Kanji on freight car sides

[Nick_Burman]

Hi all,

 

What do the large Kanji found on the sides of some older Japanese freight cars mean? Does it mean that the car is assigned to a certain service or station or customer?

 

Cheers NB

[bikkuri bahn]

Any pictures of the types in question?

[marknewton]

I think it indicates the region or division the car is allocated too.

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[bikkuri bahn]

As Mark says, it indicates the division (specifically, the regional railway bureau) the freight car is assigned to.  Some cars, like the gon in the second picture, will have smaller writing below the single character, specifying the specific freight station the car originates from.  This system is used for freight cars to prevent them from being used at random for another revenue duty as soon as it is unloaded.  If marked, these cars are required to be forwarded empty back to their home station.  This especially useful for cars used in dedicated, one way services, such as dairy or fish haulage.  I have a hunch the refrigerator car marked 「門」was used for fish haulage (blowfish?) out of the Moji area in northern Kyushu.

[Mudkip Orange]

And if you happen to see kanji paired with a yellow stripe, that denotes a speed restriction (typically 65km/h)

[Nick_Burman]

I think it indicates the region or division the car is allocated too.

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

 

Thanks for the help, folks. That means that a car labelled with a Kanji could turn up anywhere, provided it was returned to its home division, right?

 

 

Cheers NB

[marknewton]

Some cars, like the gon in the second picture, will have smaller writing below the single character, specifying the specific freight station the car originates from.  This system is used for freight cars to prevent them from being used at random for another revenue duty as soon as it is unloaded.  If marked, these cars are required to be forwarded empty back to their home station.

 

Thanks for expanding on that, BB. We had a similar markings on freight cars in Australia years ago, but it's a system that is no longer used.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[miyakoji]

I have a hunch the refrigerator car marked 「門」was used for fish haulage (blowfish?) out of the Moji area in northern Kyushu.

 

Your hunch is right BB.  Here are some of JRF's depot names and their codes (from the JRF page on Wikipedia, link below).  This are in geographic north-to-south order.  I'm just guessing on some of the readings of the code names.

 

鷲別機関区（鷲）- Washibetsu (Wa)

五稜郭機関区（五）- Goryōkaku (Go)

仙台総合鉄道部（仙貨）- Sendai (Senka)

東新潟機関区（東新）- Higashi Niigata (Toushin)

高崎機関区（髙）- Takasaki (Taka, written with a specific form of the character)

大井機関区（大井/貨東タミキク） - Ooi (Ooi/Katou Terminal)

中央研修センター（研）- Chuo Kenshu Center (Ken, engineer training)

新鶴見機関区（新）- Shin-Tsurumi (Shin)

愛知機関区（愛）- Aichi (Ai)

富山機関区（富機）- Toyama (Toki)

吹田機関区（吹）- Suita (Sui)

岡山機関区（岡）- Okayama (Oka)

広島車両所（広）- Hiroshima (Hiro)

門司機関区（門）- Moji (Mo)

 

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%B2%A8%E7%89%A9%E9%89%84%E9%81%93#.E8.BB.8A.E4.B8.A1.E3.83.BB.E4.B9.97.E5.8B.99.E5.93.A1.E5.9F.BA.E5.9C.B0