The Sha Tau Kok Railway (Chinese:

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

 沙頭角鐵路) was a gauge narrow gauge railway running from Fanling

Fanling

Fanling , also known as Fan Ling and Fan Leng, is an area in the New Territories of Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the North District...

 to Sha Tau Kok

Sha Tau Kok

Sha Tau Kok or Shataukok or Sathewkok is a town in the northeastern corner of Hong Kong. Located on the border with mainland China, there is another town of same Chinese name, Shatoujiao, romanized using Hanyu Pinyin, across the Sham Chun River-defined border in Shenzhen of mainland...

 in the northern New Territories

New Territories

New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory. Historically, it is the region described in The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory...

 of Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. The line began service on 1st April 1912. It was built with the narrow gauge tracks of the Kowloon-Canton Railway

Kowloon-Canton Railway

The Kowloon–Canton Railway refers to a railway network in Hong Kong which is now combined with the MTR railway system, comprising rapid transit services, a light rail system and feeder bus routes within Hong Kong, and intercity passenger and freight train services to the rest of China...

 when the latter was converted to standard gauge

Standard gauge

The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

. It ceased operation on April 1, 1928 when the Sha Tau Kok Road

Sha Tau Kok Road

Sha Tau Kok Road is a road connecting Sha Tau Kok and Fan Ling in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It had been the only road access to mainland China from Hong Kong since its construction in 1927. The road replaced Sha Tau Kok Railway as the connection between two areas.-See also:* List of...

, 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 locomotive

Locomotive

A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

s used on the railway were sold to the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, 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

Hong Kong Railway Museum

Hong Kong Railway Museum is a railway museum in Tai Po, Hong Kong. It is now under the management of the Leisure and Cultural Service Department. Opened in 1985, it is located at the site where the Old Tai Po Market Railway Station was built in 1913...

. The other joined the collection of the Phyllis Rampton Trust

Phyllis Rampton Trust

The Phyllis Rampton Narrow Gauge Railway Trust is a British charity which is registered with the British Charity Commission as 292240 under the classification of "Education/TrainingEnvironment/Conservation/Heritage"...

 in Wales.

Stations

The short line had the following stations:

• Fanling
  Fanling Station
  Fanling Station is a station on Hong Kong's East Rail Line. It is next to Fanling Town Centre, and is only a short walk away from Fung Ying Seen Koon, a well-known Taoist temple. The Fanling Highway was built from 1983 to 1987 directly adjacent to the station...
  
   (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
  MTR
  Mass Transit Railway is the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong. Originally opened in 1979, the system now includes 211.6 km of rail with 155 stations, including 86 railway stations and 69 light rail stops...
  
  
• East Rail Line
• Sha Tau Kok
  Sha Tau Kok
  Sha Tau Kok or Shataukok or Sathewkok is a town in the northeastern corner of Hong Kong. Located on the border with mainland China, there is another town of same Chinese name, Shatoujiao, romanized using Hanyu Pinyin, across the Sham Chun River-defined border in Shenzhen of mainland...
  
  
• Hong Kong Railway Museum
  Hong Kong Railway Museum
  Hong Kong Railway Museum is a railway museum in Tai Po, Hong Kong. It is now under the management of the Leisure and Cultural Service Department. Opened in 1985, it is located at the site where the Old Tai Po Market Railway Station was built in 1913...