Nippon Institute of Technology is a private university in Miyashiro Town, Saitama Prefecture. This university has a unique museum named Museum of Industrial Technology on campus. The museum was established in 1987 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the university. More than 250 machines, which contributed to the development of Japanese industry, are exhibited, but that is not all. In 2019, the museum took over an old electric car, unit 103, from Hakone-tozan Railway, and started to display it in front of the museum. Anyone can observe this electric car and the exhibits of the Museum for free.
Let me quickly review Hakone Tozan Railway. It's a dependable transporter that climbs up Hakone Volcano in the suburban area of Tokyo. Connecting Odawara and Gora, the route length is 15 kilometers. This railway was initially opened as Odawara Horse Tramway in 1888. Its maximum angle is 80 per-mille, which is the world's second steepest railway.
Unit 103 is one of the 7 cars of the Hakone-tozan MoHa 1 series electric cars. It was originally built by Nippon Sharyo in 1919 with a wooden body under the name of unit ChiKi 1. It was modified to the steel body car in 1950, and renamed unit 103. After operating for 100 years, it was retired from the track in 2019, and displayed in Nippon Institute of Technology. For your information, unit 103's younger brother, namely unit 107, is currently preserved in Odawara City, and used as a stylish "Cafe 107".
