Indoctrinating children

[JR 500系]

 

Very probably a E231-800 (i.e. the JR Tozai Line ones). IIRC the moving train was a Chuo-Sobu line one (209 or E231, don't recall which subtypes are valid). There's always a mixed bunch of Chuo-Sobu 209s/E231s, Tokyo Metro Tozai line sets and often an E257 or E321, at least on weekends.

 

Aahhh interesting place for a nice video shoot of the moving trains...  I reckon they might be the 209-500 or E231-0 series Sobu line around since it's near their terminal at Mitaka...

 

I think you meant the E351s?   :P   If we're very lucky, we might bump into the E353 hopefully?  :P

[serotta1972]

Correct, it's about 15 minutes by bicycle from Chez Railsquid, and depending on the time of day can be followed up with a trip to the zoo at Kichijoji.

 

Previously featured here: http://www.jnsforum.com/community/topic/11158-a-trip-to-mitaka/

 

Hey Squid, you mentioned bicycle - what is the bicycling scene like in Tokyo? Do they have a bike share program and are there bike friendly streets such bike lanes or such.  I'm thinking it might a be good way to go from spot to spot for train watching.

[railsquid]

Hey Squid, you mentioned bicycle - what is the bicycling scene like in Tokyo? Do they have a bike share program and are there bike friendly streets such bike lanes or such.  I'm thinking it might a be good way to go from spot to spot for train watching.

 

There are some localized bike share schemes, and in many ways Tokyo is quite a nice place to cycle, but I wouldn't recommend it, epecially in summer, it'll be long hot sweaty distances through an unfamiliar city and you'll be dealing with typical Tokyo issues like finding somewhere to leave the bike (assuming you can find one).

[marknewton]

School holidays have started, which means play dates and train-watching trips:

 

 

The boys with a pair of Qube 11 class locos at Port Kembla.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[serotta1972]

There are some localized bike share schemes, and in many ways Tokyo is quite a nice place to cycle, but I wouldn't recommend it, epecially in summer, it'll be long hot sweaty distances through an unfamiliar city and you'll be dealing with typical Tokyo issues like finding somewhere to leave the bike (assuming you can find one).

Ah, thanks Squid - totally forgot about the weather which is a deal breaker for me.  

[Khaul]

There are some localized bike share schemes, and in many ways Tokyo is quite a nice place to cycle, but I wouldn't recommend it, epecially in summer, it'll be long hot sweaty distances through an unfamiliar city and you'll be dealing with typical Tokyo issues like finding somewhere to leave the bike (assuming you can find one).

There are some localized bike share schemes, and in many ways Tokyo is quite a nice place to cycle, but I wouldn't recommend it, epecially in summer, it'll be long hot sweaty distances through an unfamiliar city and you'll be dealing with typical Tokyo issues like finding somewhere to leave the bike (assuming you can find one).

I have seen a lot of cycling in the big cities in Japan but it is mostly local and low speed. That means from home to the station, to the shops or to the kindergarten. Most streets are what we would call lanes and have almost no car traffic because street parking is

Fine rbidden almost everywhere.

 

Personally I like the Japanese approach to cycling better than the Lycra clad fast style.

Edited July 4, 2017 by Khaul

[railsquid]

Meanwhile back in the world of offspring brainwashing, it was a very hot day today so what could be better than taking a series of airconditioned buses and trains to the Tokyo Metro Museum?

 

 

[cteno4]

Squidlette doesn't know how to smile... ;-p

 

Jeff

[railsquid]

Squidlette doesn't know how to smile... ;-p

 

He can do non-smiling too, no worries ;)

 

 

Here at Tokyo Station on the way home via the JR East Shinkansen platforms, where I couldn't let him run around and attempts at close-up photography with the smartphone lead to him making a grab for it to see what I'm doing.

 

Oh yes, he also learnt another useful word, "eki". In unrelated news he's also taken a liking to the Thomas the Tank engine books, the original ones, which I read aloud to him at bedtime.

[railsquid]

"Daddy why do I have to stand in front of this boring old train when I can see an E257 on the other platform?"

 

 

Things getting weird now... Squidlet points to the model of the above (well actually that's a 189 and the model is a 183, but don't ask me what the difference is apart from "6") on my "layout" and calls it "Owd Azhusa" (= old Azusa), which I'm sure I probably mentioned in passing to him but put no effort into explaining...

[marknewton]

Last weekend there was a special exhibition of models at the NSW Rail Museum, organised and curated by my good mate Ben.

