|
|
| Photos: Light rail in Japan (812717) | |
 |
|
| Home > SubChat | |
[ Post a New Response | Return to the Index ]
|
| (812717) | |
Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Deaks on Sat Jul 25 16:23:20 2009 I always have a fortnight off work during July and this year I have been to Japan. What a place that is, everything is so efficient it even puts Germany to shame. The language is a challenge though. But anyway, the variety and scale of the train action there is unbelievable, so to start off I will post some pictures I took of the light rail action to be seen.... There is only one proper tram/streetcar line in Tokyo, the 'Arawa' line to the north of the city. It connects with several Metro lines, and a handful of Japan Railways lines too. This is taken outside the famous circular Yamanote line.  Another shot taken where the tram connects with a JR line, which is what the elevated train is operating on. Although it's a relatively short route, the tram has about four or five different types of car in operation.  Proof that the Wuppertal 'thing' is not the only suspended monorail in the world. This is the Shonan Monorail and it runs from the JR station at Ofuna (about 50km south of Tokyo) to Enoshima, which is on the coast and is a pleasant place to visit. It's a single-track job, but with split-second meets as passing points they still manage to run a 7-minute frequency.  Also running through Enoshima is the Enoden Electric Railway. It runs from Fujisawa, where this is taken, to Kamakura, including a stretch right along the sea-front. Again it is a single-track operation with passing places, on a 12-minute frequency.  Back to Tokyo now. The man-made island of Odaiba is served by the elevated Yurikamome Line, a driverless rubber-tyred people-mover type operation. Being driverless, there is a good 'railfan window' to be had, the highlight of which is the crossing of the spectacular Rainbow Bridge from the mainland onto Odaiba.  I spent a couple of days in Hiroshima after visiting Tokyo. Unfortunately the weather was terrible for most of the time, hence these next few pictures aren't too good. If ever there was an interesting tram system to see, then it is Hiroshima's. They have some modern low-floor cars running....  ....and they also have some really old stuff as well. These aren't museum cars, they are in normal service.  This one reminded me of a couple of the old cars I have seen in San Francisco. It's taken at Hiroshima Port, where apart from ferries to the various islands you can also get the boat to Busan in South Korea if you want.  Another old car. I wonder if any of these date from before the atomic bomb.  Slightly more modern car, again in Hiroshima. They have some which are similar to this but articulated....  ....like this one. They sell an all-day ticket for ¥600, although with little priority measures progress can be agonisingly slow.  Another three of the old cars, waiting at the Port. I rode the far one, which was wooden-framed and had a pronounced sag in the middle. They have the traditional brass controllers in them and come with all the old-school tram sounds such as whining motors and such.  Older articulated car. These have very comfortable seats in them.  There's still a couple of tram routes operating in Osaka. They are both run by the Nankai Railway company, with these kind of cars.  Finally this is what the Atomic Bomb dome looks like in Hiroshima. It is set in its own park, the accompanying signs saying it was 60m away from the epicentre of the bomb blast. Nothing remains of the interior - it's just a shell. A sobering sight to say the least, and one which may be of interest to North Korea if they want to know what the future might hold for them.... Some pictures of the Metros and Bullet Trains etc to follow.... |
|
|
| (812734) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Henry R32 #3730 on Sat Jul 25 17:37:23 2009, in response to Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Deaks on Sat Jul 25 16:23:20 2009. いいですよ！Great pictures! Looks like you had fun! I was planning to go this May but an unexpected increase in work delayed my learning of Japanese to an acceptable level, so I'm planning for next year. |
|
|
| (812774) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by 156n3rd on Sat Jul 25 21:50:54 2009, in response to Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Deaks on Sat Jul 25 16:23:20 2009. Sobering is the least way to capture that picture. Frightening. |
|
|
(Sponsored) |
iPhone 6 (4.7 Inch) Premium PU Leather Wallet Case - Red w/ Floral Interior - by Notch-It |
|
| (812781) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by NIMBYkiller on Sat Jul 25 22:16:40 2009, in response to Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Deaks on Sat Jul 25 16:23:20 2009. AMAZING reporting! I'm hoping to spend some years traveling the world |
|
|
