Kowloon east praya narrow gauge construction railway 001

There appears to be very little information on the narrow-gauge railway running along the 1905 Kowloon East Praya or waterfront.

Photographs of a couple of the steam locomotives and wagons running along the Praya appear in HK “Old Photos” websites claiming to be‘1905’. But the images are no better than silhouettes. One print has a handwritten note saying “Tsimshatsui railway,” but whether the note is original or added later is not obvious. When did”Tsimshatsui” come into general usage rather than “Kowloon Point”?

See- https://www.uwants.com/viewthread.php?tid=15184666&extra=&page=25

However, contemporary postcards picturing the waterfront do show the tracks and adjacent fencing. In a south facing image the track appears to run from the photographer to under the face of Signal Hill.

The north facing coloured postcard image shows the track and fencing on the right heading north.

From a cropped image showing housing in the area, it is just possible to discern the track route heading north. Presumably to a “Fill” borrow area in the  Homantin hills.

On-line sources appear to totally ignore this railway. I’m presuming it was reclaiming foreshore  for the forthcoming KCR station.

Date picture taken
1905