old JNR EMUs - 31, 43, 51, 55, 60 series?

[miyakoji]

I've had this link sitting around for months now, I thought I'd just put it out here: http://1632.amigasa.jp/JNR02.html .  Generally good site to browse.  I'm not very knowledgeable with these older ones, and I'm not sure what series number these generally belong to.  Completely separate ones, I guess.

 

The blue on the Nagano area cars is very nice, looks just like the one shade of blue in JRE's Nagano-iro livery.  In a few of these images, notice the light coming through the spoked wheels.  Awesome.  The first two pictures of orange carriages are on the Katamachi Line, I'd love to have those in higher resolution.  In the second set of orange cars (3 images) on the Hanwa Line, the last is on the upper level of Tennoji, what a great shot.  The last two images are apparently Okayama prefecture's Uno Line, but they are at/near Kurashiki and Okayama respectively.  I wonder if these came off the Ukou Ferry?

[bikkuri bahn]

The last two images are apparently Okayama prefecture's Uno Line, but they are at/near Kurashiki and Okayama respectively.  I wonder if these came off the Ukou Ferry?

 

The caption says "Sanyo Line use", so apparently they are not the particular ones used on the line to Uno.  However the same/similar types were used for local service when the line was converted to electricity, they were kumoha 51/32 driving cars with intermediate saha 57/58 trailers in four car formations, transferred from the Osaka area.  They were retired in 1976.  As for the ferries themselves, they only carried freight cars, the same as the Seikan Ferries.

[miyakoji]

Ah, I thought the Shiun-Maru that sank in 1955 had the trains onboard as well.  iirc, that accident was what solidified the plans to build the bridge.

[bikkuri bahn]

Yes, the Shiun Maru (and I suppose other ferries on the route) did start carrying railcars with passengers on-board from 1950, but with the accident in 1955, the practice was discontinued.  Apparently this ship was cursed, it was involved in 5 separate accidents, earning it the nickname of "death ship" (a play on the original name).  The name of the ship was changed to Seto Maru and continued in service until 1966.

[westfalen]

An interesting site, those older MUs had a bit of character about them, something today's trains are lacking no matter how much modern technology or design they pack into them.

 

And thanks for reminding me of the perils of Inland Sea ferries, I'm planning on making the Takamatsu-Uno crossing on my trip in November.

[bikkuri bahn]

An interesting site, those older MUs had a bit of character about them, something today's trains are lacking no matter how much modern technology or design they pack into them.

 

And thanks for reminding me of the perils of Inland Sea ferries, I'm planning on making the Takamatsu-Uno crossing on my trip in November.

 

Yes, these old timers were nicknamed "geta den", after the wooden flipflops/clogs once common in society, as they were the everyday conveyance (feet) of the general public.  The ferry is a nice trip, I recommend it.  Make sure to have a bowl of sanuki udon noodles at Takamatsu Station- perhaps more for the nostalgia than the taste! (there are better noodle shops elsewhere):

[bikkuri bahn]

Ukou Ferries, from the excellent "omoide no kokutetsu" series:

[scott]

Anybody know where the fourth picture of the orange cars (the one captioned " クモハ６０以下 (２両目は元サロハ４６)　山中渓 ") was taken?

[Kabutoni]

Anybody know where the fourth picture of the orange cars (the one captioned " クモハ６０以下 (２両目は元サロハ４６)　山中渓 ") was taken?

 

A quick search on the Googols gave me this result: Yamanakadani on the Hanwa-line.

 

The second car in that consist is an ex-SuRoHa 46 (Non-powered, 1st and 2nd class EMU coach without cab). Not a very common thing IIRC; a 4 door 20m wagon with two classes.

[scott]

Thanks! The translator wasn't that helpful on its own.

[marknewton]

Miyakoji, there's some great stuff on this site, I'm very happy you posted the link. What I found particularly interesting was a photo of my very own Japanese tram, running with her first owners in Sendai. Lovely! 

 

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.