Archway of Old Water Tower at Beijing North Station Hoisted Into Museum

Yesterday afternoon at 3:30 PM, the nearly four-ton archway inscribed with the words "Republic of China" was slowly transported by a flatbed truck into the China Railway Museum. The archway of the old water tower at Beijing North Station, which had previously attracted widespread attention from railway fans, officially found a permanent home in the China Railway Museum. The museum stated that it will next launch a survey of railway cultural heritage in the Beijing area.

Near the turnaround workshop of Beijing North Station stood a water tower built in 1918, with the archway inscribed "Built in July of the [missing character] year of the Republic of China." Originally used to supply water for steam locomotives, the water tower gradually lost its practical value with the popularization of diesel locomotives, and relevant departments began demolishing it in September of this year.

Ever since our newspaper reported on September 4 regarding the impending demolition of the water tower, the China Railway Museum expressed its intention to relocate and preserve the archway within the museum.

"Easy now—don't use wire ropes; switch to soft straps." Around 11:00 AM yesterday, near the turnaround workshop of Beijing North Station, five or six people were planning to use a crane to load the approximately four-ton water tower archway onto a flatbed truck. Kang Bin, a director from the China Railway Museum who was present at the scene, explained that to ensure the archway would not be damaged during the move, a temporary decision was made to use soft straps to secure it.

Railway staff members noted that the relocation had to be completed by 1:30 PM, as a diesel locomotive was scheduled to pass through the area after that time. The on-site construction crew extended the four outriggers of the crane and placed railway sleepers underneath for reinforcement. At around 1:05 PM, the archway was secured with the soft straps. The crane extended its long boom and slowly hoisted the archway onto the adjacent flatbed truck.

Wang Wei, a railway enthusiast living near Beijing North Station, said that the archway of the old water tower being sent to the museum is a joyful thing for railway fans.

Photography by our reporter Wei Tong