Rail-car HOT 3500 series stands at Kohnohara-Enshin Station on the Chizu Express Railway
Following the trans-mountain express, "Super-Hakuto" and "Super-Inaba" (see my blog on December 11th, 2012); I am going to show you another train on the Chizu Line. That is a rail-car of the HOT 3500 series.
The 3500 was launched in 1994 as the first rail-car for local trains on the Chizu Express Railway. A total of 10 units have been manufactured so far by Fuji Heavy Industries. The "3500" is named after the unit power of the vehicle, 350PS. I like this rail-car, since it is powerful enough to climb up mountains, and the windows are large for a great view.
Sitting in the comfortable seat, I enjoyed watching the landscape go by from the train window... a clear blue sky, crimson leaves, limpid streams and so on... sure to wash away daily stresses and strains in my urban life.
In the meantime, I saw a special signboard on the front of one of the rail cars (see the following picture). It is the "Railway Girl" character wearing the Chizu Express Railway conductor's uniform. Railway Girls are imaginary characters created by a toy manufacturer. In this series, most Japanese railway companies have their own imaginary employee characters, such as Ms. Erio Miyamoto of the Chizu Express Railway. By tying up with the railway companies, the toy manufacturer created a vast number of character-goods, for example figures, drama-CDs and comics. Just like model train buffs, there are many Railway Girl collectors in Japan.
Railway is a really expensive yet deep hobby, isn't it?
The 3500 was launched in 1994 as the first rail-car for local trains on the Chizu Express Railway. A total of 10 units have been manufactured so far by Fuji Heavy Industries. The "3500" is named after the unit power of the vehicle, 350PS. I like this rail-car, since it is powerful enough to climb up mountains, and the windows are large for a great view.
Sitting in the comfortable seat, I enjoyed watching the landscape go by from the train window... a clear blue sky, crimson leaves, limpid streams and so on... sure to wash away daily stresses and strains in my urban life.
In the meantime, I saw a special signboard on the front of one of the rail cars (see the following picture). It is the "Railway Girl" character wearing the Chizu Express Railway conductor's uniform. Railway Girls are imaginary characters created by a toy manufacturer. In this series, most Japanese railway companies have their own imaginary employee characters, such as Ms. Erio Miyamoto of the Chizu Express Railway. By tying up with the railway companies, the toy manufacturer created a vast number of character-goods, for example figures, drama-CDs and comics. Just like model train buffs, there are many Railway Girl collectors in Japan.
Railway is a really expensive yet deep hobby, isn't it?
Signboard of "Railway Girl" character wearing Chizu Express Railway's conducter uniform
More information about the rail-car HOT 3500 series (in Japanese):