Mudkip Dentetsu 4.0

[Mudkip Orange]

So it's about time for another go at a flextrack layout.

 

Before we get into track plans, let's look at the history of Mudkipu Densha Tetsudo Kabushiki Gaisha.

 

PREWAR

 

The Keihan Railway opens its left bank Yodo line, then later opens the Shinkeihan line on the right bank. Nankai constructs a network running south from Nanba Station; Shiomibashi Station is added with the intention of creating a through-connection to a planned municipal subway, but this connection never happens. Daiki opens its Nara Line in 1914; Keihan then contributes seed capital to connect this line to Kyoto, providing a direct 1435mm track between the two temple cities. Daiki merges with other lines to become Kankyu, and begins upgrading legacy 1067mm track in the Aichi/Mie regions to 1435mm.

 

WARTIME

 

Under de facto government control, Kankyu is merged with Nankai to form Kintetsu, while Keihan is merged with Hankyu to create Keihanshin.

 

POSTWAR

 

Kintetsu makes an attempt at divesting Nankai operations, but a great outcry is heard as residents of the coastal cities demand that their railway also be converted to 1435mm operation, allowing a single-seat ride to Kyoto, Nara, and Nagoya. Kintetsu doesn't really want to do this, but top Wakayama politicos take up the cause with gusto. At the same time, Keihanshin management has decided the left bank Yodo line is redundant to its needs and is looking to divest.

 

A chance meeting in a bathhouse between Kintetsu and Keihanshin management leads to a mutually beneficial solution; The left bank Yodo line and the Nankai lines will be spun off into a separate, merged company, with the corporate charter specifying the construction of a Tenbabashi-Shiomibashi link (and the subsequent creation of single-seat Wakayama-Osaka-Kyoto limited express service). Thus is born Moshi Moshi Kabushiki Gaisha. Moshi Moshi immediately restores prewar branding to the still-disjointed rail lines, operating Nankai and Keihan as two seperate units under common ownership.

 

EARLY UPGRADES

 

The main line to Wakayama is upgraded to 1435mm by 1951. At first, the 1435mm tracks terminate at Nanba, with the idea that the Shiomibashi branch will be upgraded in tandem with the Shiomibashi-Tenbabashi Link. However, as construction is occurring on the initial 1435mm upgrade, Osaka City begins planning for an extension of the Yotsubashi subway line, to serve as a reliever route to the already-at-capacity Midosuji subway line. Subsequent meetings between Moshi Moshi and Osaka City make clear that the Yotsubashi extension can be completed sooner as a joint project between the two entities. In 1959 the Nanba-Tenbabashi link opens, with Nankai/Keihan trains operating one level below street and Yotsubashi Line trains operating two levels below. Yotsubashi trains initially terminate at Higobashi, but begin operating to Nishi-Umeda in 1961.

 

In 1965, Moshi Moshi grade-separates the Kishinosato Diamond, sending all Koya Line trains to Shiomibashi. The remaining 1067mm tracks north of Kishinosato are converted to 1435mm and Nanba becomes a 1435mm-only station. Discussions occur between Moshi Moshi and Kintetsu about extending their line from Uehonmachi to Nanba, but nothing comes of it.

 

KINTETSU EXPANSION AND DEBT

 

Having achieved great success with limited express services to both Shima and Nagoya, Kintetsu undertakes a major expansion. Crack engineers have designed a special flatcar which will allow 40' ISO containers to be accommodated within the existing Kintetsu loading gauge, but Osaka/Kobe/Nagoya port infrastructure is still oriented around non-containerized shipping. After secretly acquiring several thousand acres near Owase, Kintetsu announces the construction of the Odaigahara Line. This will link to both a new set of resort facilities, as well as a new deepwater port designed solely for container ships. The container port promises to cut sea-to-landside travel times by as much as 10 days off the existing Nagoya/Osaka/Kobe port infrastructure.

 

The project proves somewhat less than successful. Cost overruns abound, driven by both the geology of the Daiko range as well as the beefed-up engineering required to accommodate unit container trains. By the time the first cranes and trains are running, Osaka has already upgraded three slips to a streamlined containerized format, and Kobe follows suit. A few companies establish a presence at Owase (Maersk is an early adopter), but revenue falls far short of projections. Kintetsu stock dips, and its debt is repeatedly downgraded.

