Identifying A Car/Use

[GDorsett]

First:
I picked this van up cheaply on EBay a while ago and I have yet to identify it. It looks like a reefer, however it also looks like the boxcars used on some trains as baggage cars. Ideas? I do not have the original box.

 

 

Second:
I know these track cleaners aren't modeled after anything, but do they have a real-life counter-part that is fairly close? I.E. are they inspired from something? Or was this cooked up purly for the sake of cleaning scale track?

 

Edited December 12, 2018 by GDorsett

[cteno4]

There are vacuum trains around, although I’ve never seen a Japanese one. I think Tomix just made it look sleek and maxed the space for the guts.

 

 

[miyakoji]

The first one is a ReSa (I think, I can't make out the second katakana) 5000 refrigerator car that would have been based at Morioka.  I think we have a thread about those somewhere, but I can't find it at the moment.  I'll look again later when I'm at a real keyboard.

[GDorsett]

Does this help?

[miyakoji]

Yes it's a ReSa.  I can't find what Sa stands for, but it was used on limited express freights to carry fresh fish.

 

Edit: Ah, maybe Sa is for sakana, fish

Edited December 12, 2018 by miyakoji

[GDorsett]

Limited Express trains such as Blue Trains? Or other so-called "Joyful trains"?

[chadbag]

This link talks a little about Japanese refrigerated cars like the one you showed and has some insights into the trains used

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigerator_car#Refrigerator_cars_in_Japan

 

[GDorsett]

Alright, thank you!

[GDorsett]

So that particular car would have been used with many of itself on a fish-only train. Interesting.

[ben_issacs]

Folks, 

Refrig car trains.

Kato had sets 10-271 and 10-243.

271 has five bogie refrig. fish vans plus a combined refrig van and guards van, 243 has seven bogie vans, so one can make up an impressive thirteen car fish express, named 'Ginrin'., shown as being hauled by an EF 66 elec., but when I run my 'Ginrin' I stick an EF 58 on the front, just because I like these locos.

A DD51 could also be used.

This train ran Shimonoseki to Osaka and Tokyo.

A twenty car 'Tobiuo' also ran.

All the refrig cars in the 'Ginrin' are marked for Shimonoseki.

Regards, 

Bill,

 

 

[Pashina12]

On 12/12/2018 at 11:05 AM, miyakoji said:

Yes it's a ReSa.  I can't find what Sa stands for, but it was used on limited express freights to carry fresh fish.

 

Edit: Ah, maybe Sa is for sakana, fish

 

The second katakana denotes the load capacity of the car. The omission of a weight suffix denotes a car with a loading weight less than 14 (metric) tons. Other weights:

 

MU (ム): 14 - 16 tons
RA (ラ): 17 - 19 tons
SA (サ): 20 - 24 tons
KI (キ): 25 tons or more (most modern cars are “KI”)