Short Trip to Shimane Prefecture by Sunrise Express

EMU 285 series, Sunrize Izumo and Sunrize Seto, stands at Tokyo station

I recently took Sunrise Express for the first time in my life, and visited Shimane Prefecture. I’m going to show you photos of this train today.

Let me review Shimane Prefecture and Sunrise Express to start. Shimane Prefecture is located in the western part of Japan, facing the Sea of Japan. The population of the prefecture is about 0.7 million, which is the second least populous prefecture in Japan. To get to Shimane Prefecture from Tokyo, a convenient transportation mean is Sunrise Express. It is an overnight sleeper train that has comfortable berthing. Connecting Tokyo and Izumo-shi, it travels on three JR group railways, namely JR East, JR Central and JR West. A 14-car train, the EMU 285 series is operated as "Sunrise Izumo and Sunrise Seto" from Tokyo to Okayama. This train is detached after arriving at Okayama station. "Sunrise Izumo (a 7-car train)" then runs to Izumoshi in Shimane Prefecture; meanwhile, another 7-car train is operated to Takamatsu as "Sunrise Seto".

The EMU 285 series is owned by JR West and JR Central. A total of 5 sets, 35 units, were built in 1998 by Kinki Sharyo, Nippon Sharyo and Kawasaki Heavy Industries. I think that the "sleeper EMU (Electric Multiple-Unit)" is quite unique. I used a B-class (standard class) sleeping car, which has single rooms. Its window is very large, so, I could fully enjoy night views of downtown Tokyo, and fell asleep without realizing it.

To be continued…

Interior of the single bed room, B-class (standard-class) sleeping car

Official information about Sunrize Express by JR West (in Japanese):

https://www.jr-odekake.net/train/sunriseseto_izumo/

90th Anniversary of the Hachiko Line

Set 42 of the EMU JR East E231-3000 series arrives at Komiya station

On October 6th, East Japan Railway Company (hereafter JR East) cerebrated the 90th anniversary of their Hachiko line. In commemoration, JR East Hachioji Branch Office holds many events on the line.

Let me review the Hachiko line to start. The JR East Hachiko line penetrates the northwestern part of the metropolitan area from south to north. Connecting Hachioji in the western part of Tokyo Metropolis and Kuragano in Takasaki City of Gumma Prefecture, its route length is 92 kilometers. The track is mostly single. The gauge size is 1,067 millimeters. The entire line was opened on October 6th, 1934 by Ministry of Railways. The southern section, between Hachioji and Komagawa, is a commuter route in an urban area. It is electrified at 1,500 V DC with overhead catenaries. The EMU 209-3500 and E231-3000 series are commissioned. On the other hand, the northern section, between Komagawa and Kuragano, is a local route in a suburban area. It is non-electrified. The DMU KiHa110 series is commissioned.

I found special memorial plates displayed on the front and back of the Hachiko line train, Set 42 of the EMU E231-3000 series. These plates were designed by JR East employees. I am specifically fond of a plate, on which a smiling face is designed using number “90”. It is so cute! According to JR East, we can see the same plates on Set 204 of the DMU KiHa110 series, which is operated on the northern section.

Congratulations on the 90th anniversary of the Hachiko line!

90th anniversary plate of the Hachiko line

Official website on the 90th anniversary of the Hachiko line by JR East Hachioji Branch Office (in Japanese):

https://www.jreast.co.jp/press/2024/hachioji/20240920_hc03.pdf

Extra Rare Steam Locomotive Preserved in Sendai City

Steam locomotive Unit 1 of the Class C60 is preserved in Sendai West Park

After observing trains on the Namboku line of Sendai City Subway, I visited Sendai West Park in the city center. My target was a steam locomotive Unit 1 of the Class C60 (hereafter C60 1) preserved in the park.

