Niigata Railway Question

[Lawrence]

Guys I bought one similar to this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Tomytec-1-150-Niigata-Railway-11-Train-w-Track-/110952378702?pt=UK_ToysGames_DiecastVehicles_DiecastVehicles_JN&hash=item19d546f14e earlier this year and motorised it, I wondered if anyone knows if they ran as 2 car units or single only as I caould use this as a dummy car. Thanks for any help.

[bikkuri bahn]

Yes, but usually it was paired with a different type, in this case a kuha (non-motored) type (ex Odakyu 1400 series):

 

http://c5557.kiteki.jp/html/niigata-koutuu.htm

 

*Typically, on rural local lines (until widespread motorization), as well as the bigger private railways in the immediate post-war era before the growth of suburbs, the standard formation was a driving motor car (moha) + driving trailer (kuha).  Two motor cars would be overkill. However, you can run two motor cars together and say it's a fan run from the last days the railway, if you encounter a visitor who's a nit-picker

[bill937ca]

Its a defunct line.  It had the ability to run two trains, but did it have the traffic in the final years? Probably not.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Niigata_Koutsuu_Kuha46_19990402.jpg

 

Here`s the Japanese language wiki page.

 

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%96%B0%E6%BD%9F%E4%BA%A4%E9%80%9A%E9%9B%BB%E8%BB%8A%E7%B7%9A

 

Flickr photos.

 

 

It can be motorized with a Tomytec drive. But I'm not sure which one.

[Guest ___]

Yes, but usually it was paired with a different type, in this case a kuha (non-motored) type (ex Odakyu 1400 series):

 

http://c5557.kiteki.jp/html/niigata-koutuu.htm

 

*Typically, on rural local lines (until widespread motorization), as well as the bigger private railways in the immediate post-war era before the growth of suburbs, the standard formation was a driving motor car (moha) + driving trailer (kuha).  Two motor cars would be overkill. However, you can run two motor cars together and say it's a fan run from the last days the railway, if you encounter a visitor who's a nit-picker

 

It never ceases to fascinate me how much of this stuff you know, regardless of how obscure it could possibly be ^_^

[bikkuri bahn]

It never ceases to fascinate me how much of this stuff you know, regardless of how obscure it could possibly be ^_^

 

Thanks, it's not so much knowing, but looking at old pictures and noticing similarities and repeating patterns.  Not just pictures of old Japanese trains, but ones from other countries- like the cliche, "picture is worth a thousand words".

[Lawrence]

Thanks both, for your replies.  Unfortunately I was so busy last night I never got chance to bid on it, no doubt it will come up again 

[westfalen]

When I rode the line in its later years in 1998 I only recall seeing single car trains although my trip was in the middle of the day when passengers were few in number, there may have been two car trains operated in the morning and evening for school kids or commuters if they had any.

[Lawrence]

Well if the item ever comes up again  I might get it, quite sure I could remove the pantograph and touch it up to make it a kuha.  I would also like to drill the headlamp out and put an led in there so having the 2 cars would give me the room to do that as the tomytec chassis comes half way up the windows, might have to get some side shots of passengers that I can stick to the inside of the windows 

[bikkuri bahn]

When I rode the line in its later years in 1998 I only recall seeing single car trains although my trip was in the middle of the day when passengers were few in number, there may have been two car trains operated in the morning and evening for school kids or commuters if they had any.

 

I think in the last years of the line traffic only required a single car (Niigata, like many regional cities, is heavily auto-dependent), though, as you say, the possibility exists that early AM 2 car trains may have been used for the school traffic.

[Lawrence]

Well I did manage to get another one  , 32pence + £5.88 shipping from HK, so it will give me a nice little project making up a 2 car unit