Heating, Cooking and the Railways

[Nick_Burman]

A question, marginally related to railroads... when did the use of electricity at home (and thus a national grid) become widespread (and when more or less did that happen??), how did the Japanese cook and heat their houses? Did they use any fossil fuels (coal, oil)? If yes, did these fuels arrive by rail - would gondola loads of coal (for instance) or tank cars of fuel for home heating have been a feature of  goods yards (like, say, in the UK)? In the big cities I would suppose coal and oil for home use (if used at all) would come by truck or cart from large rail-served terminals, but what about rural areas?

 

 

 

 

Cheers NB

[bikkuri bahn]

Before widespread use of electricity at home (pre-war and immediate post-war?, large urban areas excepted), home heating was based around the kotatsu, which utilized a sunken charcoal brazier set under a table with a quilt cover.  Only in Hokkaido (and perhaps also northern Tohoku?) was coal used extensively for home heating (given the proximity to coal sources).  Movements of coal and oil tend to be more localized than long distance- coastal shipping being more prevalent for interregion transport of bulk freight. Cooking was done with a wood stove, or perhaps charcoal.  Later replaced with kerosene (heating) and for cooking, LP gas or electric stoves.

[Nick_Burman]

Before widespread use of electricity at home (pre-war and immediate post-war?, large urban areas excepted), home heating was based around the kotatsu, which utilized a sunken charcoal brazier set under a table with a quilt cover.  Only in Hokkaido (and perhaps also northern Tohoku?) was coal used extensively for home heating (given the proximity to coal sources).  Movements of coal and oil tend to be more localized than long distance- coastal shipping being more prevalent for interregion transport of bulk freight. Cooking was done with a wood stove, or perhaps charcoal.  Later replaced with kerosene (heating) and for cooking, LP gas or electric stoves.

 

Thanks BB. So loaded coal gondolas in a goods yard could be considered atypical, right?

 

I have a DVD about the Paleo Express and at one point the camera shows a small rail-connected fuel dealer at one of the stations. The siding had space for 2-3 tank cars inside the fenced area plus another 3 cars or so outside. The film is old (1990's, I believe), by now this operation must be history. What I would like to know is how frequent were these fuel dealers spaced across the rail system as a whole.

 

Cheers NB

[bikkuri bahn]

So loaded coal gondolas in a goods yard could be considered atypical, right?

 

I depends on the area and era you are modelling.  Once again, the best proof is to obtain prototype pictures of your model subject.

 

*to add, in pictures of smaller railway stations in the steam era I have not seen facilities for handling single carloads of coal, not to say it didn't exist, but not to the extent of say, railways in Britain where even the smallest station would likely have a staithe or two adjacent its single siding. Perhaps the distribution model was different.

[bikkuri bahn]

Take a look at this aerial picture of Nemuro Station in 1978 (I lived in this large town for 2 years in the mid-nineties), which is the terminus of the Nemuro Line and serves a population of 30K (likely higher back then).  If you click on the image to zoom, you can see there is a siding serving a large coal yard.  Even in the seventies and eighties coal was still common as a heating source (the high school where I taught heated its classrooms with individual coal stoves until 1995).  A station serving a large town like this (at least in Hokkaido) would have these facilities.

[Nick_Burman]

So loaded coal gondolas in a goods yard could be considered atypical, right?

 

I depends on the area and era you are modelling.  Once again, the best proof is to obtain prototype pictures of your model subject.

 

*to add, in pictures of smaller railway stations in the steam era I have not seen facilities for handling single carloads of coal, not to say it didn't exist, but not to the extent of say, railways in Britain where even the smallest station would likely have a staithe or two adjacent its single siding. Perhaps the distribution model was different.

 

Thanks once more BB. I'm (for the time being) aiming for the late Showa era...or about the same time frame as depicted in Wally Higgins' books. I don't have a prototype as such since I'm free-lancing, however as for location I'm figuring (for the time being) somewhere on the outer, rural, fringes of Kansai (so far my inspiration is the Kita Ena Railway). I'm trying to figure what my railway would haul, so far I managed to work out the outbound side but I'm having trouble with the inbound goods...

 

I guess you could be right. In Germany, for instance, stations did not have staithes - as soon as a carload of coal or heating oil arrived the stationmaster would phone the consignee to tell him to come and collect the merchandise. Preferably ASAP, otherwise he would have to pay demurrage on the car...

 

Cheers NB

[Nick_Burman]

Take a look at this aerial picture of Nemuro Station in 1978 (I lived in this large town for 2 years in the mid-nineties), which is the terminus of the Nemuro Line and serves a population of 30K (likely higher back then).  If you click on the image to zoom, you can see there is a siding serving a large coal yard.  Even in the seventies and eighties coal was still common as a heating source (the high school where I taught heated its classrooms with individual coal stoves until 1995).  A station serving a large town like this (at least in Hokkaido) would have these facilities.

 

Jeez, I guess it is the quality of the aerial image, but... what a bleak looking place. Looks more like the ex-USSR than Japan...

 

Do you know if the coal was delivered in gondolas or in hoppers?

 

Cheers NB