Do you have any brothers or sisters? Yes, I do. I have a brother living far away. He's taller and better at sports than me. I can seldom meet with him as he's always busy. What's it like in locomotives?
I recently passed by JR East Tabata Rail Yard after shopping nearby. I found Number 133 and 134 of the electric locomotives (EL) Class EF81 standing on the shunting tracks. Number 134 is the very next one to 133, so, they're "brothers". They must be very much alike; however...
They're not exactly the same. The older brother, Number 133, belongs to Tabata Rail Yard; while, the younger brother, Number 134, came from Nagaoka Rail Yard in Niigata Prefecture. Number 133 has a shooting star design on the side body; while it's not found on the Number 134. The shooting star is a symbol of the overnight sleeper train in Japan. In fact, Number 133 has been commissioned overnight sleeper trains for a long time. As another difference, Number 133 has a simple coupler on the front; while Number 134 has a complicated double-headed type coupler. I remember that Number 134 has been commissioned pulling many kinds of trains using this coupler. Number 133 and 134... they're brothers, but have different characters just like us.
Oh, that reminds me. I have to contact my brother as our mother's birthday is coming soon. What should we get for her birthday...
Remarks: Class EF81 is an AC-DC dual current electric locomotive (EL) debuted in 1968.
