Taichung couple given stewardship of historic station

A writer in his sixties living in Taichung was thrilled recently that he and his wife were awarded the opportunity to become the caretakers of a small railway station in the northern Hakka county of Hsinchu.

Hohsing Railway Station, located on a bypass of the hilly Neiwan Route (內灣線) in Hsinchu County, is not an ordinary railway station, at least not in the eyes of Tseng Chuen-chao (曾春兆) and his wife, Peng Chih-hui (彭智惠), because the station was where they first met.

Tseng, who now runs and owns a chain of mental arithmetic schools in Taichung City, central Taiwan, wrote a novel entitled Chasing (追) to tell the love story between him and his wife, with the railway station of Hohsing (合興), his hometown, as the "main character."

In the novel, Tseng recounted how he once -- as an 18-year-old high school student -- chased the passing train, which came past only once every hour, in order not to miss his final exams on a morning in 1954.

He ran after the train at full speed and was finally able to catch it at the next stop, making it to school on time to take his exams.

On the train he also met a girl who was also from Hohsing and took the same train to school every morning, but whom he had never talked to until that "rushed" morning.

From that day, Tseng and Peng became gradually more acquainted, taking the same train to school in Hsinchu City every day.

They have now been married for 36 years and they both say they love the railway and the trains.

The couple say they are thrilled because they are now allowed to look after Hohsing Railway Station -- "their" railway station -- which is currently half-deserted because no personnel from the Taiwan Railway Administration are stationed there.

Although trains still pass through and stop at Hohsing Station every day, the station presently does not maintain any ticketing or other services.

After a contract-signing scheduled for Feb. 23, Tseng and Peng will be the only people who will look after Hohsing Station -- a wooden structure built during the period of Japanese occupation and sporting a red tile roof and green walls -- and surrounded by a white wooden picket fence.

Hohsing Station has the only "reversible rails" in Taiwan in its vicinity -- a rare historical asset -- as well as a waiting room that is similar to that of an old-style Japanese railway station. There are also several cherry trees in the station's backyard which make the station look much more beautiful.

Tseng said he and his wife would invite volunteers -- "who must be lovers of the railway and trains" -- to help maintain the Hohsing Railway Station.