Hokkaido Shortline

[Nick_Burman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T0h_REzSEE&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

 

R.a.r.e. footage of the Suttsu Railway in Hokkaido - with an 8100 in action. There is a certain "Colonel Stephens" air about the railway....

 

 

Cheers NB

[Fenway Park]

Nick, thanks for posting this. I have seen stills of this line in the past but never film. A fascinating glimpse of the past.

 

It would be difficult to replicate in N as the US models of moguls are too big.

[Nick_Burman]

Nick, thanks for posting this. I have seen stills of this line in the past but never film. A fascinating glimpse of the past.

 

It would be difficult to replicate in N as the US models of moguls are too big.

 

Even using the Athearn/Roundhouse 2-6-0? I've seen several Japanese modellers using these locos to represent US-built 2-6-0s in N scale.

 

 

Cheers NB

[westfalen]

Great find. The spider web of railways that once covered Hokkaido always amazes me, great to see some film of it. A style of railroading that was once common everywhere but no sadly gone.

[bikkuri bahn]

The Suttsu Railway is a very interesting subject.  It was opened relatively late, in 1920, and was built to serve the herring industry based out of Suttsu, as well as an ore mine in the area.  There even was an incident where fish oil from a load caused a train to slip!  It apparently paid off all construction debts after 13 years.  However, the after effects of World War 2, the collapse of the herring stock, the closure of the ore mine, and the shift of passengers and freight to bus and truck, caused traffic to drop precipitously.  Nationalization and integration into the JNR network never came about, and the storm damage in 1968 was the final straw.

[westfalen]

There even was an incident where fish oil from a load caused a train to slip

Sounds like a plot from Thomas the Tank Engine.

[Guest JRF-1935]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T0h_REzSEE&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

 

R.a.r.e. footage of the Suttsu Railway in Hokkaido - with an 8100 in action. There is a certain "Colonel Stephens" air about the railway....

 

 

Cheers NB

Great Stuff Nick !

Thanks,

Rich C

[Guest JRF-1935]

The Suttsu Railway is a very interesting subject.  It was opened relatively late, in 1920, and was built to serve the herring industry based out of Suttsu, as well as an ore mine in the area.  There even was an incident where fish oil from a load caused a train to slip!  It apparently paid off all construction debts after 13 years.  However, the after effects of World War 2, the collapse of the herring stock, the closure of the ore mine, and the shift of passengers and freight to bus and truck, caused traffic to drop precipitously.  Nationalization and integration into the JNR network never came about, and the storm damage in 1968 was the final straw.

Thanks Bikkuri Bahn for the history

Rich C

[westfalen]

I have a DVD with footage of some shortlines in the US south that were still running steam into the early sixties and the similarity is uncanny, even the loco wouldn't look out of place.

[Fenway Park]

Thanks for the reply Nick. I was not aware of the Athearn model. I accessed their web site and see what you mean.

 

That's an idea for the future.

 

Malcolm

[The_Ghan]

Thanks for the top post.  I was particularly keen to know how that engineer kept his gloves so clean !!!

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[westfalen]

Thanks for the top post.  I was particularly keen to know how that engineer kept his gloves so clean !!!

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

A half dozen pairs in his lunch box.