| (812868) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by WillD on Sun Jul 26 02:06:36 2009, in response to Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Deaks on Sat Jul 25 16:23:20 2009. Excellent photos. I always see so much on their mainline systems, but very little on their LRT networks.There is another suspended monorail in the Chiba portion of Tokyo (I think, I'm sure Wado can correct me on where exactly it is). Both are roughly based around the French Safege system and were built by Mitsubishi. They differ from the Wuppertal Schwebebahn in that they use rubber tires within the guideway as opposed to a steel wheel on a steel rail exposed to the elements. Of course most of the other Japanese monorails were based on the German Alweg system and were constructed by Hitachi. It's also worth mentioning that the Hiroshima Peace park was located below the hypocenter of the blast, the epicenter would be a point above the detonation. |
|
|
| (812891) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Fred G on Sun Jul 26 08:31:33 2009, in response to Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Deaks on Sat Jul 25 16:23:20 2009. Excellent report and photos, Deaks. I'd no idea they had a suspended railway.your pal, Fred |
|
|
| (812894) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by FLASH GORDON on Sun Jul 26 08:44:11 2009, in response to Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Deaks on Sat Jul 25 16:23:20 2009. Great shots and sedom seen on this site.Good job and fine report. FLASH GORDON |
|
|
| (812973) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Wado MP73 on Sun Jul 26 13:19:30 2009, in response to Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by WillD on Sun Jul 26 02:06:36 2009. There is another suspended monorail in the Chiba portion of Tokyo (I think, I'm sure Wado can correct me on where exactly it is).Chiba is outside of Tokyo, about 30km southeast, still part of the Greater Tokyo commuting area. I've ridden the Shonan monorail many times but never ridden the Chiba one. Too new and too far from where I frequent! Like I said in my reply to Deaks, I'm there right now and I may try to ride the Keikyu line between Tokyo and Yokohama on Tuesday since on my next visit, it will be grade separated and lose its charm as a former interurban line. Mucho grade crossings traveled at 120 kph. I will only have 64k ISDN access until Wednesday. Not that I had time to railfan or take pics anyway. |
|
|
| (812977) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Wado MP73 on Sun Jul 26 13:22:51 2009, in response to Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Deaks on Sat Jul 25 16:23:20 2009. I'm there right now. (Tokyo suburbs)I haven't been to Hiroshima since 1980, but they still should have at least one or two cars that survived the A-bomb. |
|
|
| (813321) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Deaks on Mon Jul 27 06:57:09 2009, in response to Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Henry R32 #3730 on Sat Jul 25 17:37:23 2009. Thanks, and to everyone else passing comment.My learning of Japanese is non-existent, but I managed OK. Signs are generally in English as well as Japanese, and pointing at stuff generally works. |
|
|
| (813322) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Deaks on Mon Jul 27 06:58:55 2009, in response to Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by WillD on Sun Jul 26 02:06:36 2009. Thanks. I saw the track for the Chiba thing when I was on the train from the airport, but didn't happen to noticed that it was a suspended type. If I had, I might have gone back and had a look. |
|
|
| (813323) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Deaks on Mon Jul 27 07:01:28 2009, in response to Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Wado MP73 on Sun Jul 26 13:19:30 2009. I have some pictures of the Keikyu lines. I'll post them when I get round to adding the heavier rail stuff. It is an interesting ride out to Haneda via the Keikyu line, at the RFW of course, and then back on the Monorail. |
|
|
| (813478) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Aq Arcticson on Mon Jul 27 12:30:49 2009, in response to Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Deaks on Sat Jul 25 16:23:20 2009. Nice photos...did you ever experience riding some of the overcrowded subways that there are platform Conductors cramming people in the train [like on that Youtube video]? |
|
|
| (816675) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Wado MP73 on Tue Aug 4 01:39:00 2009, in response to Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Deaks on Mon Jul 27 07:01:28 2009. Turned out I had to take my dad to the hospital that Tuesday and our trip to Yokohama was canceled. He's doing okay since then and we're back in New York.I'd like to see the pictures of your heavy rail stuff if you haven't posted them yet. I will post pics of the new Railway museum in Omiya when I have the chance. |
|
|
| (816919) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by artenn3164 on Tue Aug 4 16:50:54 2009, in response to Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Henry R32 #3730 on Sat Jul 25 17:37:23 2009. That's the Arakawa line in Tokyo. I see they succumbed to "get rid of rollsigns and replace with dot matrix" nonsense, especially on a single line. |
