Thomas the Tank Engine (JNR Class C11 227) on Ōigawa Railway

[Sacto1985]

YouTube member ZOUPANO2 shot a video of a test run of JNR Class C11 227 modified to look like Thomas the Tank Engine on the Ōigawa Railway:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gwned36mAWc

 

Alas, all the tickets for the excursion runs in July are sold out.

[bill937ca]

Alas, all the tickets for the excursion runs in July are sold out.

 

Now that will probably cause some bad behavior!!

[Kabutoni]

My heart is bleeding and my wife thinks it looks scary.  :icon_puke_r:

[westfalen]

There is a lot of 'OMG what have they done' on other forums but I think they have done a good job with attention to details like moving the headlight onto the buffer beam rather than just slapping on a cheap coat of blue paint, and if the tickets are sold out it obviously works from a marketing stand point.

 

If it had been three weeks earlier I would have been there with my camera too if I'd known about it.

 

Of course maybe I just think it looks good because blue is the natural colour of tank engines in this part of the world.

 

Edited June 26, 2014 by westfalen

[JR 500系]

It looks really... SCARY... kinda like a nightmare actually. I think the kids might freak out? I mean, imagine seeing Lighting McQueen complete with windshield eyes in life-size...

[Davo Dentetsu]

Australia hears you loud and clear!

[marknewton]

There is a lot of 'OMG what have they done' on other forums but I think they have done a good job with attention to details like moving the headlight onto the buffer beam rather than just slapping on a cheap coat of blue paint, and if the tickets are sold out it obviously works from a marketing stand point. Of course maybe I just think it looks good because blue is the natural colour of tank engines in this part of the world.

 

Yes, blue tank engines are the go!  :)

 

 

And I agree with Westfalen, the Oigawa Railway has done a rather good job on this makeover. 

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[Densha]

Painting a British steam loco in this colours is appropriate, some look quite good. But doing this to a C11 is too much.

[westfalen]

It's not the first time C11 227 has been blue, she was painted up as some Japanese cartoon character a while back and before that she was red as the train from Anpanman, she'll be black again after the Thomas promotion is over. These things keep the money coming in to keep her and her sisters in steam, the Oigawa doesn't have the bank balance JR East has for their steam program.

 

When my Tramway C11's arrive I might paint one of my old Micro-Ace or Kato C11's blue.

[Kabutoni]

It's not the first time C11 227 has been blue, she was painted up as some Japanese cartoon character a while back and before that she was red as the train from Anpanman, she'll be black again after the Thomas promotion is over. These things keep the money coming in to keep her and her sisters in steam, the Oigawa doesn't have the bank balance JR East has for their steam program.

 

That is very true, but still, it doesn't prevent me throwing up a little. I'm very sure it's good for marketing and all -especially since Ōigawa isn't close by any major town and is hard to reach.

[Davo Dentetsu]

At least it's not a half-done job like most railways out there.  Can't imagine the licensing fees to do this would be easy to come by either.

[JR 500系]

Australia hears you loud and clear!

 

 

Holly! Mater is a best friend! Haha ~

[cteno4]

rocketnews article on them

 

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2014/07/19/we-travel-to-shizuoka-to-come-face-to-face-with-the-real-life-thomas-the-tank-engine-locomotive/

 

jeff

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Naah, you need one of these...

 

 

This is the locomotive that Rev Awdry based Thomas on; a London Brighton & South Coast Railway class E2 tank engine.

 

Sadly none of these locos survived...  :(