HIGH SPEED FREIGHT

[Mudkip Orange]

[Mudkip Orange]

You can see the snow starting to thaw...

 

[bikkuri bahn]

Nice new post

 

For those interested, this is the famous push-pull (or "topped and tailed" w/both locos powering) DD51-hauled seasonal (fall/winter) container train on the Sekihoku Line in eastern/central Hokkaido.  The S-curve at Joumon Pass is a well-known photo spot from as far back as the steam days, when D51 freighters worked this line.

 

Here is another view from autumn of last year, with the blue/white/grey DD51 on the lead:

 

[KenS]

Why is a train this short operated push-pull. Does it reverse direction at some point between the ends of the line? Or is the terminus so small it doesn't have a run-around track?

 

Nice videos, by the way. Thanks for posting.

[bikkuri bahn]

Yes, it's operated push-pull due to the track layout at Engaru, which is a stub-end station (incorrectly called a "switchback station" by some fans).  Also, this line has some grades, though whether that is another reason for two loco operation, I don't know.

 

pictures of Engaru Station:

 

http://blog-imgs-30-origin.fc2.com/m/a/r/marimo207/20090128234802.jpg

 

http://blog-imgs-19-origin.fc2.com/t/o/k/tokomatsu/s-img317.jpg

[KenS]

Thanks for the info. But why do you say it's incorrect to call it a "switchback station"? Although it is a stub-end station, according to this map it is on a switchback. Unless I'm reading it wrong.

 

BTW, those links "404" for me, but wikipedia has a photo:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Engaru_Station_zig-zag.jpg

[bikkuri bahn]

But why do you say it's incorrect to call it a "switchback station"? Although it is a stub-end station, according to this map it is on a switchback.

 

My understanding of the term is that it describes a hillside station on a level between two grades, which involves a reversing operation, such as on the Hakone Tozan Railway.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zig_zag_(railway)

 

Engaru is not on a hillside (rather it's in a valley), and the stub end arrangement is a result of the closure of the line that led out of Engaru to the northeast.  The term "switchback" in Japanese may be correct, but it's a "waseieigo" term, like the word "mansion" used to refer to condominiums.

 

*thanks for the heads-up about the faulty link- it worked at first, but...  Copy and pasting the link on the address bar still works though.

[Mudkip Orange]

Prepare to be BLOWN AWAY by SPEED and VELOCITY

 

[KenS]

But why do you say it's incorrect to call it a "switchback station"? Although it is a stub-end station, according to this map it is on a switchback.

 

My understanding of the term is that it describes a hillside station on a level between two grades, which involves a reversing operation, such as on the Hakone Tozan Railway.

 

That's a interesting point. I've never seen a "switchback" except on a grade. The word itself simply refers to track where you need to reverse direction through a switch, but there is (at least to me) a connotation of reversing direction to go up/down grade.

[bikkuri bahn]

Prepare to be BLOWN AWAY by SPEED and VELOCITY

 

Common scene on a single track main, with the slow freight being overtaken by the passenger.  This time its at Shirataki Station, once again our seasonal push-pull container in the hole to let ltd. express "Okhotsk" #3 to pass.  I find these scenes more interesting than your double track mains, which usually have trains just tearing through.  Interestingly, on the Tokaido Main Line, which is of course double track, the (now gone) blue trains would be the ones pulling into the stations to let the (truly) high speed freights pass.

[Mudkip Orange]

It also makes for more interesting Model RR operation.

[Mudkip Orange]

[bikkuri bahn]

It also makes for more interesting Model RR operation.

 

Yes, indeed.  A single track layout with passing sidings maintains more interest than a double track one, a least for me.  Art imitates life.

[westfalen]

It looks like quite a climb out of the passing siding in that last video, and by the exhaust and sound the locomotive on the rear appears to be doing a share of the work. I wonder if both locos are manned?