Keihin Kyuko Electric Railway

[Guest bill937ca]

Keihin Kyuko Electric Railway or (Keihin Kyuko Dentetsu in Romaji) is one the 15 major private railways.  It's lines run south from Shinagawa Station in Tokyo.  Track gauge is 1435mm and overhead is 1500 DC which is the standard voltage for Japanese interurbans.  Have a look at the photos and note the overhead.  Part of the reason Japanese modellers do not model overhead!  Another point to note is that most Japanese private railways have brown ballast.

 

 

http://yuga-hok.hp.infoseek.co.jp/keikyu.html'>http://209.85.135.104/translate_c?hl=en&langpair=ja%7Cen&u=http://yuga-hok.hp.infoseek.co.jp/keikyu.html

 

 

http://yuga-hok.hp.infoseek.co.jp/keikyu.html

[Guest Bernard]

That 3rd photo is wild, what a tight radius the train has to make right before the turnout. I also wonder what the grade is all the way on the left of the same photo.

Bill I was always curious, do you know why the JPN RR has so many different designs in their Railroads? In the USA, it seems like we don't nearly have as many different or interesting designs for our trains.

[Guest bill937ca]

 

Bill I was always curious, do you know why the JPN RR has so many different designs in their Railroads? In the USA, it seems like we don't nearly have as many different or interesting designs for our trains.

 

This is true.  It's not just JR that has alot of designs but the private railways too.  Actually they are all private railways now!

 

One reason would be the equipment has a long life.  Up to 80 years on some lines.  Kotoden is running equipment from the 1920s and the Hankai Tramway also runs cars from the 1920s.

 

Railways in Japan operate different classes of service.  Some like the Meitetsu have different trains for there express services.  Passengers pay a premium to ride these.  Often there will be forward facing seats and fewer doors in these cars.  The faster the train, the fewer stops it will make.  Local trains can take forever and are constantly pulling into sidings at four track stations along double track lines as expresses and special expresses sail by.  It's suggested you pack a lunch if you take the local!

 

http://www.meitetsu.co.jp/english/surcharge/index.html

 

A recent survey of Japanese and American CEOs showed Japanese CEO listed new products as one of their top 3 priorities, while American CEOs were focused on share price. I guess the Japanese market expects new products and is used to designer trains, much the way Americans want designer cars.  By the way a Nissan executive has recently been quoted that car culture is fading in Japan with the aging population.  The younger Japanese would rather spend their money on internet access and cell phones.

 

JR also has many classes of equipment because there are many different types of service: Shinkansen, long distance (blue) trains, DMUs for light lines, suburban and commuter EMUs and double deck Green car (aka first class) commuter coaches.  Not every car is powered on EMU trains.  Up to 50% are trailers, especially on the private railways.

[Mudkip Orange]

Another point to note is that most Japanese private railways have brown ballast.

 

Too bad both Tomix and Kato only offer gray now.

[bikkuri bahn]

Another point to note is that most Japanese private railways have brown ballast.

 

I think the ballast was originally grey, but exposure to the elements and oxidation from the rails colors it brown. A similar effect can be recreated with a spray can/airbrush on a layout.

[KenS]

Ballast color can vary based on the source of the stone, but it's clear in a couple of those photos that the ballast away from the tracks is the usual gray color.  Older ballast between and adjacent to the rails tends to pick up a dark-gray/reddish-brown color from wind-blown dirt and rust knocked off the rails or vehicle, which is darker the older the ballast is. So the color difference of private railways could reflect less-frequent ballast renewal. The ballast between the rails is typically darker that that outside, although immediately adjacent areas can be nearly as dark.

 

One of the other things that can affect ballast color is oiling systems used where wheel/rail friction is a problem. These tend to leave a black stain for a considerable distance, as oil on the wheels drops off. I've seen some particularly dark ballast in videos which could reflect this. But normally these are far enough apart that the effect isn't continuous (twisty urban lines could be different).

 

Finally, disk brakes and brake shoes shed dark-colored dust, so track where trains without regenerative brakes need to slow down (such as approaches to stations) are possibly going to be darker, although I've never actually noticed that kind of color change (but I haven't gone looking for examples either). If that were the cause, I'd expect the color to vary between incoming and outgoing lines, which doesn't seem to be the case here.

 

Most modeling guides for painting rails I've read tend to go for a "rust" color I find too red; to me, dark red or red-brown has never seemed particularly realistic, since my experience (looking at American freight tracks) is that mainline rails have a grayer color (rust is only reddish on branch-lines or similar rails that don't get used frequently, where it has more time to oxidize before being knocked off by vibration, but this could vary depending on the local climate). And dirty mainline ballast in my experience tends to be a darker gray or gray/black, not red/brown.

 

When I first saw photos of Tomix's brown ballast I thought it was unrealistic, but those photos provide a very strong counter-example. I wonder if the difference is due to dust from brakes, or a different type/rate of rust in Japan's very damp, coastal environment.

[bill937ca]

I believe the brownish-rust color may be sprayed on.  It shows up even on paved tram tracks.  The tram station at Nagasaki JR is a good example.  There's no reason for gray stones to be rust colored unless they have been sprayed. Is it a track dirt  inhibitor?

[KenS]

I've heard of rail spraying for weed control, de-icing and leaf removal/adhesion, but never dust-control. I suppose the "grit" added for traction in some types of leaf-removal could be the source of the color.