Let me continue where I left off my last post.
Ootaki is a small town where Isumi Railway's headquarter is located. It has prospered as a castle town of Ootaki-jo (Ootaki Castle) since the 16th century. The current population is about 10,000. You can see a retro townscape with refurbished old shops and restaurants here and there. I took a noodle lunch with tempura at one of the popular restaurants on the main street. As you know, tempura is seafood or vegetables that have been covered in batter and fried in oil. That was absolutely delicious!
Let's get down to the main topic. I'm going to show you the other diesel railcar of Isumi Railway. It's "KiHa 20-1303" of the Isumi KiHa 20 series. This railcar was built by Niigata Transys in 2015. It has the same technical specifications as the Isumi 300 series. If so, what's the difference between KiHa 20-1303 and the 300 series? The answer is the outer design. KiHa 20-1303 has a special classic outer shape, which is similar to the Isumi 350 series (not the 300 series). On the other hand, its color design is the same as Japanese National Railways' (JNR's) diesel railcar named the KiHa 20 series. In short, KiHa 20-1303 is mixed with the Isumi 300's technical specifications, Isumi 350's outer shape and JNR KiHa 20 series' color design. For your information, the railcar's name, "KiHa 20-1303", is taken from JNR's diesel railcar of the same name. That's a little confusing, but I hope you understand.
To be continued...