Let's take a quick look at the Class C60. It is a 4-6-4 (Whyte notation) type steam locomotive that has a tender attached. The C60 was originally developed as the Class C59 by the Ministry of Railways in 1941, but converted to the Class C60 later. What was the background of C60’s appearance? The Class C59 was originally developed for pulling express trains on trunk lines; however, many trunk lines were electrified in 1950’s. So, they had to move to local lines, but problem of the local lines was their weak load bearing. The heavy axle load of the C59 had to be decreased for operation on the local lines. For that purpose, 4-6-2 axis arrangement on the C59 was converted to 4-6-4 on the C60… one trailing axle was added.

C60 1 was originally built in 1941 at Hitachi Kasado Factory under the name of C59 27. It was then converted to C60 1 by the Japanese National Railways Hamamatsu Factory in 1953. After operating for 15 years as C60 1, it was retired from the track in 1968, and moved to Sendai West Park. It’s an extra rare SL, because it is the only preserved C60 in Japan. I would like to thank everyone involved in preserving C60 1 in Sendai City.

Back view of C60 1

Official website, Preservation Society of C60 1 Steam Locomotive in Sendai City (in Japanese):

https://sendaic601.com/

I Got Here a Little Too Early

EMU Sendai Subway 1000 series and the Funagata mountain range

Continuing with what I covered last time, I would like to introduce trains in Sendai City today.

First, let's take a quick look at Sendai City. Located about 350 kilometers north of Tokyo, Sendai is the political and economic center of the Tohoku Region. As of October 2024, it has a population of 1,096,168. Sendai is a densely populated city, but it is known nationwide as a modern city in harmony with nature. The city possesses beautiful scenery, such as the Hirose River that runs through central Sendai, and the lush zelkova trees that line its streets. Rairai-kyo Gorge, which I introduced in my last post, is also must-see spot in the city.

After visiting Rairai-kyo, I returned to the city center and visited the Sendai Subway Namboku line. My target was a new model named the EMU 3000 series. Sendai City Transportation Bureau recently introduced this model. How was the 3000 series? Oh, please refrain from asking this question. The 3000 series had not debuted yet. According to the Transportation Bureau, the 3000 series was still in Tomizawa Depo, and will debut on 24th of this month. I got here little too early.

Never mind. I got off at Yaotome station. That’s rail-fans’ spot, where we can shoot subway trains on the elevated track during the daytime. I enjoyed shooting of the existing 1000 series trains backed by the Funagata mountain range. I could shoot on the dark underground section at Kotodai-koen as well. That's quite alright too.

EMU 1000 series leaves Kotodai-koen station on the subway Namboku line

Official information about the new model, EMU 3000 series, by Sendai City Transportation Bureau (in Japanese):

https://www.kotsu.city.sendai.jp/subway/namboku_sharyou_p2.html

Preserved Tramcar just above Rairai-kyo Gorge

Unit 119 of the ex-Sendai City Tram MoHa 100 series

I have recently visited Sendai City in Miyagi Prefecture, on an errand. After finishing my meeting, I went to the Akiu area in the city, and enjoyed walking along a beautiful gorge.

Rairai-kyo is a deep gorge generated within pumice tuff deposited about 8 million years ago. This rock is relatively soft, but it doesn’t crumble easily, so it has been used for buildings and fences in Sendai City. If you look at Rairai-kyo from a bridge across the gorge, you can find a heart-shaped groove in the rock (see the photo below). It’s so-called Tafoni, which is a hole generated by chemical erosion, and a popular spot for lovebirds.

Well, I can't be written off here as this is a railway blog. Just above the deep valley, I could find a preserved tramcar (see the top photo). What’s that? It’s Unit 119 of the ex-Sendai City Tram MoHa 100 series. The MoHa 100 series is a middle-sized (11.9-meter-long) double-axle bogie car. It has two 38 kW direct current series motors, and its rated speed is 21 kilometers per hour. The traditional nose-suspension drive system is adopted. Unit 119 was built by Niigata Tekko in 1952. After operating for 48 years in Sendai and Nagasaki cities, it was retired from the track in 2000, and moved to Rairai-kyo Gorge in 2002. Unit 119 is known as a “brother” of the nameless tramcar in Seibu-en Amusement Park (see my post on 15/2/2023). Unit 119… thank you for your hard work. Have a good rest.

A heart-shaped groove within a rock of Rairai-kyo Gorge