|
|
| (816920) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by trainsarefun on Tue Aug 4 16:59:20 2009, in response to Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Deaks on Sat Jul 25 16:23:20 2009. Wonderful shots! And nice narration too.The low platform train rounding the curve is my favorite. |
|
|
| (817522) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Wado MP73 on Wed Aug 5 20:47:42 2009, in response to Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Aq Arcticson on Mon Jul 27 12:30:49 2009. I don't know if Deaks experienced it but I commuted in the Tokyo suburbs in the seventies and eighties, first to school, later on to work.The famed YouTube video is from 1990 when many trains were still over 200% capacity. None of the lines these days see more than 200% with the most crowded spots at 198%. (yeah, that's still pretty bad) In the seventies, some trains saw more than 300% at times and windows broke due to pressure from human bodies. (and most trains had no A/C back them) |
|
|
| (817668) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Deaks on Thu Aug 6 08:43:15 2009, in response to Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Aq Arcticson on Mon Jul 27 12:30:49 2009. Missed this one, sorry.I didn't see any occasions on the Metro when it was chock full, but on some of the JR suburban lines it would seem to get pretty bad. I was on a Chuo line in the morning peak once and you could see that people were forced tight against each other. I also saw it on one of the other lines - that runs 15 car trains every few minutes. The scale of people riding the train there is something to be seen, that's for sure. |
|
|
| (818038) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by fytton on Fri Aug 7 02:43:13 2009, in response to Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Wado MP73 on Sun Jul 26 13:22:51 2009. 'I haven't been to Hiroshima since 1980, but they still should have at least one or two cars that survived the A-bomb.'Presumably, though,the oldest Hiroshima cars aren't quite as old as the Peter Witts in Milan, built 1928-1930, and still hundreds of them in regular service? At eighty years old, I think they may hold the record for oldest rail passenger vehicles in the world in regular service in numbers. |
|
|
| (818041) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by JBar387 on Fri Aug 7 02:58:36 2009, in response to Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Deaks on Sat Jul 25 16:23:20 2009. Love them, One place I want to go Japan! |
|
|
| (818313) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Wado MP73 on Fri Aug 7 17:00:47 2009, in response to Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by fytton on Fri Aug 7 02:43:13 2009. I checked. The oldest car is from 1925. It's not in regular service anymore. The two other A-bomb survivors are from 1942 and are in regular service. But all cars seen in Deaks' Hiroshima photos are post-WWII.Buenos Aires metro's line A has cars of 1919 vintage. While I don't think they would outnumber the Peter Witts in Milan, they are most likely the oldest subway cars in the world still in regular service. |
|
|
| (818421) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Wayne-MrSlantR40 on Fri Aug 7 21:07:19 2009, in response to Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Deaks on Sat Jul 25 16:23:20 2009. Beautiful pics! I think there is a marker at the hypocentre (GZ). The Hiroshima dome is indeed a sobering sight, but Little Boy was but a fraction of what's out there today. Not only was it only a 20KT yield, but only a tiny bit of the U235 fissioned, making it, for all intents and purposes, a dud. Some dud! Killed 140,000 people outright. Now - ratchet that up to today's weaponry, and you can only imagine what destruction might result.wayne |
|
|
| (818585) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by fytton on Sat Aug 8 10:18:09 2009, in response to Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Wado MP73 on Fri Aug 7 17:00:47 2009. 'Buenos Aires metro's line A has cars of 1919 vintage. While I don't think they would outnumber the Peter Witts in Milan, they are most likely the oldest subway cars in the world still in regular service.'That sounds likely. Budapest's line 1 ('The Millennium Subway') dates from 1897 - the city was founded in 897 A.D., hence the subway's title, nothing to do with Y2K! - still looks very old-fashioned, but I suspect the cars are replicas, not originals. |
|
|
| (818648) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Wado MP73 on Sat Aug 8 13:52:28 2009, in response to Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by fytton on Sat Aug 8 10:18:09 2009. Budapest's line 1 was totally refurbished in the seventies, including new rolling stock and switch from left-hand running to right-hand running. The "new" stock looks utilitarian compared to the old stock.
