The 115th Anniversary of the Yokohama Line

Set H001 of the EMU JR East E233-6000 series travels on the Yokohama line

This is going back a bit, but JR East celebrated the 115th anniversary of the Yokohama line on September, 23rd in 2023. I'm going to introduce this topic today.

To start, let me review the Yokohama line. That's one of the main transportation arteries in the eastern part of Kanagawa Prefecture and the southwestern part of Tokyo Metropolis. It was opened in 1908 to transport silk from the inland sericultural area to Yokohama port. Connecting Hachioji and Higashi-Kanagawa, its route length is 42.6 kilometers. One of the features of this line is its arrangement. The Yokohama line forms part of the outer ring railway in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Its route intersects many lines, namely JR Central's Tokaido Shinkansen, Yokohama Municipal Subway, Keikyu, Tokyu, Sotetsu, Odakyu, Keio and some other JR East lines. The track is double and electrified with 1,500 V direct current. Some of the trains are directly operated onto the Keihin-Tohoku and Negishi line to Ofuna terminal via Yokohama station. An 8-car train, named the EMU E233-6000 series, is a sole model on the line.

Celebrating the 115th anniversary, a train with memorial plates on the front and back has been operating on the Yokohama line since September 25th, 2023. We have heard very little news lately on the Yokohama line, so, I'm happy about this memorial train. According to JR East Yokohama Branch Office, this train will be operated until late March this year. Congratulations on the 115th anniversary of the Yokohama line!

Special plate of "the 115th anniversary of the Yokohama line"

Official information about the 115th anniversary of the Yokohama line (in Japanese):

https://www.jreast.co.jp/press/2023/yokohama/20230907_y0%EF%BC%92.pdf

Tokyo Night Walk: Hibiya Moat

EMU JR East E657 series, limited express "Tokiwa", stands at Tokyo station

It's getting warmer in Tokyo. The maximum daytime temperature is about 15 degrees Celsius. It has started to be a good season for a stroll not only in the daytime but also in the evening. I visited the Hibiya moat near Tokyo station after sunset, and enjoyed a night view of the Hibiya area. Please look at the photo below. You can see a beautiful stone wall on the left. It was completed in 1608 as a part of the Edo castle. I was surprised that the stone wall was lit up. This illumination was designed by a female lighting designer, Ishii Motoko, in 2021 in the midst of the COVID-19 calamity. To protect the ecosystem of the moat, the light doesn't shine on the water surface. Thanks to that, visitors can enjoy both the lit-up stone wall and the reflection image of the Hibiya downtown area in the still water. What a fantastic night view it is!

After enjoying the night walk, I returned to Tokyo station, and enjoyed shooting trains for a while. Please look at the top photo. The EMU JR East E657 series, limited express "Tokiwa", stands at the station. Tokiwa is operated between Katsuta on the Joban line and Shinagawa terminal in Tokyo. Its travel distance is 133.7 kilometers. Tokiwa is a convenient train for people in Chiba and Ibaraki prefectures, because it's directly operated to Tokyo central station, which is the starting station of Shinkansen trains and Shinagawa, which is a transfer station to the Tokyo International Airport (Haneda).

Night view of Hibiya Moat

East i-D: Extra Rare Inspection DMU

JR East's inspection DMU, "East i-D", travels on the Musashino line

You may remember that I posted JR East's inspection train for narrow gauge electrified tracks, namely East i-E (EMU E491 series), in 2015. At that time, I promised...

"JR East has an inspection train, called East i-D, for unelectrified tracks as well. It's also a very rare train. I'm going to upload the photograph, if I luckily find it."

Nine years has passed since then. Time really flies. I finally came across East i-D the other day. Please look at the photos. That's East i-D. Its formal name is the DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) KiYa E193 series. East i-D was commissioned in 2002 to replace the old inspection train, DMU KiYa 191 series. Only one set was built by Niigata-tekko. The mission of East i-D is to inspect signals and tracks mainly for unelectrified tracks, but it can inspect the electrified tracks as well, because it has pantographs. The top car, KiKuYa E193-1, has a track inspection system. This car doesn't have a driving engine. The middle car, KiYa E192-1, has pantographs to inspect overhead wires on electrified tracks. The tail car, KiYa E193-1, has a signal inspection system.

JR East does not release the timetable of East i-D, so, it's difficult to take pictures of this extra rare train. Fortunately, I could come across it at Minami-Nagareyama station on the Musashino line. Needless to say, as soon as East i-D came into sight, I took out my camera, and clicked the shutter intently. I barely made it!

From left to right, KiKuYa E193-1, KiYa E192-1 and KiYa E193-1

Toy Story on the Disney Resort Line

Set 103 of the EMU 100 series (Type-C), "Toy Story Liner"

Toy Story is a 1995 American film produced by Pixar Animation Studios, and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. It's known as the first entirely computer-animated feature film. Taking place in a world where toys come to life when humans are not present, the plot of Toy Story focuses on the relationship between an old-fashioned cowboy doll named Woody and his friends of toys.

It's a bit old news but a special poster train, named "Toy Story Liner", was operated on the Disney Resort line from January 23rd, 2023 to January 19th, 2024. It was a collaboration event between the railway operator and JCB, which is the international payment brand based in Japan. The vehicle for Toy Story Liner was Set 103 of the EMU 100 series (Type-C), which originally debuted in 2022. The character of Toy Story such as Sheriff Woody Pride, Jessie and the Aliens are drawn on the side bodies of the train. These characters are eye catching backed by the blue colored waves on the train bodies.

Incidentally, Type-C train is the latest model on the Disney Resort line. It was launched in 2020 to replace the old model, namely EMU 10 series (Type-X). Type-X and Type-C look alike, but the latter has color shades on the body stripe. Specifications of Type-C is not clear, but one set is 84.9 meters long, and can carry 564 passengers. The maximum operating speed is 50 kilometers per hour. A total of 5 sets, 30 cars, were built by Hitachi.

Side view of "Toy Story Liner"

Preserved Passenger Car in Nagareyama City

Passenger car, KiHa31, is preserved in Nagareyama Sports Park

Japan's population has entered into a decreasing phase, but Nagareyama City in Chiba Prefecture is known as a city with a rapidly growing population. Today, we can see the newly constructed residential quarters, shopping malls, schools, childcare facilities, parks and so on in the city. Local people keep their eyes on the development of Nagareyama City, but they don't neglect the preservation of historically valuable items as well. Please look at the top photo. That's an old passenger car, KiHa31, once operated on the Nagareyama Railway (present Ryutetsu). KiHa31 was built in 1933 by Kisha-seizo Company. It was originally a gasoline-fueled car with a Ford's type-BB engine. Regarding the technical specifications, it's a two-axle car with a semi-steel body, 9.2 meters long, and weighs 8,200 kilograms. The engine output is 34.5 kW.

KiHa31 was a precious gasoline-fueled car, but it had to be pulled by a steam locomotive during WWII. Needless to say, it was because of the fuel shortage. Another bit of bad luck for KiHa31 was the electrification of the Nagareyama Railway in 1949. The engine was removed at that timing and it was modified to a trailer pulled by electric cars. After operating for 30 years, it was eventually retired from the track in 1963. KiHa31 is currently preserved in Nagareyama Sports Park. It's maintained in very good condition by a local volunteers' group named the Preservation Society of D5114 and KiHa31. I would like to thank everyone involved in preserving KiHa31 in Nagareyama City.

KiHa31 is a simple two-axle car