Friday 8 November 2024

Tama Riverside Walking: Part 12, Minami-Tama

Set N24 of the EMU JR East E233-8000 series crosses Tama River

It’s November already. The weather has become cooler, so, it’s the best season for a stroll. I resumed walking along Tama River. My destination this time was Inagi City of Tokyo Metropolis. After getting off Minami-Tama station on the JR East Nambu line, I headed to Tama River.

Let me quickly review Inagi City to start. It’s located in the midstream of Tama River, and a new residential area developed in the 1970s. When I was a child, I sometimes came here with my school teacher and classmates for picking pears in autumn. My teacher told us that Inagi City is suitable for pear cultivation, because the land is well-drained. The main part of the city is situated on the Tama riverbed.

As soon as I started walking on the embankment, a 6-car train crossed the railway bridge. It was a northbound train, Set N24 of the EMU JR East E233-8000 series, on the Nambu line. All the trains on the Nambu line are operated with yellow, orange and black-colored EMU E233-8000 series. This train is familiar to me, but the figure of crossing Tama River is refreshing. I continued walking upstream. Three minutes later, a container train pulled by a blue-colored electric locomotive (EL) passed through another bridge for freight trains. It was Unit 337 of the Class EF210-300, "Momotaro", operated by JR Freight. I tried to shoot the whole train, but I was too optimistic. The train was longer than the railway bridge, so I couldn’t. Instead, I shot a close-up of the EL.

A container train pulled by a EL, Unit 137 of the Class JR Freight E210