|
|
|
| (818709) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Deaks on Sat Aug 8 19:08:49 2009, in response to Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Wado MP73 on Tue Aug 4 01:39:00 2009. Sorry to hear about your old man, hope he's doing OK. I have the heavy rail pics waiting, it's just a case of finding time. Maybe tomorrow. I went to to Omiya museum, and also to the one at the top of the Usui Pass line. |
|
|
| (819247) | |
Photos: Heavier rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Deaks on Mon Aug 10 10:35:35 2009, in response to Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Deaks on Sat Jul 25 16:23:20 2009. So, following the tram/light rail shots from Japan, here are some of the heavier Japan Railway and Metro kit. This is the well-known Yamanote Line. It runs in a circle around the centre of Tokyo about every 3-4 minutes or so, and a full circuit takes around an hour as I remember. These cars would seem to be reasonably new, and the air-conditioning on them is (fortunately) excellent.  'Shinkansen' run on their own separate tracks, on account of being standard gauge rather then the metre gauge of other JR lines. In central Tokyo you can see them adjacent to the conventional platforms. I rode on one like this from Tokyo to Osaka. The ride standard at full speed is excellent, it being difficult to tell that the train is even moving.  Tokyo Metro train. It is on the Maranouchi Line, I think approaching Myogadani station. This was one of only a couple of open-air spots I encountered on Tokyo Metro tracks, although their trains also run through to JR lines in the open.  Another Bullet Train, this time one of the latest Nozomi 700 types. This is nearing the end of its journey to Tokyo, the picture being taken from the Yurikamome Line station at Shimbashi. Bullet trains pass here with a frequency similar to a subway line.  One day I visited the railway museums at both Usui Pass and Omiya. Omiya is easily accessible to the north of Tokyo but Usui Pass is a little further away. I rode on one of these MAX Shinkansen to Takasaki....  ...then this little unit to the end of the line up the Usui Pass. The line is very steep, formerly being a rack railway with a 6.6% grade. The museum has several of the rack locomotives used when it was still a main line, in varying conditions. The EMU struggled somewhat ascending the pass but it was plain sailing back down later on.  After finishing up at Usui Pass I headed back towards Omiya, with a stop at the intermediate Shinkansen station for a couple of pictures. These are the only type of 'old school' Bullet Trains still in use I think, relegated to stopping services on the line north from Tokyo.  The railway museum at Omiya is near to the station, accessed via a rubber-tyre people mover type thing. Omiya has some freight action too, such as this EF65 loco of JR.  The Keikyu Railway is a private operator in Yokohama and Tokyo. It operates trains between and around the two cities, and to the airport at Haneda. Unlike the Tokyo Metro, some of its cars appear pretty old, such as this one heading over one of the multitude of grade crossings, near Shinagawa.  Tokyo Metro car, on the Tozai Line.  Then it was on to Osaka. Here's one of their subway trains, departing from Shin-Osaka, which is where you have to go to catch the Bullet Train. They are colour-coded for the line....  ....another one, near the Port area.  Like Tokyo, Osaka is served by a couple of sleeper services to northern Japan. This is the morning arrival.  Osaka has a loop line as well, served by these older orange EMUs every few minutes. Some divert off the loop to head towards the Universal Studios area.  This type of EMU is much in evidence in the Kansai area. I cannot for the life of me remember what this station is called, but it was pretty rural albeit quite busy for a Saturday morning.  Hankyu Corporation operate a number of lines in the Kansai area too, seemingly competing with JR between several destinations. This Hankyu train is passing one of JR's stations in Kobe, having just left the Hankyu terminal. Having a Japan Rail Pass I didn't ride too many of the private operators.  Kobe has a two-line subway. This is taken at Shin-Kobe, the Bullet Train station which is also the one to serve the rather white-knuckle cable car/'ropeway' up the mountain overlooking Kobe.  To finish off, this is an older JR West EMU in Hiroshima station. Some of these have no conductor, and it would seem that at some stations it is necessary to pay the driver/motorman the fare, at least as far as I could understand. |
|
|
| (819276) | |
Re: Photos: Heavier rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by fytton on Mon Aug 10 12:02:13 2009, in response to Photos: Heavier rail in Japan, posted by Deaks on Mon Aug 10 10:35:35 2009. Interesting stuff, Deaks. Keep it coming! |
|
|
| (819298) | |
