A Bygone Era

KCRC, or Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, the company which connects Hong Kong to China, and for many locals, providing many fond memories but also memories of agony of years gone by.

Took my girl to visit the railway museum, conveniently located at the former location of Tai Po Market railway station. Trying to immerse her into the history of this railway company dating back almost a century.......but in a sense it was also for me tracing my steps back to the early 70's, the first time I visited Hong Kong with my mum and bro.........

Vivid memories coming back upon seeing this old station, the narrow streets, the steep pathway, but above all, the train engine and the coaches themselves.....1st class, 2nd class, 3rd class, cargo area.....each and everyone of these coaches I had the privilige to travel in......from the winding tracks, the quirky onboard toilets (when you pulled the flushing lever, the contents of your bowel would be deposited on the tracks.....just a gaping hole), the tunnel pass connecting Kowloon and the New Territories (we had to close all the windows as we entered the tunnel, otherwise we would be inhaling the diesel fumes of the train engine)........

Pictures don't do history justice, memories are far stronger than pictures, ...... but teaching today's kids about history, having pics around is helpful, and foremost, having something on display for them to see and touch for themselves. So I was bombarded with all imaginable questions that a Primary 1 kid can pose regarding trains, engines, tracks, ticketing office, signals.......but she didn't ask any questions about the black and white pictures, depicting the history of KCRC, showing the exodus of Mainland Chinese from Communist rule and the subsequent famine era into Hong Kong using the train back in the late 40's and 50's(I explained to her that "yeye" came to Hong Kong this way). Will my daughter ever realize that it was this sudden, huge influx of immigrants, bringing along their famed work ethos and funds, traveling on these KCRC trains who eventually made Hong Kong into what it is today?

I doubt it......but at least she knows that those steam engined trains are actually for real and not something she only sees on TV (documentaries or the animated movie 'Polar Express').