Shengxing Station & Old Mountain Line Railway

Shengxing Station (勝興車站, formerly known as Shiliufen Station 十六份驛) is located in Sanyi Township, Miaoli County, Taiwan, at an elevation of 402.326 meters above sea level — the highest point on the western trunk railway line. The station takes its earlier name from the sixteen camphor distillation furnaces (焗腦寮) that once operated in this mountain settlement, reflecting the area's importance in the camphor trade during the Qing Dynasty and Japanese colonial period.

The station began operations on April 1, 1907, as the Shiliufen signal station of the Taiwan Governor-General's Railway Bureau; popular accounts date its construction to 1906 (Meiji 39), while the heritage register dates the present wooden station building to March 1912. The wooden building exemplifies the Japanese "tiger tooth" (虎牙式) architectural style, constructed entirely of timber using traditional joinery techniques without a single iron nail. The distinctive pointed gable decorations were believed to ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune to travelers.

The Old Mountain Line (舊山線), the section of the western trunk line running between Sanyi and Houli stations, was the most technically challenging segment of the entire north-south railway. Completed in 1908, this 15.9-kilometer stretch required the construction of nine tunnels, three iron bridges, and negotiation of the steepest gradients and tightest curves on the western line. The Yutengping Bridge (魚藤坪橋, now known as Longteng Broken Bridge 龍騰斷橋) was one of the line's best-known structures until it was wrecked in the 1935 Hsinchu–Taichung earthquake. These engineering achievements represented the pinnacle of Japanese colonial-era railway construction technology in Taiwan.

During the Japanese colonial period (1895-1945), the Old Mountain Line served as critical strategic infrastructure for the colonial government. The railway facilitated the transport of camphor, timber, and other resources from the mountainous interior, while also serving military logistics connecting northern and southern Taiwan. The line's strategic importance was underscored during wartime, when reliable north-south rail transport was essential for military mobilization and supply chain management. The mountainous terrain that made construction so difficult also provided natural concealment from potential air attacks during the later stages of World War II.

Regular service on the Old Mountain Line ended on the evening of September 23, 1998, after the last train (Chu-Kuang Express No. 29) passed Shengxing, and operations shifted the next morning to the newly constructed New Mountain Line with its longer but less steep tunneled route. In 1999, the Miaoli County Government designated Shengxing Station as a county historic site. Heritage rail services resumed on June 5, 2010, and the station has since become one of Miaoli County's most popular tourist attractions. Today the Old Mountain Line Rail Bike (舊山線鐵道自行車) allows visitors to pedal along the historic tracks, passing through original Japanese-era tunnels and over historic bridges, experiencing the engineering legacy of Taiwan's colonial railway builders.