KCR Marker Stones

No sooner have I started talking about the territory’s various road mile marker stones (see here, here and here) that I notice that the KCR (now MTR East Rail) line has something very similar. I first noticed these things – there seems to be one every 500 metres – whilst on one of my daily sojourns back into Tai Po and, in true typical-me-style, found a prime example sitting under my nose slap bang in the middle of Kowloon Tong Station. It’s only taken me 4 months of walking by it everyday to notice it…

The Original Beacon Hill Tunnel Entrance, Kowloon Tong

For those interested in the history of the KCR line then Kowloon Tong is one of those areas that still retains remnants from its original operation as a single track steam- (and later diesel-) powered railway. The KCR website has a decent account of the line’s history here but the bit that is relevant to this post is the improvement works that started in 1974.

More KCR remnants – old track in Tai Wai

Ah feck it! The inevitable could no longer be avoided (I guess if it could it wouldn’t be inevitable, would it?). I have a bunch of stuff in the queue, most of which involving more than one of my excellent and professionally taken snapshots (*cough*) and if I want to keep this thing going (which I do by the way – I quite enjoy this process of learning by sharing, or whatever you wish to call these often nonsensical splutterings – sometimes I feel my recently developed Tourettes has found its true outlet here).

Yes, I have dug deep into my very shallow pockets and amongst the fluff, old sweets and bits of blu-tac, have managed to find enough spare change to cover a media-space-upgrade for the next year. Yes, my site is now bulging with extra GIG just waiting to be filled so I can confound you, faithful followers and accidental finders alike, with pictures as well as words. Anyway, verbal diarrhoea over, let’s move on and what better way to mark this new era of (expensive) blogging with a trainspotting entry.

Old KCR Warning Sign, Sheung Wo Che – Shatin

During the brief walk from Shatin MTR East Rail station to the Lung Wah Hotel you are required to walk alongside the railway track for pretty much the whole time. It’s not a particularly riveting walk to be honest and there isn’t much to see of interest other than the odd nice old house, but as you get to the first pedestrian flyover that leads over both the railtrack and highway you will see an old KCR warning sign. It’s quite striking because it was obviously produced in the days when block and stick figures became the norm and contains a high level of detail.

Remnants of the old KCR Terminus, East TST

It may not be immediately obvious to the tourist in HK but along the TST waterfront – where now there stands a windowless, cream tiled development that encompasses the Cultural Centre, Museum of Art and Planetarium – there used to stand a glorious colonial edifice that was the KCR Railway Terminus.