No.Do.Ka route?

[scott]

I swear I used to be able to find this, but not now. Does anybody know where the No.Do.Ka "carpet train" runs?

[bikkuri bahn]

It's based in Niigata, so I suppose its primary area of operations is the JR East lines in the Shinetsu and southern Tohoku regions, though it seems to range as far as Matsumoto or Tokyo Disneyland, being a "joyful train".

[qwertyaardvark]

As bikkuri said, it is based in Niigata. The train set is owned by JR East so it seems run just about anywhere in their territory. I've seen pictures of the train captioned as far north as Aomori, and as far south as Nagano.

 

There are several routes, but here are some particular ones that i've found thus far:

 

Mentioned on the Jap wiki (which i know it's been requested to be translated, but school unfortunately got to me, hopefully i'll get some translations done soon) :

When attached to the DD51/DE10's, its going along the 磐越西線（ばんえつさいせん） Banetsusai Line, from Niigata to Aizuwakamatsu (the line is non-electrified from Niitsu Station (in Niigata prefecture) to about 6 stations before Aizuwakamatsu)

 

When not attached to the DD551/DE10's, ie whenever its on rail that's been electrified, I've found some pretty random timetables on the JR East website, but they are all in Japanese, and they don't what line it runs on. What it does tell is what stations it stops at, so perhaps i could reverse engineer the line for you:

(this partiular trip runs on New Year's day)

Murakami -> Yahiko Timetable

Yahiko -> Murakami Timetable

 

Correction: i found some timetables that tell what line NO.DO.KA is on when it stops there

http://www.jreast-timetable.jp/0912/timetable/tt1067/1067011.html -> 白新線 - はくしんせん - Hakushin Line

http://www.jreast-timetable.jp/0912/timetable/tt0907/0907011.html -> 越後線 - えちごせん - Echigo Line

http://www.jreast-timetable.jp/0912/timetable/tt1548/1548021.html -> 羽越本線 - うえつほんせん - Uetsu Main Line

http://www.jreast-timetable.jp/0912/timetable/tt1643/1643041.html -> 弥彦線 - やひこせん - Yahiko Line

 

Still not sure of the route from Yahiko Station on the Yahiko Line to Murakami Station which is near Chiba... definitely multiple lines needed between the two cities. The time table can be found here, but it does not mention the lines traveled, but will surely aid in reverse engineering the lines. After final exams and flight back home on Friday, I'd be happy to translate/help with what I can. :)

 

Edit: So i figured the route from Yahiko to Murakami. The last leg is apparently some obscure line called 新潟県道3号新潟新発田村上線 - にいがたけんどう3ごう・にいがた・しばた・むらかみせん - Niigata Prefecture Line Number 3, Niigata-Shibata-Murakami Line. quite a mouthful. Unfortunately, the wiki is rather empty and incomplete, as even the list of stations on this line are filled in as "Unavailable" :( But here's what the route looks like:

 

Yahiko Stn. -> Yahiko Ln. -> Yoshida Stn. -> Echigo Ln. -> Niigata Stn. ->  Line Number 3 -> Murakami Stn.

 

I can't say if these are all the routes, but these are as of today the one's posted by JR East. I'm sure locations will change seasonally as I came across some brochures/pamphlets for NO.DO.KA for each season and to different resort-looking places.

 

Hope this helps! ^_^

[Guest ___]

anyone have a picture of this train?

[qwertyaardvark]

NO.DO.KA

 

[Claude_Dreyfus]

It's based in Niigata, so I suppose its primary area of operations is the JR East lines in the Shinetsu and southern Tohoku regions, though it seems to range as far as Matsumoto or Tokyo Disneyland, being a "joyful train".

 

Which begs the question... Would it be seen anywhere near the Chuo main line? There looks to be an outside chance that it could...

[qwertyaardvark]

From a japanese blog that i came across, the NO.DO.KA has been seen running on the Chou Main Line. Picture proof included ^_^

 

Translation of the top part of blog:

 

NO.DO.KA中央本線を走行

NO.DO.KA running on the Chuo Main Line、written July 25, 2009

 

新潟車両センターの485系「NO.DO.KA」が久々に上京しました。今回は松本－大宮間1往復の団体臨時列車として運転。おそらく行先と夏休みから「鉄道博物館」のツアーのためと思われ、先頭部には子供達の姿が見受けられました。

Niigata Rolling Stock Center's 485 Series NO.DO.KA heads to Tokyo every once in a long while. Today, the charter train is on its round trip run between Matsumoto to Omiya. I thought that perhaps, since it was summer break, it's destination and purpose was a Railroad Museum tour; in the head car, you could see the figures of many small children.

 

残堀川を渡るNO.DO.KA。3両なのであっという間の通過。NO.DO.KAは夏休み期間中TDL臨で何回か上京する計画となっている。今日は鉄博臨？

NO.DO.KA crosses the Zanbori River. It passes through the span in its 3-car setup. NO.DO.KA often becomes a Tokyo Disney Land (TDL) Special during the summer breaks. Today, perhaps a Railroad Museum Special?

 

Photo Caption:

日野－立川にて

Taken between Hino and Tategawa

[scott]

Thanks, Qwerty!

 

anyone have a picture of this train?

 

You also need to see the inside:

 

http://sunny-life.net/picture/microace/a3952_h.jpg

 

http://sunny-life.net/picture/microace/a3952_i.jpg

[Guest ___]

looks like a romance train or panaramic trainset

[Kabutoni]

looks like a romance train or panaramic trainset

 

Well, it is a panoramic trainset, based on the Romance-Cars from Odakyu (actually Meitetsu initiated this phenomenon), but a rebuilt and not a standard set. One or two 165 Series have also been rebuilt this way, with the Panorama-Express Alps being the first rebuilt and the first JR-serviced (not JNR) train to arrive at a station in 1987. The front design was also used on KIHA 183-1000 sets, that were actually made for that purpose. JR Kyuusyuu runs these trains solely.