Out in the "bush" (JP#2)

[Nick_Burman]

Hello all,

 

Ohayo gozaimasu from Toyama! Sorry for neglecting you guys but I've been writing mainly on Facebook for my Brazilian friends. When I get home I intend to give the forum a full report. Suffice for now to say that that I'm enjoying Japan enormously - what a pleasure of a country to travel in, everything works soooo smoothly...

 

Today we had a day out on the Kurobe Gorge Railway. Judging by the lack of posts reporting on trips over this line, am I the only forum member to have visited it? It's absolutely superb, gorge-ous (pun intended) views from the train as it made it's way up 4% grades and 40m radius curves to Keiyakidaira. The only downside was that this weekend being Kodomo-no-hi/Midori-no-hi (Children's Day/Coming of Age Day) holiday, Unazuki station was packed to the rafters and trains were crammed to capacity. Also some of the trails at KKD were closed for maintenance, which meant that we spent our layover mainly hanging around the station (good photo ops).

 

To get to Unazuki Onsen we, of course, took the Toyama Chiho. Now I understand why so many rail fans love it - Chitetsu still retains a lot of traditional old-school railroading, with wooden stations set on tamped earth platforms, signals hung on the OHW posts and elderly MU sets bumping their way across varied scenery. However the trip on the local from Dentetsu Toyama to Unazuki Onsen is rather long (and at times bumpy - although much of Chitetsu's main line is passed for 90kph running, this is done ignoring some of the low joints on the track...), so on the way back we bailed out at Shin-Uozu and transferred to a southbound "Hakutaka" at JR Uozu. Even taking into consideration the 15min wait at Uozu, we arrived in Toyama much earlier than if we had staid aboard the local - had we stuck with Chitetsu we would have been still bumbling our way somewhere between Kami-Ichi and Terada by the time we set our foot outside Toyama station... Incidentally, I have a feeling that Chitetsu's ex-Keisei trains are on their way out - on our way to Unazuki Onsen there were several railfans taking pictures of our set as it passed. The 17600s are still going strong, with traction motor noise that BB would approve with two thumbs up. More ex-Tokyu trains have arrived, one was running a shuttle between Shin-Uozu and Unazuki Onsen while another was being readied for service at Inarimachi shops.

 

Incidentally, the Hokuriku Shinkansen is almost ready - the OHW is up and stations have reached the finishing stage, only minor details like signs are missing. Even the Chitetsu platform at Shin-Kurobe is ready to accept patrons. A totem at the shopping center located over Dentetsu Toyama station gives a quote of 11 months for opening, which means that the only thing that is stopping JR from running trains is the lack of rolling stock.

 

Cheers NB

 

 

 

 

 

 

[westfalen]

I rode the Kurobe Gorge in 1994, spent a couple of nights in the hotel that overlooks Uozu station.

 

The Australian Railway Historical Society tour I am going on in a couple of weeks is doing the Kurobe Gorge, I'm still deciding whether to do that with the group or spend the day on the Chitetsu as I've only ever ridden it from Uozu to Unazuki Onsen.