Sha Tau Kok Railway

Steam locomotive W.G. Bagnall 0-4-4T, used on former Sha Tau Kok Branch Line.

Former Hung Ling Station of the Sha Tau Kok Railway. Most of the stations of this railway have been demolished except this one.

The Sha Tau Kok Railway (Chinese: 沙頭角鐵路) was a 2 ft  (610 mm) gauge narrow gauge railway running from Fanling to Sha Tau Kok in the northern New Territories of Hong Kong. The line began service on 1 April 1912. It was built with the narrow gauge tracks of the Kowloon-Canton Railway when the latter was converted to standard gauge. It ceased operation on April 1, 1928 when the Sha Tau Kok Road, a highway parallel to the railway, came into service. Some of the old rails and a tunnel can still be traced through the dense foliage of the countryside today.

After the closure of the line, two locomotives used on the railway were sold to the Philippines, where they were used in sugar mills. Subsequently they were repurchased and brought back to Hong Kong, where one is now on display in the Hong Kong Railway Museum. The other is on the Vale of Rheidol Railway in Wales.

Stations

The short line had the following stations:

• Fanling (Interchange station for the KCR mainline)
• Hung Leng or Hung Ling
• Wo Hang
• Shek Chung Au
• Sha Tau Kok

When the line closed, Fanling continue to be in service until today, and the station building of Hung Leng is preserved.

See also

• MTR
• East Rail Line
• Sha Tau Kok
• Hong Kong Railway Museum