On December 25th, 2021, JR East celebrated the 125th anniversary of their Joban line. In commemoration of the anniversary, several events were held by the company.
Let me quickly review the Joban line. It's a trunk railway line operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Connecting Nippori in Tokyo Metropolis and Iwanuma near Sendai City, its route length is 368 kilometers. The route penetrates the Pacific Ocean side of the Kanto and Tohoku districts. The track is double-double in the urban areas, but mostly double or single. The whole route is electrified with a 1,500V DC or 20,000V AC (50 Hz) system.
When I was a kid, I sometimes took the Joban line with my grandma to visit Taishakuten-temple. I always enjoyed views of "obake-entotsu (ghost chimneys)" from the train window. Obake-entotsu were four tall chimneys of the ex-Senju thermal power station. They were positioned in the form of a diamond, so, they usually looked like four chimneys, but sometimes only three or two chimneys depending on the viewing angle. "Ghost chimneys" was a pretty good phrase.
I recently found that the 125th anniversary memorial plate is displayed on a train, set "125" of the EMU E231 series. It was designed by one of JR East staff belonging to Ayase railyard of the Joban line. Its blueish green color was taken from the E231 series; meanwhile the dark blue color was inspired by the E531 series operated on the Joban line. Thank you so much for the beautiful design.
