Restored railcar debuts at Taisugar 80th anniversary event

Chiayi, March 7 (CNA) A restored Japanese colonial-era railcar returned to the rails Saturday at an event marking Taiwan Sugar Corp.'s (Taisugar) 80th anniversary and ties between Suantou Sugar Factory Cultural Park and the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway (WLLR).

According to Chuang Chin-lung (莊金龍), a foreman with Taisugar's Yunlin-Chiayi railway section, the No. 252 inspection railcar, originally wooden but rebuilt in steel in the 2000s, was first built to carry senior officials on inspections of sugarcane plantations.

Although the railcar had been out of service for several years, Taisugar spent three months restoring it for the ceremony. It can run within the cultural park but requires further repairs before operating beyond it, Chuang said.

In a nod to its original role, the refurbished No. 252 on Saturday ferried dignitaries, including Taisugar Chairman Wu Ming-chang (吳明昌), WLLR Chairwoman Anne Wright, Tourism Administration Director-General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) and Chiayi County Magistrate Weng Chang-liang (翁章梁).

Wu said the connection between Taisugar and WLLR began in 2005, when the Welsh heritage railway purchased and restored Taisugar's No. 175 Diema locomotive.

The relationship strengthened in 2018, when the British steam train Dougal was displayed in Taiwan and the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to become sister railways, Wu said.

Saturday's celebrations also included the "Blue-Skin Retro Dining Car Special Exhibition," featuring photographs documenting Taiwan-U.K. exchanges, along with a cross-cultural afternoon tea experience aimed at promoting tourism at the narrow-gauge railway park.

The Suantou Sugar Factory Cultural Park sits on the site of the Suantou Sugar Factory, established in 1906 during the Japanese colonial period. It belonged to Meiji Sugar Co. and was once Taiwan's third-largest sugar producer.