railsquid's random Japanese train photos

[railsquid]

Blast from the past - some old photos from the Ouito Line in 2006 I didn't realise I had:

 

KiHa 52 (Itoigawa, 2006-05-26) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

KiHa 52 (Itoigawa, 2006-05-26) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

Former engine shed at Itoigawa (2006-05-26) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

Kiha 52 (Minami-Otari, 2006-05-26) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[Kiha66]

Woah, so cool!  I didn't realize any of the 52 series were still running, is this unit still in operation?

[railsquid]

All withdrawn around 2010, I think.

 

That nice engine shed is of course no longer there either.

Edited December 17, 2020 by railsquid

[railsquid]

Either Hachioji Daiichi has just gone critical, or a Hachiko line 209-3100 series is heading into the sunset.

 

Hachiko Line, approaching Hachioji (2020-12-15) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[disturbman]

On 12/17/2020 at 6:58 AM, railsquid said:

That nice engine shed is of course no longer there either.

 

That's the one on the sleeve of Tomix 92966. 

[railsquid]

22 hours ago, disturbman said:

 

That's the one on the sleeve of Tomix 92966. 

 

Also immortalized by Tomytec: https://www.tomytec.co.jp/diocolle/lineup/tatemono/tate036.html

[railsquid]

Toden 7500 series tram, statically preserved in the grounds of the Edo-Tokyo Open-Air Architectural Museum:

 

Toden 7500 series tram by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

[railsquid]

And in the same general vicinity, a C57 and coach (OHaFu 32):

 

C57166 (Koganei-Koen, 2021-01-09) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

OHaFu 32 (Koganei-Koen, 2021-01-09) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[Yavianice]

This is a very cool museum, I really enjoyed my visit in the before times. Especially the bathhouse with its beautiful mural.

[railsquid]

A while back I was minding my own business on the Seibu Shinjuku line between Takadanobaba and Seibu Shinjuku when I was bemused to see this rather worn Boso-liveried 209 series trundle past on the Yamanote freight line.

 

JR 209 series (Shin-Okubuo, 2020-12-18) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

JR 209 series (Shin-Okubuo, 2020-12-18) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

JR 209 series (Shin-Okubuo, 2020-12-18) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

No idea where it was going, probably somewhere it won't be coming back from.

 

One of the Chuo Line 209-1000 sets at Tachikawa the other week:

 

JR 209-1000 series (Tachikawa, 2021-01-07) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

[JR 500系]

OOhhh nice the Chuo line 209-1000 sets are still running? 

[railsquid]

26 minutes ago, JR 500系 said:

OOhhh nice the Chuo line 209-1000 sets are still running? 

 

Oh yes, I imagine they'll be sticking around for a couple of years more until all the E233s are refurbished.

[Socimi]

7 hours ago, railsquid said:

A while back I was minding my own business on the Seibu Shinjuku line between Takadanobaba and Seibu Shinjuku when I was bemused to see this rather worn Boso-liveried 209 series trundle past on the Yamanote freight line.

 

[...]

 

No idea where it was going, probably somewhere it won't be coming back from.

 

Could have been a driver training run? In the past, a Tozai Line E231-800 Series set was also spotted on the Yamanote Freight Line, being used for the same purpose.

[railsquid]

Random shot from a Chuo Line E233:

 

Chuo Lline, Yanagawa Station (2021-03-10) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[railsquid]

Cherry blossom time!

 

Seibu Shinjuku Line, 2021-03-27 by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

(disclaimer: random passing shot using my mobile phone camera, internet probably has thousands of better variations on this theme)

[railsquid]

On 9/8/2018 at 10:36 AM, railsquid said:

Another video I rescued from my camera from one of the final days of above-ground operations at Shimokitazawa. Looking east (towards Shinjuku) from the end of one of the platforms, a scene now gone for ever. Quality is not that great as the file was corrupted and I had to use some hackery to get it processed, and unfortunately video cuts out around 1:55.

 

 

Part 1 of the file, in much better quality:

 

 

 

I was tidying up recently and came across some camcorder tapes from ca. 2004:

 

 

 

[railsquid]

Nighttime Shibuya:

 

]

shibuya-2021-10-08_01 by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[mojo]

On 12/17/2020 at 5:00 AM, railsquid said:

Former engine shed at Itoigawa (2006-05-26) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

 

I have wondered about brick buildings in Japan for a long time. I guess they must be constructed differently to Western ones, to be earthquake-proof.

 

I've seen the ruins of the foreign homes built in Yokohama. But there are a few brick buildings here and there, like this one, that seem to have stood the test of time.

[railsquid]

As far as I know, there's nothing inherently problematic with brick-built structures provided they are built with earthquakes in mind, like this:

 

 

and not like this:

 

 

(analysis of construction techniques common in Indonesia).

[Szdfan]

56 minutes ago, mojo said:

 

I have wondered about brick buildings in Japan for a long time. I guess they must be constructed differently to Western ones, to be earthquake-proof.

 

I've seen the ruins of the foreign homes built in Yokohama. But there are a few brick buildings here and there, like this one, that seem to have stood the test of time.

This shed reminds me of the Tomytec brick engine shed. Was this a common design?

[200系]

On 10/26/2021 at 4:19 PM, mojo said:

I have wondered about brick buildings in Japan for a long time. I guess they must be constructed differently to Western ones, to be earthquake-proof.

 

I wouldn't really say that I'm an expert on this particular subject matter but, from what I've gathered, you'd be surprised how little earthquake proving was done (read practically none whatsoever) prior to the 1923 Kantō earthquake.

