which are eight designated cultural heritage sites: the Railway Bureau, dining hall, octagonal men's restroom, power room, engineering room, wartime command center, remnants of the Qing dynasty machinery bureau, and Taipei Factory (not within the Railway Bureau precinct). After the war, the Railway Bureau was renamed the Taiwan Railway Administration. Due to urban planning, Tacheng Street was opened in 1967, cutting off the connection with the official residences on the west side of the Railway Bureau, forming the current street layout. In 1992, the Taipei City Government designated the Railway Bureau main building as a Class III historic site, and in 1993, the Taiwan Railway Administration moved to a new building at Taipei Station. In 2005, the Council for Cultural Affairs commissioned Tunghai University and Chung Yuan Christian University to conduct a historic site investigation and re-utilization plan. In 2006, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Taiwan Railway Administration, along with the Council for Cultural Affairs and the National Taiwan Museum signed an agreement to form the Taiwan Museum System Alliance, marking the official start of restoration and re-use of the Railway Bureau historic site. The conceptual foundation is the "Railway Bureau Museum Park," aiming to establish a multifunctional park with modern exhibition themes while integrating surrounding urban and historical contexts. In 2007, it was designated a national historic site, including the octagonal building, dining hall, power room, engineering room, and wartime command center within the scope of the historic site. Taipei Factory and the remnants of the Qing dynasty machinery bureau were designated as municipal historic sites by Taipei City in 2008 and 2010, respectively. Since 2009, the National Taiwan Museum has managed the land and buildings in the area. The planned themes for the railway museum exhibition will mainly focus on issues related to the historic site and its base, railway culture, and modernity, and will eventually involve the integration of the area previously occupied by the machinery bureau factory. (Source: National Taiwan Museum)
