Japanese Railway History

Cape Gauge was used in many countries throughout the world. It has been identified primarily with the Cape Colony in South Africa but was used first in the UK on a variety of tramways. Later its use extended into a number of countries in the Far East including New Zealand, Indonesia and in particular Japan.

Cape Gauge was chosen as the 'standard gauge' in Japan. This post provides an introduction to the historic railways of Japan. The story includes a variety of different gauges. The use of different gauges seems at least as complex as the situation in the UK.

https://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/01/09/japanese-railway-history-cape-gauge

 

Interesting history Roger. I've wondered about Japanese railway gauge.

I happened to see this interesting bit of late WW-II Japanese railway history on the Smithsonian Channel:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/category/history/this-us-sub-launched-an-attack-on-a-japane/

 

I hope to produce a short series of short posts over the next little while which look at some of the 2ft 6in track-gauge railway in Japan. This is the first. The Kurobe Gorge Railway is both as tourist railway and a supply line to the hydroelectric power stations along the Kurobe River Gorge.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/01/30/japanese-narrow-gauge-762mm-lines-part-1-the-kurobe-gorge-railway

 

The Kiso Forest Railways - Part A

This next post provides an introduction to the Logging Railways in the Kiso Forest. Only a
short tourist railway now remains of what was once a very large system of 762mm lines. I am currently working on a short survey of one of the lines which made up the network.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/02/11/japanese-narrow-gauge-762mm-lines-part-2-the-kiso-railway-part-a

 

The Kiso Forest Railways - Part B

This post covers one of the main logging railway networks in the Kiso Valley. ... The Otaki Forest Railway.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/02/16/japanese-narrow-gauge-762mm-lines-part-3-the-kiso-railway-part-b-the-otaki-forest-railway

 

The Kiso Forest Railways - Part C

This next post covers another of the significant 762mm railways in the Kiso Forest. The Ogawa Forest Railway. This railway was connected directly to the Otaki Forest Railway.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/02/21/japanese-narrow-gauge-762mm-lines-part-4-the-kiso-railway-part-c-the-ogawa-forest-railway

 

The Kiso Forest Railways - Part D

Further South down the Kiso River is the town of Nojiri. There was a significant network of 762mm railways in its immediate vicinity and in the Atera River Valley. The Nojiri Forest Railways are covered in this next post.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/02/25/japanese-narrow-gauge-762mm-lines-part-5-the-kiso-railway-part-d-the-atera-valley-and-the-nojiri-forest-railway

 

The Kiso Forest Railways - Part E

I am indebted to a number of Japanese language websites for many of the photographs in this series of posts. I am glad to say that I have been able to contact the site owners and have full permission to reproduce the photographs from their sites.

You will see that I am particularly grateful for permission from the site owner of 'rintetsu.net' for many of the photos in this next post.

On that site you will find considerably more photographs of the route covered here.

This next post covers the Forest Railway which leaves the JR Chuo Line at Yabuhara in the Kiso Forest area - The Ogiso Forest Railway.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/03/01/japanese-narrow-gauge-762mm-lines-part-6-the-kiso-railway-part-e-the-ogiso-line-from-yabuhara

 

The early history of Japanese Railways is covered in exemplary fashion in a book by Dan Free.

This is my review of the book.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/03/19/book-review-early-japanese-railways-by-dan-free