 

This hearkens back to one my pet peeves, as I think one of the main issues people sometimes face when dealing with Meiji, Taishō and even most of Shōwa era Japan, is that it is assumed that certain core values which are present in 'modern' (late Shōwa, Heisei and the current Reiwa era) Japan, would have been present in the earlier periods as well, which surprisingly isn't really true in numerous cases, this being one of them.

 

The issue of seismic standards in construction, and especially the way this is embedded into construction codes, is a relatively modern phenomenon, as is the presence of a building code in general.

Brick is of course not a traditional building material in Japan, traditional Japanese architecture uses timber framing for the main structural (load bearing) elements of the building, the walls were usually made by inserting a frame made out of bamboo between the structural over which plaster is then applied (though wood could be used as well, quite a number of late Tokugawa era Machiya (townhouses) used wood paneling for example). Though probably never intended, the traditional construction methods proved to be relatively effective during earthquakes (for that period), as the wooden construction was rigid enough to maintain some form of structural integrity aided by the relatively light construction, while at the same time they had enough flexibility to prevent the brittleness which poses such a risk with brick construction. 

As such, when the first, western style, brick buildings appeared during the early Meiji era there was no building code which specified any form of structural standards, which resulted in these buildings being constructed in exactly the same manner as they would be anywhere else.

 

As research into the structural integrity of buildings during earthquakes didn't really exist at this point in time either, most certainly not in early Meiji era Japan, there was no perceived need for any changes made to these buildings, not really surprising taking into account that there was no regulatory framework for any form of building, traditional nor western style, at that time anyway. The 1891 Nōbi earthquake would serve as a minor wake up call as western style (industrial) buildings were heavily damaged, while traditional warehouses had sustained, comparatively, minor damage.

Research into earthquakes and structural integrity would start after this earthquake, though it wouldn't really kick into gear until much later. However, following the Nōbi earthquake steel constructions would be used as reinforcements on some (and I do stress some) brick buildings that would be constructed after 1891, Tōkyō station is one of those buildings, however there were still no rules/legislation which made the use of steel framing in brick buildings mandatory.

 

Japan's first building regulations would be introduced in 1920, though the legislation did specify structural load standards, these were only based around static loads, i.e. could the building support its own weight, there were no provisions for seismic loading yet. However, on September the 1st, 1923 at 11:58 and 32 seconds the Great Kantō Earthquake struck the Southern Kantō area. While the devastation caused by the earthquake, and the subsequent fires, was of course widespread for almost all type of buildings, most of the western style buildings had fared the worst in terms of structural integrity, a large number crumbling like a stack of cards, while other sustained heavy damage, with only those with the steel reinforcements, a steel frame, or reinforced concrete construction (using brick only as cladding in both cases) holding up well.

 

This resulted in a number of important changes to the way new buildings would be constructed in Japan. First of all because of the damage sustained by similar buildings, it resulted in the construction of (larger) brick buildings ending, practically, overnight, with reinforced concrete becoming the material of choice for larger buildings from that point onward(1). At the same time, seismic standards were implemented into the building code, coming into effect in 1924 (with multiple revisions being made in the postwar era). This meant earthquake proofing would

 

So in summary, earthquake proofing wasn't really a thing with regards to most (western style) buildings prior to 1924, and this is reflected in the brick buildings built up till that point. Though the 1891 Nōbi earthquake did result in some changes being made to certain western style buildings being constructed after this date, and once again stressing some, nothing was officially mandated until the 1924 revision of the (1920) building standards mandated seismic standards for new construction projects.

 

 

It is a bit of a long winded answer (though addition would perhaps be a better term) to your question, however I hope it at least provided some insight to those who are interested in this subject.

 

 

(1)It has to be said though, that reinforced concrete structures were already more or less an established alternative for brick construction, partially (and interestingly enough) because of its expected earthquake resistance (which turned out to be true). The first RC (reinforced concrete) buildings (other than bridges etc) being completed around 1905. A good example of an early Japanese building of RC construction would be building no.30 at Hashima (Gunkanjima), a 7 story apartment building (4 stories when built) constructed in 1916, which is the first RC apartment building ever to be constructed in Japan.

Though RC had been used earlier, the effects of the Kantō earthquake propelled it forwards, quickly becoming the material of choice for the construction of medium/large buildings (for the construction of normal homes, traditional wooden framing would remain in use even long into the following Shōwa period (and for some homes even to this day)). The construction of the Dōjunkai apartments, 16 small(ish) apartment complexes built between 1926 and 1934 in the Kantō area, are a prime example of the architectural change which started after the Kantō earthquake. There's a bit of symbolism here, as these buildings were constructed in order to house people who had become homeless because of the earthquake (besides the aforementioned apartments, Dōjunkai also built numerous standard (wooden) homes al around the Kantō area, all for the same purpose). These buildings were according to the newly established seismic standards (the buildings had (massively) thick RC beams, walls and floor structures), and would survive well into the late Shōwa era, with most surviving into the Heisei era. The last of the Dōjunkai apartments, Uenoshita apartment built in 1929, would survive for more than 80 years, finally being demolished in 2013.

[railsquid]

Sobu Line bridge over the Edogawa;

 

Sobu Line bridge over the Edogawa by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

 

[railsquid]

Random shot through a wire fence of a moving Shinkansen which turned out better than I expected.

 

700 series Shinkansen near Ontakesan Station (Tokyo) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[railsquid]

A vanishing breed of road sign design:

 

yaho-station-sign-2021-12-26_01 by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[railsquid]

Some trains in front of a dormant volcano earlier today:

 

 

Edited December 28, 2021 by railsquid