Philippine Railway Historical Society News and History!: MARK'S NORTHERN ADVENTURE PART 1

Friday, January 22, 2021

MARK'S NORTHERN ADVENTURE PART 1

Again, our roving reporter, Mark Chua, has headed out searching out some of the Philippines rich railway history.

This time, he set off north for an overnight journey to San Fernando (La Union), where an early morning arrival saw them following the long closed railway line back towards Manila.

As always, we thank Mark both for his passion for the railways of the Philippines, but for his generosity in sharing it with us.

This is the first of a multi-part series looking at what he saw.

Given the long journey from Manila to San Fernando (La Union), Mark obviously took a couple of rest stops.

One was here at the remains of an old railway bridge near Paniqui.

Mark's motorbike at Rosario in Pangasinan.

San Fernando - La Union

San Fernando opened in 1929 and was considered the terminus of the main north line.

However, there was a 20km extension to Bacnotan, which appears to have been considered a branchline. There has been conflicting reports as to whether or not this extension was only for freight.

Much of this extension can still be made out on Google Earth today.

Looking down the once extensive railway yard.

Whether this location ever sees rail again remains to be seen.

The San Fernando wye (triangle for some of us)

Bauang Station - La Union

This station has a reasonable sized yard at it's peak.

A 1928 image (see below) showing a train at the station would suggest that services ran to here prior to the completion of the line to San Fernando. This is assuming the opening date of 1929 is correct, or indeed the date of the photo below.