Chiayi Station of the Sugar Railway

From the footbridge, one could view the wide station yard. A DT560-class locomotive was performing shunting work. The Chiayi depot was home to CT250 (C55), CT270 (C57) for passenger trains, DT650 (D51) for freight, and DT560 for switching duties. Before electrification, there were no overhead wires, offering a clear view. Crossing the footbridge to the west led to the sugar railway station.

The sugar railway used narrow-gauge tracks (762mm), differing from the 1067mm gauge of the main railway, making them completely separate systems. The sugar railway station handled passenger traffic only, with no facilities for freight interchange. Trains consisted of diesel railcars or diesel locomotives pulling coaches.

Originally, the sugar railway Chiayi Station served two lines: the Puzih Line built by Meiji Sugar (明治製糖) and another line by Toyo Sugar (東洋製糖), later known as the Beigang Line under Dai-Nippon Sugar (大日本製糖). After WWII, these lines became part of the Taiwan Sugar Corporation’s railway network.

To the north of the station, the curved track turns sharply westward toward Beigang. Passenger service between Beigang and Huwei was discontinued in 1972. At the time of the photo, the Chiayi–Beigang segment (18.8 km) remained in operation.

This is a view of the sugar railway station from the east-west footbridge. There was no plaza or major road in front of the station—just a cluster of houses. In contrast to the main station, this was called the ‘rear station’. The railway from Chiayi to Gangqian via Puzih (24.9 km) was built by Meiji Sugar between 1909–1911 and later became the Suantou (蒜頭) Sugar Plant line. The Chiayi–Beigang–Huwei (虎尾) route included the Chiayi Line and the Beigang Line (26.7 km), constructed by Toyo Sugar in 1911, later merging with Dai-Nippon Sugar and postwar transferred to the Taiwan Sugar Corporation.

A diesel railcar has arrived at the platform. A person wearing a traditional conical hat is crossing the track to board another train. In 1970s Taiwan, such hats were commonly used for sun protection.

A view of the station building from the platform. It appeared to be rather solid. Hard-type paper tickets were sold at the window. Staff members who had received Japanese education were still active, and speaking Japanese was often possible and helpful. Passenger service on the Puzih Line ended in 1981. The Chiayi Line remained the last sugar railway line to offer passenger service until 1982. Afterward, the building was demolished and replaced by the Taiwan Railways Administration’s Chiayi Rear Station.

This is a diesel railcar viewed from the sugar railway platform below the footbridge. Although it was a single-car train, it seemed quite crowded.

At the easternmost platform, a diesel railcar bound for Puzih was waiting. Unlike the previous train, this one had not yet departed and was empty.

On the side of the car were a destination plate for Puzih, the Taiwan Sugar Corporation logo, a circle containing the character for Suan (蒜), indicating Suantou Sugar Plant, and a plate with the car number: 542. Unlike locomotives, the railcar's number was not painted but displayed via a nameplate.

The interior of car no. 542. The windows featured louvered shutter, and the floors and seats were wooden. The luggage racks were made of pipe, surprisingly modern in appearance. Naturally, there was no air conditioning or heating.

As departure time approached, passengers began to gather, and the stationmaster came out onto the platform to signal the train’s departure.

On the east side of the main station, a DT560-class locomotive was busy shunting. At the time, the sidings were packed with freight cars and switching operations were constant.

The footbridge, which ran east-west, was a long pedestrian bridge spanning the station yard. It was later closed and removed due to the elevation of Chiayi Station. The foreground shows the end of the sugar railway platform, with a CT270-class train passing behind the DT560.

From the top of the footbridge, one could see the mainline trains of the Taiwan Railway, switching locomotives, the sugar railway station, and its trains. As the area had not yet been electrified, there were no poles or wires, offering an unobstructed view.

These were open freight cars used to transport sugarcane from the fields to the sugar factories. On the Puzih Line, they ran to Suantou; on the Beigang Line, they served the Huwei and Beigang factories. These cars, managed by different factories, were not usually seen at Chiayi Station but were spotted in the yard.

To the south of Chiayi Station (toward Kaohsiung) was the Chiayi engine depot. A tall water tower could be seen in the distance. A railcar from the Puzih Line was arriving, passing through the buildings.

Not all passenger trains were railcars; some were pulled by diesel locomotives. This train consisted of two boxcars and three coaches, heading out toward Puzih.

Sugar railway coaches and railcars looked quite similar. However, railcars had engines and driver's cabs, so if you looked closely, the difference was clear. One visual cue: railcars had metal number plates, while coaches had painted numbers.

The station signboard looked like this. Bo’ai Road (博愛路) Station belonged to the Chiayi Line, and Daxicuo Station was on the Puzih Line. While the exact location of Bo’ai Road Station is unknown, the road of that name extends westward from Chiayi Station. Daxicuo (大溪厝) was a station dating back to Japanese rule, about 3 km west of Chiayi, and is now served by the Chiayi BRT.