Sayonara 110: An Old Climber on Hakone Mountain

Unit 110 of the electric car MoHa 2 series travels on the Hakone Tozan Line

On July 4th, 2016, Hakone Tozan Railway made a press release, announcing that their old electric car 110 will be retired soon.

Unit 110 of the electric car MoHa 2 series was originally built by Nippon Sharyo in 1927. It had Swiss made trucks and electrical components. Its original name was electric car 10 of the Chiki 2 series. The body of this old electric car was, then, replaced by a steel one by Toyo Kouki in 1957. The car number was also changed from 10 to 110 of the electric car MoHa 2 series at that time. In 1985, the trucks and the electric motors were changed to TS-330A (Tokyu Sharyo) and TDK-8180A (Toyo Denki Seizo), respectively. As a result, the original features of electric car 10 disappeared at this point. The color design of electric car 110 was recently returned to what it was in the late 1940's, namely light blue with a yellow stripe. It stands out among the red colored standard rolling stock of the Hakone Tozan Railway.

Hakone Tozan Railway was opened in 1888 as a horse tramway. It connects Odawara and Goura with a maximum angle of 80 per-mille, which is the world's second steepest railway. Taking the Odakyu Line, it takes about 90 minutes from downtown Tokyo to Odawara, the gateway station to Hakone Mountain.

The last run of Unit 110 is planned on 12th of February, 2017. Sayonara (good-bye) and Arigatou (thank you) electric car 110, a veteran climber on Hakone Mountain.

Unit 110 of the electric car MoHa 2 series stands at Hakone-Yumoto Station

Official information about the Hakone Tozan Railway MoHa 2 series (in Japanese):

http://www.hakone-tozan.co.jp/train/train02.html

Tokyo Night Walking: Blue Cave in Shibuya

Shibuya Terminal of the Keio-Inokashira-Line

Winter is known as the season of street illuminations. Urban streets are nicely illuminated by millions of LED lights during this period. I don't know exactly what the origin of this annual event was, but it is most likely related to the Christmas lights to attract customers to shopping malls.

This winter, I visited "Blue Cave" near Shibuya Station. The zelkova trees on the street of Yoyogi Park were decorated with 5 million blue colored LED lights. Surprisingly, the blue lights looked like they were shining on the street as well. What was the reason for that? They were not lights, but the reflection of the blue lights on the zelkova trees. In this period, special reflective sheets are placed on the street so that we can see both the real lights on the trees and the reflected lights on the street. It is fantastic and exactly like the name "Blue Cave" suggests. I saw many couples and families enjoying this translunary winter event. 

To get to the Blue Cave, I took the Keio Inokashira Line and got off at Shibuya Terminal. The Inokashira Line train arrives at Shibuya Terminal just after passing through the Shibuya Tunnel. Strangely enough, the terminal is located on the second floor of the station building. What is the reason for that? It is because the topography along to the Inokashira Line is largely undulated. The maximum difference from the ground level is about 30 m. A similar situation is also seen at the Tokyo Metro Shibuya Terminal.

"Blue Cave" near Shibuya Station

Geiko: New Year Express on the Keio Line

EMU Keio 8000 series, limited express "Geiko", arrives at Fuchu Station

Hatsuhinode is the first sunrise of the New Year. In Japan, sunrise on New Year's Day is believed to bring luck. Lots of people travel to see hatsuhinode, and pray for a wish or a decision of that year. One of the famous hatsuhinode spots in Tokyo is Mt. Takao, which is located about 45 km west of Shinjuku, a sub-center of the metropolis.

