Last Glimpse of Yuanlin Old Station

                                   photo and text/Jingsiou Vanguard Team   2014.11.3

      On the morning of Monday on November 3, 2014, Teacher Wen-yao said, “Yuanlin Old Station will be demolished soon”. I immediately the requested the parents of Chian-ya, Ya-ling, and Ji-rong to terminate the touring in the old station with their children in the noon break.

    It is said that the old station and square will be demolished completely and changed into a greening area in the eastern entrance and will become a large square of 30m.

      Seeing far, we thought the old station operated as usual, only when we approached did we find a lot of demolished sundries and garbage piled in front of the station.

The iron door of the ticket sales window of the old station has been permanently closed, and the place blocked by the waved plate was the staircase channel of the second waiting room.

The washing room where the passengers dressed up and washed hands before departure was also quiet.

      With the ending of operation of the old station, the shops are also demolished, demonstrating the great destruction before great construction.

 

        The empty public telephone booth makes people feel the sadness “only new people laugh, but no old ones cry”. Memorizing my story with Yuanlin Train Station, it was the New Year’s Day of 1997, after graduating from university, I came from the north to Xihu Township 300km away from my home to act as a substitute teacher. During holiday, I went to my home in Taipei from Yuanlin by train. Once I took the wrong train, and in order to catch the train, I tumbled on the platform, damaging my classes and cracking an incisor, I was really regretful for my wrong action of train jumping, but I became attached to Yuanlin Train Station!