 

ENTER THE AKUNIN

 

At its creation, Moshi Moshi was jointly owned by Kintetsu and Hankyu. Subsequent sale and dilution of stock reduced this ownership, so that by 1979 Kintetsu owned a 32% share while Hankyu owned merely 9%. Unbeknownst to many, a shadowy investment syndicate known as the Akunin Group had used a thicket of front companies to acquire some 30-odd percent of Moshi Moshi, without any of the normal disclosures required under Japanese securities laws. As Kintetsu sank further into debt (and began to weigh fully divesting itself of its remaining Moshi Moshi holdings), Akunin stepped forward with an ambitious proposal.

 

Akunin would acquire the remainder of Kintetsu's interest in Moshi Moshi, giving it a supermajority ownership stake. Moshi Moshi would then acquire the Odaigahara Line (including all the debt associated with both the line and the port venture) as well as the Yoshino, Kashihara, and Kyoto Lines. Kintetsu would be reorganized as an Osaka radial railway. Some shareholders objected, and it took awhile to work out the legalities around how Akunin had acquired such a large stake to begin with, but eventually the papers were signed.

 

MUDKIP DENTETSU

 

In 1983, Mudkip Dentetsu was created as a holding company for all the rail lines under Akunin's control. Mudkip subsequently divested the Koyasan Line to a separate ownership, which was allowed to retain Nankai branding. Thus 1435mm Nankai trains to Nanba are operated by Mudkip/Nankai, but 1067mm trains to Shiomibashi are operated separately under license. Fare structures and branding are unified and your average 20-year-old girl on a cellphone doesn't know the difference.

 

CORPORATE STRUCTURE

 

(I) Coast Division

     [a] Nankai (1435mm)

     Yotsubashi Operating Company (joint ownership with Osaka City)

     [c] Keihan Group

     [d] Eizan Group* (majority stake)

 

(II) Valley Division

     [a] Mudkip Dentetsu Valley Line

     11% ownership share in Kintetsu Corporation

     [c] Various unintelligible tie-ups in Wakayama Prefecture (Mudkip may possibly own 15% of the likeness rights for Tama the cat but this is disputed)

 

(III) Mountain Division

     [a] Mudkip Dentetsu Odaigahara Line

 

(IV) Licensing and royalties

     [a] Nankai (1067mm)

     Kishinosato Real Property Limited (owns the ground underneath the diamond, as well as other properties)

 

(V) Other Ventures

     [a] Owase Ports Venture

     Fushidara Resorts Limited

     [c] Fushidara Coastal Bus Company

     [d] Mudkip Real Property Interest Limited (owns everything that doesn't easily fall into another category, including a very sad and run-down amusement park)

 

*note: Eizan acquired the Keishin and Ishiyama Sakamoto Lines in 1971.

 

ROUTE MAP
 

Note: Only principal lines shown.

 

Edited June 27, 2014 by Mudkip Orange

[miyakoji]

yikes Mudkip, you're like the James Ellroy of model railroad backstories.  How long did it take you to come up with all of that?  Well done.  Lemme read it over a few times, I think I'll have some questions.  Are you going to work some of that Chubu-area rolling stock you have into operations on the east side of that?

btw, did anyone see Akunin with Tsumabuki Satoshi and Fukatsu Eri?  It won some awards.  How was it?

[Mudkip Orange]

Preliminary trackplan, based on the Odaigahara Line. All platforms are two cars in length, as anything longer runs non-stop from Yamato-Kamiichi to Dentetsu-Funatsu.

 

[Densha]

Now you need to get that MicroAce Keihan 800 and put Eizan stickers on it.

[Kabutoni]

You have now entered the world of hardcore Kakutetsu. Welcome.

[cteno4]

Nice design!

 

Jeff

[Mudkip Orange]

Moved into a new place. Proper two-story house with a study. I measured out the space in the corner of this room:

 

 

48 1/4" x 96 3/8"

 

It's almost like this place was designed by a train guy.

[velotrain]

It's almost like this place was designed by a train guy.

 

For a sheet of plywood.