Japanese Vacation No.9 (week 3)

[westfalen]

Time flies when you're having fun.

 

From my hotel window I can look across the river to Hiroshima Station.

 

I crossed over to the other side of Honshu today via the Geibi and Sanko Lines and returned by the San-in and Yamaguchi Lines.

 

The first train was a five car set of kiha 40/47's but three were left behind at the end of the suburban area with the leading two car kiha 47 continuing to Miyoshi. From there a kiha 120 ran through to Gotsu on the San-in Main Line.

[westfalen]

The Sanko Line like many in Japan follows a river through the mountains for several hours. The track gang at Kuchiba was getting their snowplow ready for the winter. The line from there to Hamahara is one of those lines that although it only sees four railcars a day (three passengers including myself on mine) it's engineered better than any line in Australia with more bridges, tunnels and viaducts than you can poke a stick at.

 

While JR is usually associated with Shinkansen and busy commuter trains there are isolated outposts like Iwamikawamoto where the railcar stopped for 1hr 43min while the driver had lunch.

[westfalen]

I had plenty of time to wander around the town and took plenty of photos of buildings. I kept bumping into the only other passenger who was travelling through to Gotsu, who was also wandering aimlessly around town, and we'd look at our watches and shake our heads and keep going.

[westfalen]

At Gotsu there was a bit of action with the locals coming and going while I waited for Super Oki #5 to take me to Shin-Yamaguchi.

[Martijn Meerts]

FAR too many interesting scenes to incorporate into a single layout ;)

[westfalen]

The kiha 187's have comfortable seats and big windows but do have a downside in that there are only two cars, 1 reserved, 1 nonreserved so I reserved a seat to be sure of getting one which proved a good idea as there were few seats left in the nonreserved car.

[westfalen]

FAR too many interesting scenes to incorporate into a single layout ;)

And I'm just picking out a few of the photos I take each day. Each day I get ideas for at least a half dozen T-TRAK modules.

[scott]

Iwamikawamoto where the railcar stopped for 1hr 43min while the driver had lunch.

 

  Sounds like my kind of town...

 

What's the building in DSC07044? And is DSC07056 a floodgate?

[linkey]

FAR too many interesting scenes to incorporate into a single layout ;)

And I'm just picking out a few of the photos I take each day. Each day I get ideas for at least a half dozen T-TRAK modules.

 

So would we expect you to attend the 2013 N scale Convention in Melboure? Where hopefully the Australian Japanese Model Railway Group will be there with their T-TRAK.

 

On another note going through your previous two threads, the photos are get and you are able to give us more ideas. Thanks West.

[cteno4]

At Gotsu there was a bit of action with the locals coming and going while I waited for Super Oki #5 to take me to Shin-Yamaguchi.

 

Westfalen,

 

is the bridge in DSC07070.JPG rail on the top?

 

thanks

 

jeff

[The_Ghan]

West,

 

Oh nice.  I’ve got to do the Sanko Line.  Exactly where did you stop and take those photos of the town  … the ones where you were you kept bumping into “the other guy”?

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[bikkuri bahn]

What's the building in DSC07044?

 

A temple.

[scott]

Yeah, I figured it was that or a drive-in burger place. ;-)

 

I meant *specifically*.

[westfalen]

Iwamikawamoto where the railcar stopped for 1hr 43min while the driver had lunch.

 

   Sounds like my kind of town...

 

What's the building in DSC07044? And is DSC07056 a floodgate?

The building is a temple, the Japanese equivilent of the village church. The graveyard went up the hill behind it.

 

DSC07056 is a floodgate, I meant to mention it but forgot. At a few towns on the line the railway passed through floodgates in the levee bank.

[westfalen]

FAR too many interesting scenes to incorporate into a single layout ;)

And I'm just picking out a few of the photos I take each day. Each day I get ideas for at least a half dozen T-TRAK modules.

 

So would we expect you to attend the 2013 N scale Convention in Melboure? Where hopefully the Australian Japanese Model Railway Group will be there with their T-TRAK.

 

On another note going through your previous two threads, the photos are get and you are able to give us more ideas. Thanks West.

I may have to think about that.

[westfalen]

The_Ghan,

 

The town was Iwamikawamoto. The driver herded the three passengers off, shut down the railcar, chocked the wheels and disappeared so I figured it was safe to go for a walk.

[bikkuri bahn]

There are 8 temples within 1000 meters of the center of town there, I don't know the specific place as I can't read the signage in the picture.  Suffice to say, it is a minor branch of some larger temple.

[westfalen]

I've been tallying up my mileage, the total so far is 4671.6 km.

 

I planned to take the Kure Line to Mihara this morning and return via the Sanyo Main Line but the freight timetable indicated that freight activity was greater in the morning, so I caught the 0635 train and headed to Saijo at the top of the pusher grade to see the three freights that leave Hiroshima at 0700, 0713 and 0737. The pushers are cut off the trains at the station plaform so you don't have to go far to watch the action.

[The_Ghan]

The_Ghan,

 

The town was Iwamikawamoto. The driver herded the three passengers off, shut down the railcar, chocked the wheels and disappeared so I figured it was safe to go for a walk.

 

Ah, Iwami Kawamoto .... Thanks Mate!

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[bikkuri bahn]

I caught the 0635 train and headed to Saijo at the top of the pusher grade to see the three freights that leave Hiroshima at 0700, 0713 and 0737. The pushers are cut off the trains at the station plaform so you don't have to go far to watch the action.

 

Good stuff there. Have spent a nice hour or two a couple of times at that location.

[westfalen]

After watching the three trains arrive and the pushers cut off and head back down the hill I did the same and backtracked one station to Hachihommatsu and walked further down the track to get the 0851 departure from Hiroshima nearing the top of the grade. The lunch wagon from the Health Bakery (since 1985) was doing the rounds of the local businesses. Notice the vegetable garden alongside the track, an old guy from one of the nearby houses came and picked picked a few vegetables while I was there. You used to see this a fair bit in Brisbane too but the health and safety people would have a fit today.

[The_Ghan]

The_Ghan,

 

The town was Iwamikawamoto. The driver herded the three passengers off, shut down the railcar, chocked the wheels and disappeared so I figured it was safe to go for a walk.

 

Ah, Iwami Kawamoto .... Thanks Mate!

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

 

Further, can someone tell me what is at  34°59'56.39"N 132°29'44.41"E, across the river north of Kawamoto?  If I'm heading there with Mrs_Ghan next year she's gonna want to see SOMETHING when she gets off that train!

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[westfalen]

On the way back to the station I got a photo of something that is pretty common. Got and vacant lot on your layout? Put up a sign with the fees and a vending machine and turn it into a parking lot.

 

My next stop was Shiraichi which had the tracks coming out of a tunnel a bit of a way back from the station that looked good on Google Earth so I waited there for the 1047 freight from Hiroshima before moving on to Hongo. At Hongo the 1128 sped through as I was walking the couple of km back to where the Shinkansen crosses the valley on a bridge.

[westfalen]

The 1258 freight passed through 1hr 15min after leaving Hiroshima and I pushed on to Mihara and returned to Hiroshima on the Kure Line. It was getting dark by the time I changed trains at Hiro.

[westfalen]

The_Ghan,

 

The town was Iwamikawamoto. The driver herded the three passengers off, shut down the railcar, chocked the wheels and disappeared so I figured it was safe to go for a walk.

 

Ah, Iwami Kawamoto .... Thanks Mate!

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

I left out the space, in fact JR spell it with a hypen "Iwami-Kawamoto"