臺北機廠宿舍

April 22nd, 2016

Eastern Taipei has long been a major hub for the railway industry in Taiwan. It is home to the Taipei Railway Workshop, a sprawling maintenance depot and rail yard presently undergoing renovations into a full-scale museum. The Western Trunk Line (縱貫線) also runs through the district, although it is completely underground now, following the path of Civic Boulevard (市民大道) for much of its length. I went poking around the area sometime in 2016 and stumbled upon a block of dilapidated homes wedged into a small parcel of land at the tail end of the railway workshop. It turns out these are former railway worker dormitories (宿舍) dating back to the Japanese colonial era.

The ruins of an old residence visible from the street near the Taipei Railway Workshop.

Most of the old homes aren’t accessible without hopping the wall. I only explored a few of them.

The insides of most of these houses are made of wood that easily rots in Taipei’s wet and humid subtropical climate.

Many of these homes have been used to dump garbage.

Someone dreamt of learning English once upon a time.

Only non-essential things were left behind.

I snapped this photo by extending my camera through a break in the wall at one point, hence the strange mouse-like perspective.

Most entrance points have been shuttered with the ubiquitous green corrugated steel barriers you’ll see all over Taiwan.

Taiwan still has hundreds or perhaps even thousands of old Japanese dormitories like these so I didn’t have high hopes they’d be preserved—but as of 2021 it appears this group of dormitories will be integrated into ongoing plans to transform the Taipei Railway Workshop into a museum. It doesn’t hurt that this block of homes faces the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park (松山文創園區) and the future Taipei Dome, both of which are (or will be) big attractions in the city.

The far side of a row of abandoned homes on Civic Boulevard.

The back of the block beneath an overpass.

Remains of a residence formerly along the railway line in Songshan.

The back of an old wooden house in the process of disintegration.

Abandoned vehicles at the back of the block.

One last glance at an abandoned block of residences on the edge of Xinyi District.

Only one other detail is worth mentioning: from sleuthing around on Google Street View it is clear that these homes were already long-abandoned in 2009. Seven long years of exposure have taken their toll, but if any restoration effort follows patterns seen elsewhere, most of these homes will be rebuilt from the foundation.

Warning: this location is abandoned, hazardous, or otherwise neglected and may be unsafe and even dangerous! Exercise appropriate precautions when visiting.

警告：此處已廢棄或長期無人管理，可能存在潛在危險。造訪時請務必提高警覺，並做好相關安全防護措施。