Koki freight cars and industries

[DD13]

Planning to use a small amount of Koki cars on my future layout. The idea is to put a small industry that gets 2 or 3 Koki loaded with containers. Any idea, besides the paper factory and the warehouse? 

[cteno4]

There are some small transfers terminals with small container unloading and storage area and then a small warehouse where containers are unloaded/loaded and transferred to/from trucks. I dont know how prevalent they are. I think we had a topic on them somewhere in the past of the forum, but sadly its hard at times to unearth things like that!

 

One image that sticks in my head was one that was just a large roofed area and no walls. Loading dock on one side for trucks to back into and other side they would drop containers on the edge of the dock there to be unloaded. Center area was stacks of stuff being sorted out and transferred to the trucks.

 

jeff

[Tony Galiani]

I would suggest checking out Nosuview's channel on YouTube as he has videos showing Kokis being shunted.  Off the top of my head there is a paper factory in Shikoku that features in one of his videos.  There is another that shows an ideal modeling scenario - a private railway shunting one or two Kokis into a Sanyo plant.  These are loaded with tank containers.  The neat thing from a modeling perspective is that the track curves from the mainline and disappears between a dense growth of trees and brush.  So this could be modeled without having a building there or possibly having it in the background on a scenic back drop.

Tony

[bill937ca]

Many containers are off loaded on sidings rather than terminals.  Train comes in, forklift removes and places containers and train leaves.

 

 

[bill937ca]

 

[Kamome]

There is a Mitsubishi chemical factory in northern Kyushu that receives tank containers on Koki 200s and sometimes a small number of other koki container loads. Also used to see bright yellow Takis loaded with chlorine like the older 5450 type tankers.

 

https://youtu.be/3GC3qD_BnTQ?si=NPUJlzCcf5rA2pI2

Edited Tuesday at 10:26 PM by Kamome

[bill937ca]

[The rationalization of freight stations is amazing] Freight trains of Yokohama-Hazawa station

 

Yokohama Hazawa Station (Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama) is a freight station on the Tokaido freight line. Sotetsu-JR Direct Line's Hazawa Yokohama-Kokudai Station is nearby (1 minute walk). Yokohama Hazawa Station has been refurbished and now allows for on-line loading and unloading (E&S) system. Forklifts are used on the overhead lines to improve efficiency, save labor, and reduce time. The overhead lines have container platforms, so freight trains can load and unload containers immediately when they arrive at the lines. This system is also called the on-line loading and unloading system, E&S system (Effective & Speedy Container Handling System), overhead line loading and unloading system, etc. With the on-line loading and unloading system, there is no need to use diesel locomotives for shunting. There is no need to disconnect the main electric locomotive, and forklift work can begin as soon as the overhead line power is cut off. Since the loading and unloading work is done under the overhead lines, there seems to be a limit to the height at which the forklift can lift the container. Forklift work requires skilled techniques. (In the unlikely event that the overhead wires come into contact, there is a risk of electric shock or leakage, so the work is done with the power supply cut off.) After the forklift work is completed, the power supply is resumed, and the freight train departs from the arrival and departure line according to the departure signal. The series of work and arrival and departure are completed in a short time, and I was amazed at the simplified arrival and departure scene of the freight train and the smooth forklift work. One freight car can carry five 12ft containers. A freight train with 26 cars is equivalent to about 65 10-ton trucks. Freight trains can transport large amounts of goods at once. 

 

This video focuses on the mundane forklift work, but these freight train work that is carried out every day supports Japan's logistics and our lives. This channel has previously filmed shunting work at freight stations. At conventional freight stations, in order to switch to container platforms without overhead lines, it is necessary to switch to diesel locomotives, and freight trains must be pushed and pulled to go between the loading and unloading lines and the arrival and departure lines, so many people probably think that freight trains are a lot of work. I was impressed that Yokohama Hazawa Station is much more efficient than those stations. [Differences between the arrival and departure line loading and unloading method and the conventional method] ・ Arrival and departure line loading and unloading method (E&S method) Arrival → Loading → Departure ・ Conventional method Arrival → Release → Switching → Loading → Switching → Coupling → Departure What I learned from watching the simplified freight train departure and arrival scene at Yokohama Hazawa Station is that rail freight is also continuing to evolve. By significantly shortening work time and reducing costs, it has become possible to meet the various needs of shippers. These evolutions are probably the reason why rail freight has been reconsidered in recent years.

