Oigawa gets some JR Hokkaido 14 series passenger cars

[miyakoji]

Oigawa Railway has purchased four 14 series passenger cars to supplement its fleet for steam service.  Two are SUHAFU 14s, numbers 502 and 557, while the other two are OHA 14s, numbers 511 and 513.  Some or all of them were in the Hamanasu formation(s).  These were transported by sea between Tomakomai and Nagoya, then by road to a siding near Shin-Kanaya.

 

So, according to the blog linked below, there is no physical connection between JRC and Oigawa, or am I misunderstanding that?

 

http://railf.jp/news/2016/06/10/160000.html

http://railf.jp/news/2016/06/13/103000.html

 

several images on RailKingJP's new blog: http://railking.jp/ride/report/2016/06/15/01-24/

 

 

further cool video

 

[bill937ca]

I saw something about this earler. More info (in Japanese)

 

http://trafficnews.jp/post/52518/

 

These cars are air conditioned whereas the older Oigawa Railway cars are not.  The four new cars are expected to enter service in June 2017.

 

Maybe they will run a night train as some small minor private railways do. Back and forth all night.

 

Edited June 23, 2016 by bill937ca

[westfalen]

If you look at Google Earth there is no longer a connection between the two lines at Kannaya.

[miyakoji]

Google Map is outstanding but I usually don't try to follow track on it.  For rural locatitions, even at the highest resolution available I can usually lose my path due to shadows, minor misalignments, error on my part , etc
 
In this view https://www.google.co.jp/maps/@34.8206623,138.1273837,165m/data=!3m1!1e3 I can make out that the track that ends with a yellow buffer is connected to the Tokaido, but there's no connection then to the northwestern-most track.

Edited June 23, 2016 by miyakoji

[kvp]

My best guess is that it's possible that sea transport was cheaper and the cars may no longer have running permits on JR tracks. Otherwise adding temp flying tracks or just craning over at the siding would be cheaper.

[marknewton]

It's been more than 10 years gone since I visited the Oigawa, and the connection had been lifted then. From memory it looked as though it had been gone for a while.

 

Nice to see that these 14 series cars have gone to a good home. I really like these and their 12 series cousins, I think they are very appealing cars.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[Nick_Burman]

The connection has been gone for quite a while and replacing it temporarily to get two coaches in would cause disruption both to JR (who runs local trains every 20 - 30' on the Tokaido line) and Oigawa services. Also the coaches look as if they were stored out of service for quite a while, JRF would screw their noses at their condition...better to bring them by ship.

 

The unloading was done at the former sawmill siding at Shin Kanaya. There is ample space there to bring trucks and set up cranes, so bringing the equipment by road is no problem.

 

Cheers NB

Edited June 23, 2016 by Nick_Burman

[Sacto1985]

The connection has been gone for quite a while and replacing it temporarily to get two coaches in would cause disruption both to JR (who runs local trains every 20 - 30' on the Tokaido line) and Oigawa services. Also the coaches look as if they were stored out of service for quite a while, JRF would screw their noses at their condition...better to bring them by ship.

 

Not only with the local passenger trains ever 20-30 minutes, but also the Tokaido Main Line between Tokyo and Osaka is very busy with JR Freight traffic. I don't think JR Central and JR Freight wants to accommodate the movement of those two passenger rail cars to Oigawa Railway through a possible connection at JR Central Kanaya Station even if those two passenger rail cars were still certified to operate on a rail mainline.