Old vans at Takasaki

[yakumo381]

Took these pictures of a pair of, I presume, old JNR vans at Takasaki whilst walking around the back of the station.

 

Can anyone identify them for me? Also who were the original owners as I do not recognise the logo on the restored van?

[kvp]

I think the logo is for the Joshin railway.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jōshin_Dentetsu_Jōshin_Line

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jyoushin_deki1%2B2.JPG

 

And the cars are TEMU boxcars:

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10351964

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10491179

Edited April 12, 2018 by kvp

[yakumo381]

KVP - Thanks for the input.

 

Digging a bit further, the テム300 may have or does belong to the Chichibu Railway ( https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/秩父鉄道  ) based on the logo on the restored wagon. The Chichibu is based in Kumagaya which is not far from Takasaki.

 

I was not aware of the Joshin Railway when I was in Takasaki so I was not looking for any other railway lines apart from JR East. It is now added to my "to do" list for the next time I visit this area.

 

Same goes for the Chichibu, which again I was not aware of, which apparently runs freight on its own line through Kumagaya Freight Terminal.

 

I did visit this terminal, which is run by Kita Kanto Logistics for JRF and who also run the freight terminal at Kuragano, but it seems to be in decline and I did not see any JRF freight locos there let alone any from the Chichibu.

 

This DE10 at Kumagaya is in the typical condition of Kita Kanto's second hand shunters...

[kvp]

45 minutes ago, yakumo381 said:

Digging a bit further, the テム300 may have or does belong to the Chichibu Railway based on the logo on the restored wagon.

Yes, the logos are very similar and both companies use(d) this type of boxcar.

[Das Steinkopf]

The yard there would have to be the most accessible yard in Japan when it comes to Google street view, not only do you have roads around the whole perimeter you also have a road crossing right over it, the amount of detail you can garner from it is incredible. Looking at the layout of the yard gives a bit of inspiration in how a fuel terminal and freight yard can be combined, places such as Minami Matsumoto the yard is and fuel terminal are spread out over a vast area whilst here everything is all in the one place in a a rather compact form, with a decent amount of selective compression a really nice and functional model could be made loosely based on this.

 

 

[railsquid]

22 hours ago, kvp said:

Yes, the logos are very similar and both companies use(d) this type of boxcar.

 

The restored one is clearly labelled 上信 (Jōshin), logo is similar but not identical.

 

23 hours ago, yakumo381 said:

Same goes for the Chichibu, which again I was not aware of, which apparently runs freight on its own line through Kumagaya Freight Terminal.

 

Yup, indeed it does.

 

FWIW there's a small open air display of wagons and other stock at Mitsumine-guchi on the far end of the line.

 

P1030375 by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[railsquid]

A very Chichibu freight working:

 

P1030370 by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

which are probably what keep the line alive, even then it's still stuck a couple of decades in the past.

[ToniBabelony]

41 minutes ago, railsquid said:

which are probably what keep the line alive, even then it's still stuck a couple of decades in the past.

 

I'm really getting hyped to visit the Chichibu one day soon. It's one of those lines that deserves a bit more attention. However, next to freight keeping the line alive, the Paleo Express and moving empty stock from Seibu (I think even regular Seibu through traffic) and Tobu (Tojo and Isesaki line exchange) are essential for the region.

[railsquid]

11 hours ago, Kabutoni said:

 

I'm really getting hyped to visit the Chichibu one day soon. It's one of those lines that deserves a bit more attention. However, next to freight keeping the line alive, the Paleo Express and moving empty stock from Seibu (I think even regular Seibu through traffic) and Tobu (Tojo and Isesaki line exchange) are essential for the region.

 

There's some limited through-running from the Seibu line, but though I've never looked into it in detail I've always had the impression that without the freight operations it would really be struggling, particularly the western section. Many of the stations have three tracks, which I presume is to facilitate freight movements.

 

Anyway maybe we could coordinate a trip, I'm minded to take the Squidlet up to Mitsumine-guchi some time in summer.