The shortest stretch of the SuIn line was inside Suwon city. This ran from the Suwon railway station to the south, after which it would run up a ramp to cross both a main street and the main (standard gauge) railway line. The only remaining part of this part of the line, the part on the ramp directly next to the main line, was described previously. But, that still leaves the part of the line in the city next to the station.
The part right next to the main railway line is at (1). That was described in an other article, but this series of pictures starts at (2), the entrance to what looks like a park but which is essentially the old trackbed turned into a bike/pedestrian lane. The trackbed runs from (2) to (3) and then crossing the road it ends in the old narrow gauge railway station (4).
The entrace to the lane which is on top of the old trackbed. This must have been a ramp in the past, a train simply couldn’t cross the road and get onto the ramp behind without a long ramp across here. So, even though this is the old line, a lot of the sand has been removed.
The lane consists of stones which have a pattern showing the old railway. It gauge of the track shown is even approximately the correct width.
After the slight curved section the trackbed continues in a pretty much straight line towards Suwon station.
At some points next to the lane old sleepers have been used as a crossing.
At the end closest to Suwon station a small mockup has been constructed showing an approximation of a railway carriage.
For some strange reason the track has been put inside the carriage, most likely because the model comes without trucks.
A view of the model. The road in the background is the main road which follows part of the main railway line here. It is the same road which is visible next to the ramp in this article.
Interestingly the sign on the side of the model doesn’t say “Incheon to Suwon” railway but Songdo to Suwon, which is correct: this was the last part of the line left after other parts had been closed earlier on.
The front of the model shows pictures of engineers. Notice the well laid track underneath the model.
The model seen from across the street.
A train passing here can be seen in a picture from the website of Don Ross:
View across the main street towards the narrow gauge railway station. Across the street a truck can (just) be seen parked against a gate. This gate is the entrance to the old station area, which now houses some industry and some Korail buildings.
Another relic left from the narrow gauge railway line: the old water tower for the steam engines. Although steam trains had stopped running long before the line was closed this building (and the shed) is still here.
I rode this train twice in 1990, as an American living in S. Korea. Incredible experience. There was even a roundhouse in SongDo at which the engineer could turn the entire train around by hand (not motor driven)! I have lots of photos somewhere. The riders were mostly old women carrying agricultural products. the rolling stock for the Suin Line is now housed at the National Railroad Museum in Suwon.
Would love to see those photos! Did you upload them somewhere?