 

https://www.nswrailmuseum.com.au/models-and-miniatures

 

As well as the models, the loop line train was running with the 27 class steamer, and the yard was being shunted with Alco diesel 44211. Harry and and Ben's son Elliot - my godson - had a great day.

 

 

 

 

Ben, Harry and Elliot with the crew of the 27, Andrew and Simon.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[cteno4]

Ok I'll settle for godson mark!

 

Fun day.

 

Jeff

[marknewton]

This weekend we're running special trains to commemorate 150 years since the railway through the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.

 

https://www.nswrailmuseum.com.au/bm150

 

 

Elliot and Harry and my driver, Phil, with F1 at Blacktown.

 

Running between there and Penrith on the 4-track section known to crews as "The Speedway" allowed us to run the old girl at track speed. Which means hearing the sound of 4 axle-hung motors driving through straight-cut gears at up to 115kph. Magic! :)

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[railsquid]

Among many other things (the colour yellow, penguins, pandas, flowers, and anything which runs on the Chuo line) the Squidlet is utterly fascinated by the whole concept of tunnels, so I took him on a tour of various tunnels of interest, starting with Shinsen Station on the Inokashira Line (which has the added bonus of being a station-in-a-tunnel, opening out onto a level crossing before diving into a tunnel again).

 

[ToniBabelony]

Somehow, our little monster isn't hyped for Shinkansen. The ano akai-yatsu was probably the most intersting for him:

 

 

I now feel justified to go for JNR Tohoku rolling stock in the future (no that's a joke, get it out of your head).

[kvp]

Somehow, our little monster isn't hyped for Shinkansen. The ano akai-yatsu was probably the most intersting for him

This means a good taste. Imho that is the most japanese train front and one of the best paints.

[railsquid]

The Squidlet, bless him, recognizes various types of Shinkansen at a pinch, but his active vocabulary is limited to "aiji" (Kaiji, aka E257), "Azusa" (E351) and "Owd (old) Azusa", aka the 183/189 pictured above, however anything looking vaguely like a JNR express also appears to fall under the category "Owd (old) Azusa".

[marknewton]

Somehow, our little monster isn't hyped for Shinkansen. The ano akai-yatsu was probably the most intersting for him:

I now feel justified to go for JNR Tohoku rolling stock in the future (no that's a joke, get it out of your head).

But you can't fault his taste in trains, Toni. :)

 

All the best,

 

Mark.

[ToniBabelony]

But you can't fault his taste in trains, Toni. :)

 

Very much not. I've always had a soft spot for JNR AC Tōhoku trains. My first Japanese train was a 2nd hand very run down Kato ED75, which made me investigate more in the area where they ran. Somehow, my first trip to Japan when I was 16 years old also led me to Tōhoku on my JR East Pass. Maybe my son has inherited these suppressed feelings xD

[railsquid]

There was one of those "documentary" things on TV last night where they compare how things are done in Japan and Another Country, with the inference that the Japanese Way is superior, which can be annoying BS at times but when it comes to trains there's not much to complain about. Anyway this was about Tokyo Metro vs London Underground, and when there was a section about relaying track, the Squidlet grabbed a section of Plarail and was all "issho! issho!".

 

[ToniBabelony]

Someone is also on a Tohoku kick.

 

 

 

I think he remebers the ED75-700 from the museum pretty well. Because it's an old and very cheap model, I'm letting the little man touch and experiment with it for a while. I'm already looking into getting more recent and more detailed model for myself... Geez...

[cteno4]

Soon his small fingers will be more nimble than yours! Good on you Tony for gettting himmthis to play with! Of course dad won't play with it either...

 

Jeff

[ToniBabelony]

Somehow, he is fond of running trains slowly, so I broke out my other babies for him :)

[serotta1972]

Train Day at the Los Altos Museum with the family.  What a great show, so many children - all exhibits and no vendors.  They enjoyed the bigger trains more and gave me a chance to go hang out with Paul and admire his modules.

 

 

 

[ToniBabelony]

Having a morning out with papa to let mama do some things on her own. Considering my son has the same energy output of his parents, every second must have value, so we set a goal: Tokyu Train and Bus museum, with riding trains. Departing from Minami-machida, going all the way to Jiyūgaoka and Shibuya, then Miyazakidai for the museum and home again. All done and back before the afternoon... My body is broken, but it was worth it. :)

 

Edited September 18, 2017 by Kabutoni
Grammar and sentence construction fixes