After midnight of New Year's Day, Keio Electric Railway operates a special express train, Geiko (Greeting the Sunlight), to transport people to Mt. Takao. Geiko express has a special display on the face of the train. This year, a total of three Geiko express trains were operated. I visited Fuchu Station to shoot these express trains. Surprisingly, I saw more than 30 rail-fans waiting for Geiko express trains there, in spite of it being three o'clock in the cold morning. As it turned out, many rail-fans flocked to the other major stations on the Keio Line, such as Shinjuku, Meidaimae, Bubaigawara and Takahata-fudo. The trains, commissioned as Geiko express, were the EMU Keio 7000, 8000, 9000 series and the Toei 10-000 series. I am going to show you the photos of the 8000 series (8013F) and the 9000 series (9735F) in this blog.

In the meantime, did I go to Mt. Takao? No, I returned home directly after taking pictures of Geiko express trains, because I was extremely sleepy. I saw "the rising sun" on the display of Geiko express trains instead. Am I a lazy person?

EMU Keio 9000 series, express "Geiko", leaves Fuchu Station

Classic Streetcar on the Manyo Line

Electric Car 7073 of the Manyo-sen De7070 series passes through Shokawa Bridge

Takaoka is a local city in Toyama Prefecture, some 400 km northwest of Tokyo. It takes about two hours and a half from Tokyo by Hokuriku Shinkansen. Along with the adjacent Toyama City, Takaoka also has a city tram route, namely the Manyo Line.

The Manyo Line is divided into two sections. The western half is called Takaoka Tram Line, which was originally operated by Toyama Chihou Railway (Toyama Regional Railway). On the other hand, the eastern half is called the Shinminatokou Line, which was originally operated by Kaetsunou Railway. These two lines were spliced as the Manyo Line in 2002 by a newly established Manyo-sen Company. The direct operation between the two sections started that year. Its total route length is 12.9 km. The track is single (partially double) and electrified. The electric system is 600 V DC overhead. The gauge size is 1,067 mm.

Manyo-sen Company has two kinds of streetcars. One is the classic De7070 series and the other is the state of the art MLRV 1000 series. The De7070 series was launched in 1967 by Kaetsunou Railway. A total of 6 units have been built by Nippon Sharyo. Its technical specifications are rather old, but five units are still operated on the track. I still remember the scene of last summer of the two-toned De7070 series slowly crossing Shokawa River in the setting sun. It was very beautiful against the blue sky and the indigo colored Sea of Japan.

Electric Car 7073 of the Manyo-sen De7070 series travels on the Manyo Line

Tokyu 1017F: Revival Colored Train

1017F of the EMU Tokyu 1000 series arrives at Unoki Station on the Tamagawa Line

Happy New Year! The year 2017 has begun. At the opening of New Year, I am going to show you the nostalgic revival colored train on the Tokyu Line.

Revival color is the key trend in Japanese railways. Currently, many companies operate revival colored trains with previously used body colors to attract passengers, specifically, old rail-fans. Generally speaking, two kinds of models are selected for revival colored trains. One is an old model, which is returned to its original color design. The other is a relatively new model, which is changed to the company's historical color design, such as the company's initial period. The EMU Odakyu 7000 series and the Fujikyu 1000 series (ex-Keio 5000 series) are the former examples; while, Keio 8013F of the EMU 8000 series and Tokyu 1017F of the EMU 1000 series are listed as the latter examples. Let's look at Tokyu 1017F today.

1017F is a stainless-steel 3-car train built by Tokyu Sharyo in 1991. It is operated on the Ikegami and the Tamagawa lines. The original body of 1017F has an unpainted stainless-steel color (silver color) with red colored stripes. It, then, changed to the two-toned revival color of dark blue and dark yellow in March last year. This two-toned design was taken from the EMU DeHa3450 series, which were operated on the Ikegami and the Mekama (present Tamagawa) lines until 1966. I have a dim memory of the two-toned color of the DeHa3450 series. The "T.K.K. (Tokyo Kyuko Kabushiki-kaisha)" logo on the side body is also nostalgic.

I am going to introduce the revival colored trains, if there are any chances again.

T.K.K. (Tokyo Kyuko Kabushiki-kaisha) logo