Taiwan CK2 Steam Locomotive

These were Nos. 1 and 2 of the Taipei Railway (Taihoku Railway), which operated between Bangka (萬華) and Xindian (新店). They were built in 1920 by H. K. Porter in the United States. The Taipei Railway opened in 1921 and was the only privately operated general-service railway of 1,067 mm gauge that remained in Taiwan until the end of the war. After the war, it became the Taipei Railway Company and was then purchased by the Taiwan Railways Administration in 1949, becoming the Xindian Line. Six locomotives were used on the line; these two became CK2 and CK3 under the Taiwan Railways Administration and remained in service until 1951. Porter standardized many of its locomotive designs, kept parts in stock, and was able to manufacture and supply locomotives quickly in response to orders. No photographs or drawings of CK2 and CK3 have yet been found. For this reason, the illustration here was prepared with reference to No. 4 of the Hokutan Railway, which is presumed to have been close in style in view of Porter’s manufacturing practice.