Monday 3 October 2016

Pyramidal Mountain on the Ohmi Railway

EMU Ohmi Railway 800 series travels on the Yokaichi Line

Tarobo is a characteristic triangular mountain in Shiga Prefecture, located about 480 km west of Tokyo. The altitude of the summit is 357.1 meters above sea level. Its edifice consists of rhyolite lava, which erupted about 100 million years ago in the Cretaceous period.

What is Mt. Tarobo like? To what will you compare it? I think that Mt. Tarobo resembles the Pyramids in Egypt. Although this mountain was naturally formed, its beautiful triangular shape is similar to that of the Great Pyramid at Giza. There is a shrine, "Tarobo-gu", in the middle of the mountain. You should climb up 740 of the stone steps from the entrance gate to the main hall.

To visit this unique mountain, the nearest station is Tarobo-gu-mae on the Ohmi Railway. This local company belongs to the Seibu Group. Its rolling stock was mainly provided from Seibu Railway in the Tokyo metropolitan area. One of the major fleet is the EMU 800 series (ex-Seibu 401 series), which was moved to the Ohmi Railway in 1993. After modifying their front masks, the 800 series was launched in 1998. 

The 800 series is a 2-car train consisting of two motor cars. The electric system is 1,500 V DC overhead. It has rheostatic electric control systems with DC motors. The gauge size is 1,067 mm. So far, a total of 13 sets, 26 units have debuted on the Ohmi Railway. The yellow-colored bodies with the silver-colored passenger doors preserve the appearance of the Seibu Railway trains.

Mt. Tarobo (357.1 meters) near Tarobo-gu-mae Station

Official photo album of the Ohmi Railway: