Today, I’d like to share a memorable railfan experience with you.
After observing and taking photos of Tobu Railway’s grape-colored train, 81111F of the 8000 series EMU, I headed to Gunma Prefecture to join an event held by the Japan Railfan Club at Ōgo (or Oogo) Railyard of the Jomo Electric Railway. During the railyard tour, I had the chance to see another grape-colored train: DeHa 101, an electric car from Jomo Electric Railway’s DeHa100 series. It was my first reunion with DeHa 101 in nine years.
As I mentioned in a post back in 2017, DeHa 101 is a remarkably long-serving car that originally entered service in 1928. It has a semi-steel body a little over 16 meters long, painted in a classic grape color. At first glance, this color looks similar to Tobu’s grape-colored train, but there are subtle differences. Tobu’s 81111F looks a bit darker and more blackish, while Jomo’s DeHa 101 has a slightly reddish tone. Officially, the former is called Budō (Grape) Color No. 1, and the latter is Budō (Grape) Color No. 2. I think that it looks different depending on how the light hits it. Sorry for getting a bit nerdy here.
From a technical point of view, DeHa 101 is very old-school. It uses a non-automatic acceleration indirect electric control system, along with a nose-suspension drive system. What really surprised me as a railfan was that there’s no speedometer in the cab. Drivers have to judge the train’s speed entirely based on experience. Even though ATS (Automatic Train Stop) is installed, it still feels like a challenging train to operate, especially for new drivers.
By the way, DeHa 101 is no longer used in regular service and now runs only as a chartered train. According to Jomo Electric Railway, a single round trip costs 110,000 yen (about 700 USD), tax included.
