Good trainspotting spots - North Taiwan/Taipei area

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
1

At the risk of sounding like an absolute anorak, anyone got any suggestions for good places to go to have an afternoon trainspotting?

I suppose any station will suffice, but I’d quite like something like a bridge overlooking a line that has a lot of freight trains (I always like them more) to get a good view of them clattering along.

I know there is a fairly large marshalling yard at Qidu and whenever I’ve took a train trip, I often see freight trains along the lines in that general area. But do the freight trains tend to come from Keelung, or from the southern lines past Sijiaoting station?

Finding a spot near Sijiaoting, Badu or Sankeng was my idea.

3 Likes
2

I like this topic. I’d love to sit on a hill and watch trains go past.

Lots of times when I ride the train or High-Speed Rail I see a spot thinking I’m going to go there and watch trains but I haven’t closed the loop to go there later.

2 Likes
3

You can watch the trains come right into the literal town at Shihfen.

It’s like Taiwan’s Hanoi.

1 Like
4

There’s a rice paddy just before Gongliao where the photographers shoot trains from.

3 Likes
5

Can see trains everywhere in Taiwan but where are the spots where you can really get a big view.

6

It’s something that’s been in my mind for a while, but either not been arsed to go or just having other things to do has stopped me. But I figure this weekend, I have nothing else on, I figure I’ll go and find a spot. Somewhere hopefully with a nice view—I know Ruifang area has some nice views but I don’t know how many freight trains go chundling through there. The times I’ve cycled around there, I’ve only ever seen passenger trains.

Shihfen is good, I enjoyed it there. Was cool seeing them go by. I’m hoping to find a place they’ll be going more at speed. But yeah, Shihfen is great.

Looking at google maps, around Gongliao looks like a good spot. There looks like there’d be some nice views as it goes along past the paddies and along the Shuang river. That’s one I will look into.

Cheers

7

I often see trainspotters along that stretch from Ruifang to Gongliao.

1 Like
8

Neili has a few pedestrian overpasses over the tracks.

This one is in Old Taoyuan

Yingge

Shulin South has lookout points.

4 Likes
9

They must sit in the Yard all day, as apart from Cement related products, very little Freight moves by train during the day at least. I see about one a day each way through Yingge, seems to have a Northbound mid-morning and a Southbound mid-afternoon, both pretty short usually with an Electric Loco and a Diesel Loco on the front - it seems the Diesel is there for when they move wagons to sidings that don’t have wires above.

1 Like
10

Some good suggestions here. Which one I go for depends on my level of laziness on Saturday, and whether it’s raining.

Shulin South looks good as its near a marshalling yard/repair depot of sort sort it seems, so might see shunters at work, and, as a bonus, it’s quite close to a small mine museum/park I’ve been meaning to check out for a while now.