Do you remember when I introduced you to five preserved streetcars of the ex-Yokohama City Tram several years ago. They were the electric cars 500, 1100, 1300, 1500 and 1600 series preserved in the Yokohama Tram Museum. Today, I'm going to show you one more, named the 1150 series, preserved in a public park.
To start, let me quickly review the Yokohama City Tram. Yokohama is located about 20 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, and is the second largest city in Japan. This mega-city once had an extensive tram network operated by the Transportation Bureau of Yokohama City. The track was 1,372 millimeter-size gauge. Its electric system was 600 V DC. The city tram was a very useful transportation means for local people, but, was unfortunately abolished in 1972 due to heavy traffic congestion. Most of the streetcars were then scrapped; however, several units are still preserved in a museum and public parks.
Let's get down to the main topic. Unit 1156 of the electric car 1150 series is a 12-meter-long streetcar preserved in Kuraki Park, Yokohama City. It was built by Utsunomiya-sharyo (present SUBARU) in 1952. The 1150 series looks like the 1500 series, which I introduced several years ago, but its technical specifications are different. To be honest, the performance of the newer 1150 series was lower than that of the older 1500 series. Why? Because, the older 1500 series was a high cost. Cost reduction was necessary when the newer 1150 series was designed. That was inevitable.
