Nanjing Station Introduction
Nanjing Railway Station was established on April 20, 1901, at Shuijiao Tou in Shuishang Township (now Shuishang Station). In 1910, it was relocated to its current site to support the sugar transportation business of the Nanjing Sugar Factory. It was renamed Shuishang Station in 1920. After the earthquake in December 1941, the station building collapsed, and reconstruction was completed in 1943, at which point it was renamed Nanjing Station. The Nanjing Railway Station was built of concrete in 1942, with the main entrance set back; the design of the restroom on the right harmonizes interestingly with the station building. Inside the station, the waiting room is entirely wooden, with the ticket booth, seats, and even windows made of wood, giving it a nostalgic charm after enduring the passage of time. The expansive station yard narrates the glorious history of the past. There is a siding railway within the station yard that leads to the Nanjing Sugar Factory. However, the Taiwan Sugar Corporation railway operates on a 76.2 cm gauge, while the Taiwan Railway has a gauge of 106.7 cm, which makes the use of two different gauges inconvenient. This resulted in a three-track railway design, where the outer wider gauge is suitable for Taiwan Railway freight trains, while the inner narrower gauge is suitable for the sugar factory's small trains. Many railway stations in southern Taiwan near sugar factories, such as Dou Nan, Da Lin, and Shin-Ying, feature this three-track design. However, the heyday of the sugar industry is long gone; the small sugar factory trains have ceased operations, and transportation has shifted to trucks. The prosperity of Shuishang Township can be inferred from the fact that "one township had three stations." Due to the thriving business of the Nanjing Sugar Factory, Shuishang Station became congested, prompting the addition of Nanjing Station to alleviate the issue. Subsequently, with the excavation of the Beihui Mining Area, another station, Beihui Station, was built to meet transportation demands, making the bustling scene easy to imagine. It is no wonder that local elders still fondly recall this history. This old station, which witnessed the rise and fall of the sugar industry, is the only one remaining in Chiayi County that has preserved its original appearance along the west coast railway. Its charming nostalgic allure makes it worth a visit.