 

There are still about 31 freight stations nationwide that use the E&S method. The loading and unloading method at the arrival and departure lines eliminates the need for shunting and the need to separate the main locomotive, so I think it is the best method for loading and unloading at intermediate stations. JR Freight plans to continue to actively increase the number of freight stations using the E&S method. As you may know, the Tokaido freight line does not pass through Yokohama Station, but takes an inland route. Some of the limited express "Shonan" trains also run on the freight line. From Tsurumi Station (near Keikyu's Kagetsu Sojiji Station), the passenger and freight lines of the Tokaido Main Line separate. The freight line runs on an inland route surrounded by tunnels and soundproof shelters, and the freight line tracks continue from Tsurumi to Yokohama Hazawa to Higashi-Totsuka. The passenger and freight lines then run parallel to each other from near Higashi-Totsuka Station to Odawara Station. Passenger trains that run directly to the Sotetsu Line also run near Tsurumi and Yokohama Hazawa. In addition, the opening of the Sotetsu-Tokyu direct line connecting Hazawa Yokohama-Kokudai Station, Shin-Yokohama Station, and Hiyoshi Station is approaching in the second half of 2022 (2023). Hazawa Yokohama-Kokudai Station will once again attract attention.

 

[Playback time index]

 00:00 Opening explanation
 1:02 Train No. 99 bound for Sagami Freight from Tokyo (Ta) arrives (around 11:50)
 2:28 Container unloading using forklifts begins (around 11:55)
 6:00 Train bound for Nagoya Freight Terminal from Tokyo Freight Terminal passes (around 12:05)
 10:02 Container unloading completed (around 12:12)
 13:25 Train No. 99 bound for Sagami Freight departs (around 12:43
 ) 15:20 Train No. 2079 bound for Sagami Freight from Niiza Freight Terminal arrives (filmed on another day)
 16:36 Train No. 1097 bound for Nagoya (Ta) from Sapporo (Ta) passes
 17:08 Train No. 2079 bound for Sagami Freight departs [Related videos, etc.] Tokyo Freight Terminal is very busy from early in the morning [Freight trains arrive one after another]

 

 

 

[Cat]

Artistic license is the modeller's friend — there's a Taiyo Electric right beside the koki yard in Nagoya, they could make good use of that loading track right behind their building:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/㈱大洋電機製作所/@35.1310979,136.8628738,136m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m14!1m7!3m6!1s0x60037782e1400001:0x81c6f1f578c497b0!2sJR+Kamotsu!8m2!3d35.1280876!4d136.8627615!16s%2Fg%2F122zvwcl!3m5!1s0x6003779d92e36121:0x294bc5df57a433a7!8m2!3d35.1310312!4d136.8633432!16s%2Fg%2F1tdd0m46?hl=en-US&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDMzMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

[bill937ca]

Interesting. I came across a Nagoya Freight Terminal Station video yesterday that includes shunting.

 

[Rare freight station] Nagoya Freight Terminal Station is a rare freight station. It has freight car switching, arrival and departure operations, etc.

 

 

[Nick_Burman]

On 4/1/2025 at 11:45 AM, DD13 said:

Planning to use a small amount of Koki cars on my future layout. The idea is to put a small industry that gets 2 or 3 Koki loaded with containers. Any idea, besides the paper factory and the warehouse? 

Mitsubish Chemicals on the Kashima Rinkai Railway in Chiba Prefecture. Don't know what's inside the containers:

 

 

Another possibility is domestic refuse. Kanagawa Rinkai has a small yard at Suehirocho which handles Kawasaki City containers.

 

 

Cheers NB