All aboard the Piggy Express!

[Beaver]

I found this buried in the corner of a shop recently.

 

Kumu 80000 piggyback wagon.

 

I have not been able to find much information on the very short life of the JRF piggyback workings, which lasted only from the founding of JRF as one of the new company's first attempts at developing new stock, to the national economic crash a few years later.

 

Apparently facilities for handling these wagons were incorporated into existing container terminals, and they were often attached to container trains on routes with low piggyback traffic. However on the Tokaido Main Line, a dedicated 20+ car train was run which was known unofficially as the Piggy Express.

 

This Tomix item from the blue cardboard box with plastic tray era is the only model I have found. I would like to assemble a rake of them to run behind an ex JNR electric in early JRF experimental livery to recreate the express.....or change history to have it running in the present day......

[bill937ca]

It is Tomix 2770  https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10009567  They will be available again in January.

 

EDIT 

 

Sumida Crossing says,  "The KUMU 80000 was produced from 1986 to 1991, with a top speed of 100 kph, and remained in service until 2000. The last car was scrapped in 2003."

 

http://www.sumidacrossing.org/Prototype/JRFreight/FreightCars/

 

More info:   https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/国鉄クム80000形貨車

Edited November 29, 2018 by bill937ca
additional info

[Welshbloke]

I too have one of these. Unfortunately my transfers had gone off and broke up when I tried to apply them, and a previous owner had glued the trucks to it. Did they carry other vehicles or just the type they came with? I might be tempted to seek out a handful if they did.

[bill937ca]

At one Tomix had a fairly full line of cars and trucks which were discontinued at the time Tomytec came on the market.

 

 

[Welshbloke]

Made an image search, but the only loaded photo was this one:

 

http://www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~r_shiina/jpg/Kumu1001-16.jpg

 

I don't recognise the markings, but it looks as if there were at least two KuMus in this train loaded with them. Trucks look the same type as the Seino ones bundled with the Tomix wagon, and I think that's the back end of a Seino one just creeping into the right hand side of the frame. Would like to know roughly how many would have turned up on the back of a container train as I'm contemplating assembling an earlier one from the JNR/JR Freight period before all the containers and KoKis had been replaced or repainted.

[kvp]

The funny thing is that while i found many different brands and companies on these trains, all of them seems to be using the same truck type. Like it was the only supported type for these services.

https://mobile.twitter.com/hanajiru_man/status/644507634633019392

http://mawasya-tetudo.main.jp/keishiki-fc-syaunsya.html

It's easy to see why containers turned out to be the cheaper and more efficient way to transfer cargo between trains and trucks.

 

 

[Welshbloke]

Yep, I was wondering whether other truck types were used but apparently not! I'll have to see whether I can persuade the cabs off mine with a view to a repaint in green and some detailing. The Seino transfers disintegrated when I tried to fit them so I may as well try a repaint, even if I can't do the Japanese characters on the sides.

 

I do wonder whether Tomix tooled it at the time the real thing hit the rails and haven't bothered to revisit it as a result of the short lifespan. The transfer-based lettering and need to paint the handbrake wheels is very primitive compared to their other freight stock.

[bill937ca]

At about 5:32.