Tricky question about DE10

[CaptOblivious]

So, I just got a Tomix DE10, and aside from the number plates, it comes with four varieties of plaques to go on the side. One set looks like this:

It reads something like: Japanese made heavy vehicle [manufactured in the year] Showa 43 (1968; at least in this picture; the Tomix plaque is too small to make out the actual year).

 

The other three sets look like this:

It reads: Kawasaki [manufactured in the year] Showa 46 (1971; again, the Tomix plaques are too small to read the date imprinted on them).

 

Question: What's the significance of the two different plaques?

[Dick H]

Question: What's the significance of the two different plaques?

 

Although I am a Triple D Railfan (Don't Do Diesel) :),

I'll give you my 2 cents worth. Those are manufacturer's plates. The top one is Nihon Sharyo,

Japan Rolling Stock (factory). The large Kanji must be a special insignia because I can't find it in any of my dictionaries and Etsuko does not recognize it.

 

Here are several that I have. These are heavy cast iron plates about 10" wide. Next time you're in Japan, look around the end doors of passenger cars for similar plates, probably rectangular and made of plastic now.

http://www.pbase.com/dickh/headmarks_signs_etc

[CaptOblivious]

Question: What's the significance of the two different plaques?

 

Although I am a Triple D Railfan (Don't Do Diesel) :),

I'll give you my 2 cents worth. Those are manufacturer's plates. The top one is Nihon Sharyo,

Japan Rolling Stock (factory). The large Kanji must be a special insignia because I can't find it in any of my dictionaries and Etsuko does not recognize it.

 

That's interesting! I had suspected something like that, but the first plate just seemed so generic...Nihon Sharyo...indeed! I see that I've mistranslated. I had just assumed that the central kanji was ? 'kuruma', but now that you mention it, the central stroke doesn't extend beyond the top and bottom...perhaps it is a stylized ??

 

What is Etsuko? I'm using a program called JEDict which is a very nice front-end to kanjidic and edict.

 

Anyway, thanks! Your reply was very helpful! And normally I don't do diesel either, but I can't help but find the rolling stock of the Suigun Line (which I've never seen in person) just somehow charming...

[CaptOblivious]

Grr, this board doesn't seem to like kanji or unicode very much...those '?' should be the kanji 'kuruma'...

[Dick H]

What is Etsuko?

 

Not what, who. She's my lovely wife. :)

[CaptOblivious]

:o OMG! I'm so sorry! I should have recalled that from your introduction. Please, accept my apology for that comment!

m^^m

[Dick H]

:o OMG! I'm so sorry! I should have recalled that from your introduction. Please, accept my apology for that comment!

m^^m

 

No apology needed. I should have been more explicit.