Diesel Express "Sakyu" ("sand dune")

[bikkuri bahn]

Perhaps the best amateur documentary on this train on YouTube.  The express "Sakyu" linked Okayama and Tottori via the Tsuyama and Inbi Lines on a cross-country routing.  It was notable in that it was one of the last diesel express services utilizing a full JNR express consist including a kiroha 28 green/standard class railcar, as well as traversing portions of line with tablet traffic control and semaphore signaling. Unusually for express trains at this time, passenger demand was high, with 5 trains in each direction/day through 1996.  This train was discontinued in 1997 with the opening of the Chizu Express service, which provided faster service.  Also, CTC was instituted on lines previously using tablets and semaphore signals.  Many of the stations became unstaffed halts.

Consists 1988 *left side direction of Okayama, right side Tottori

regular season: kiha 58+kiroha28+kiha65

high season:     kiha 58+kiroha28+kiha65+kiha28+kiha58

description of video (filmed Aug., 1995):

We begin with picking up a tablet at Higashi Tsuyama.  At 1:05, passing Takano, tablet exchange, semaphore signals (note railfans), starting at 2:02, a stop at Mimasaka-Kamo, tablet exchange again, nice dmh17 idling.  Next at Mimasaka Kawai, tablet exchange, note ground frame beyond end of platform. At Nagi, tablet exchange. At 3:22, I believe a return to Mimasaka-Kamo, here we see a full summertime consist depart. At 4:26, a glimpse of the ground frame setup at this station. Next, we return to Mimasaka-Kawai, a kiha 47 set arrives, the station staff releases the signal, and a twin-engined kiha 53 railcar departs.  Later a Sakyu passes through.  Next scene: station unknown, tablet exchange scenes.  6:48: Mimasaka-Kawai, some nice scenes.  8:13: at Nagi, a missed tablet pickup, a fan retrieves the tablet and brings it to the driver.

[westfalen]

They seem to use the tablet exchange apparatus whenever they are moving even at slower speeds where we used to do it by hand (up to about 30kmh officially).

[bikkuri bahn]

They seem to use the tablet exchange apparatus whenever they are moving even at slower speeds where we used to do it by hand (up to about 30kmh officially).

 

The timings on this train apparently were not so impressive(kiha 58's were never known as speed demons), so perhaps that accounts for the rather leisurely pickups.  Even with the elevation of the Tsuyama Line, timings did not improve, but the start of Chizu Express services using high performance dmus rendered this train redundant.

[miyakoji]

I lived in the general area, but way too late to see this tablet-based signaling system.  The first time I saw this, I couldn't figure out what it was!  Great video, thanks Bikkuri.  I do have some experience with kiha58s, however.  JR West's Kibi Line is almost always run by kiha40/47/48s, but one day in the summer of 2003 along came quite a lash up of kiha58s.  I want to say that on at least one occasion it was a 5-car consist.  I saw these on and off for a few months on the Kibi Line.  You're right, they didn't feel at all fast, like a kiha181 or 187, but having been built for express use, it had a reasonably nice interior with the kind of seating you'd expect, a lot more comfortable than the kiha40's fixed box seats.

 

On a related note, here's a post from a few weeks ago about farewell runs for Okayama Diesel Depot's kiha28/58: http://railf.jp/news/2010/11/21/065300.html .  On the wikipedia page it appears that these two (kiha28 2329 and kiha58 563), the only two remaining, are not being scrapped but parked, for now, at Tsuyama.

[ToniBabelony]

 

Here's the tablet system working with faster moving trains. Here the train driver doesn't use his hand/arm, but the automatic tablet receiving mechanism. This can be seen clearly with the first train, the 6-car KIHA 80 (Hokkai, Ltd. Express). Also, the second train is a DD51 with four 12 Type passenger cars (Niseko, Express). Very interesting trains in Hokkaido.

[bikkuri bahn]

That's one of my favorite vids of action on the Hakodate Main Line "mountain route", back when it was interesting operations wise  First station scene is at Shioya- you can see back then limited express diesel types were fitted with tablet catching devices- obviously the speeds required on these services precluded sticking your arm out like on the Sakyu.  Second video is at Ranshima- there you see how these stations were once fully staffed, nowadays most are unstaffed- really shows how much the railway scene has changed- of course it's more efficient now (cost-cutting, or "rightsizing" in corporate-speak), but something is lost too, and not just railway atmosphere...

 

*I'm off now to the Hitachinaka Kaihin Rlwy, to catch some DMH17-powered railcar action- a delight to the ears as well as to the eyes!