Open day at Tōkyū Techno Nagatsuta

[ToniBabelony]

Just some impressions of my visit to the maintenance facilities of Tōkyū. Reachable by bicycle over a few hills from home, so no train ridden today actually... Well, apart from the road-rail vehicle for a few meters. :D

 

Edited September 29, 2013 by Toni Babelony

[bikkuri bahn]

According to the news, it was the first time this facility has been open to the public, and that visitors were chosen by drawing- you must have been one of the lucky ones. It made it on TV:

[ToniBabelony]

According to the news, it was the first time this facility has been open to the public, and that visitors were chosen by drawing- you must have been one of the lucky ones. It made it on TV.

 

Oooh, I didn't know it was the first time! I saw the crew of Asahi TV walking around by the way, plus I think I was the only foreigner around (I kept myself behind my shades and yankii jacket). Maybe lucky, maybe just fast. I pointed it out to a good friend (and Tōkyū fan) who promptly reserved a few places for us.

 

It was a HOT day by the way...

[miyakoji]

Are most of the open days around this time of year, or are they throughout?

[bikkuri bahn]

They tend to be in the autumn, but there are some in the late spring and early summer.

[cteno4]

tony,

 

ohh looks like it was fun! what was the big mow car in your pictures?

 

jeff

[ToniBabelony]

ohh looks like it was fun! what was the big mow car in your pictures?

 

It was a Italian/Swiss made rail grinder. Sees daily use, which is quite understandable on a 110km/h very intensively used narrow gauge network.

 

Here are the factory plates:

Edited September 29, 2013 by Toni Babelony

[miyakoji]

I'm surprised there's not a domestic manufacturer of those.  The amount of foreign-made equipment on Japanese railways has to be pretty small.  Even the do-re-mi-fa Siemens electric gear on the Keikyu trains has been replaced hasn't it?

[ToniBabelony]

Low demand, little expertise, internationalisation of the global rail market, outsourcing, lower price, etc. Can all be determining factors into buying foreign heavy machinery. I won't be surprised if there'd be a Japanese rail grinder on the market in 10 years though. However, the railway companies (especially private) have a soft spot for Plasser & Theurer equipment.

[Ronny]

That rail grinder was build near Venice (as wrote on the factory plates), so they simply put it on a cargo ship to transport in Japan.

[ToniBabelony]

I couldn't help myself today and made a new illustration loosely inspired on the visit to Nagatsuta: http://www.jnsforum.com/community/topic/7928-tonis-illustrious-illustrations/?p=87535