Re: Photos: Heavier rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by 9 local on Mon Aug 10 13:13:08 2009, in response to Photos: Heavier rail in Japan, posted by Deaks on Mon Aug 10 10:35:35 2009. As for those "old-school" Shinkansens...The original 0-series was retired last fall from Kodama services on the Sanyo Shinkansen. The 100-series still runs Kodama services between Osaka and Hakata on the Sanyo Shinkansen. The 200-series, which is what you saw, operates on the Tohoku Shinkansen in Yamabiko and Nasuno services and on the Joetsu Shinkansen in Toki services. One set of 200-series has been restored to its original livery of cream with a green stripe over the windows. None of these trains will be in service beyond 2010 or 2011. |
|
|
| (819345) | |
Re: Photos: Heavier rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by G1Ravage on Mon Aug 10 15:01:43 2009, in response to Photos: Heavier rail in Japan, posted by Deaks on Mon Aug 10 10:35:35 2009. Coooool. |
|
|
| (819351) | |
Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Wado MP73 on Mon Aug 10 15:08:16 2009, in response to Re: Photos: Light rail in Japan, posted by Deaks on Sat Aug 8 19:08:49 2009. Wow! You really went around! I believe the Usui Pass Museum is actually at the bottom of the now closed Usui Pass line. There are plans to reopen the line some day.Oh, and my father is doing fine, thanks. I spoke to him Saturday at the occasion of my son's birthday. |
|
|
| (819364) | |
Re: Photos: Heavier rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Wado MP73 on Mon Aug 10 16:57:48 2009, in response to Photos: Heavier rail in Japan, posted by Deaks on Mon Aug 10 10:35:35 2009.  Looks like the north end of Yoyogi but the surroundings have changed so much, I hardly recognize the place!  All Tokyo Metro lines except the Hanzomon and the Namboku lines have open air sections and even those two have through service to overground private suburban lines. The Marunouchi lines has three. (Mara means a body part that I have but my wife hasn't, in Japanese slang) The line is very steep, formerly being a rack railway with a 6.6% grade. As I already said in my other post, the part of the line that had the 6.67% grade is has been closed since 1997 and the rack was gone around the time I was born (1963). Unlike the Tokyo Metro, some of its cars appear pretty old, such as this one heading over one of the multitude of grade crossings, near Shinagawa. Keikyu is unique. It insisted on using single leaf doors on new stock well into the eighties. The multitude of grade crossings are part of its charm but they are working on grade separation. With through service from the Toei Asakusa line, you see rolling stock from five different railways at that section. Having a Japan Rail Pass I didn't ride too many of the private operators. You missed a lot! Especially around Osaka! Anyway, seems like you had a lot of fun. |
|
|
| (819370) | |
Re: Photos: Heavier rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by R33/R36 mainline on Mon Aug 10 17:03:42 2009, in response to Photos: Heavier rail in Japan, posted by Deaks on Mon Aug 10 10:35:35 2009. Awsome photos! I love Japan rail systems, I never rode any of them but seeing photos and videos of them on Youtube as well as playing the shujku - Odawara route in MSTS got me interested in Japan railroads. |
|
|
| (819403) | |
Re: Photos: Heavier rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Wado MP73 on Mon Aug 10 19:12:23 2009, in response to Re: Photos: Heavier rail in Japan, posted by R33/R36 mainline on Mon Aug 10 17:03:42 2009. as well as playing the shujku - Odawara route in MSTS got me interested in Japan railroads.Which line would that be? The Odakyu Odawara line? I used to live along that line more than 25 years ago. |
|
|
| (819404) | |
Re: Photos: Heavier rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Wado MP73 on Mon Aug 10 19:13:42 2009, in response to Re: Photos: Heavier rail in Japan, posted by R33/R36 mainline on Mon Aug 10 17:03:42 2009. as well as playing the shujku - Odawara route in MSTS got me interested in Japan railroads.Which line would that be? The Odakyu Odawara line? I used to live along that line more than 25 years ago. |
|
|
| (819413) | |
Re: Photos: Heavier rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by R33/R36 mainline on Mon Aug 10 19:33:48 2009, in response to Re: Photos: Heavier rail in Japan, posted by Wado MP73 on Mon Aug 10 19:13:42 2009. Yep, thats the one. I loved operating the 7000 LSE train (The red one), that train handled like an dream. I didn't like the 2000 series cars, the brake release was slow and the brakes in gerenal on that train was crappy (But I'd still take the Series 2000 over those Steam Trains in that game). |
|
|
| (819621) | |
Re: Photos: Heavier rail in Japan |
|
|
Posted by Wado MP73 on Tue Aug 11 09:05:00 2009, in response to Re: Photos: Heavier rail in Japan, posted by R33/R36 mainline on Mon Aug 10 19:33:48 2009. One or two LSEs were around when I lived there but I'm more familiar with its predecessors. The NSE and the SSE.NSE 3100  SSE 3000  |
|
|
