Lai, Fu-Ching
When we paid a visit on Changhua roundhouse, Mr. Lai was very willing to be
our tour guide. He not only explained
the long history about Changhua roundhouse, but also answered all the questions
we asked. In fact, the history of Changhua
roundhouse has past from Japanese occupation era(1911) till now, which is
longer than a century. Thanks for his
detailed explanation, we all understood how important Changhua roundhouse is.
Mr. Lai, Fu-Ching
Position: Locomotive Inspector
Resposibility: Checking locomotives for safety and being a tour guide for tourist on holidays
Years of Service: 30 Years
Here is a video clip of Mr. Lai's explanation(in Chinese):
Question:
Why the shape of Changhua roundhouse is like an unfolded fan?
Answer:
In fact, roundhouse seems to be "round" originally, but because Changhua roundhouse just has 15 tracks, which cannot form perfectly round shape. As to the reason why we use the shape is that we can completely utilize the whole space in certain limited zone.
Question:
What is the main function of the traverser at Changhua roundhouse?
Answer:
Because during the early era of steam locomotives, there was only one control cabin on one side of a locomotive, which was different from electric locomotives. So, the locomotive of a northward steam train should be turned to face the north. On the contrary, the locomotive of a southward one should be turned to faced the south instead. Therefore, with the help of traverser, we can easily turn the locomotives to any direction. By the way, the space below the traverser is also used to check or repair the locomotives.
Question:
What are the functions of double-level checking platforms of the first two tracks?
Answer:
That's because some electric equipments or parts of electric locomotives are on the top of locomotives. Without double-level platforms, it is inconvenient for us to check and repair the locomotives.
