Monchiku Tochi Railway

[Nick_Burman]

Hi all,

 

In his book "Rails to the Setting Sun", Charles Small mentions this railways as being Japan's smallest at the time - I can't remember the exact figure, but it was under 5km long and had a handful of employees. Small says that at the time he wrote the book he was unable to locate the line. Does anyone have any idea about the railway (hard question! )?

 

Cheers NB

[bikkuri bahn]

Small obviously didn't know his kanji and/or geography well enough.  The Monchiku Tochi Railway was located in Moji City, Kyushu (now the city of  Kita-Kyushu).  It changed its name to this from the Mojichikko or more popularly named Mojichiku Densha in 1943.  It operated until 1960, when the line from Sotohama to Monchiku Okubo was closed.  The remaining active portion was taken over by the Tannoura Koukyo Rinkou Railway.

 

[Nick_Burman]

BB,

 

Thanks for the reply. I grabbed hold of the book and Small quotes 1.5km of track and 14 employees. Judging by the film you've sent this is the same line followed today by the Moji Harbour train, correct? Any hopes of images on the web of the line before it was swallowed by the Tannoura Rinkai?

 

Cheers NB

[bikkuri bahn]

Yes, I believe the harbor train follows the route, which was taken over by JR Freight when JNR was broken up, and subsequently abandoned in recent years, as JRF is wont to do for anything not involving containers.

 

I can't find any pictures of the railway/streetcar line on the net, it was pre-1960, and in a tucked away location, so probably minimal attention was paid by photographers.

[bikkuri bahn]

A visit to the local bookstore failed to come up with any picture sources.  However, there is a correction to my first post- the Mojichikko was the parent firm, with a 1067mm 1.55km long waterfront line, and a 1435mm 2.5km long 600v DC street railway (the aforementioned Mojichiku Densha), which ran on a different route cutting across the peninsula.  The street railway closed in 1936, so there is likely little photographic evidence of the line left.

[Nick_Burman]

Thanks once more BB. I think the Mojichiku Densha is mentioned in "Electric Railways of Japan vol. 3" in the chapter detailing the history of the Nishitetsu tram lines in the region (even if it was not connected to the Nishitetsu or belong to this company), I'll check it later.

 

Cheers NB