Railroads Of Japan

I've been a fan of American trains most of my life, but my kids got me into Japanese anime a couple of years ago and now I seem to have an interest in Japanese railroads. It's surprising how often they're featured in them!
I'm wondering if anyone has photos or has been lucky enough to have been to Japan to see Japanese trains in person.

 

Railways of Japan

a good first place to look for pictures is http://www.railpictures.net/index.php

just go down to the country section of the search page and find Japan there are about 150 images there

There was a fantastic book called 'Steam locomotives of Japan' published in the early 1960s which I was lucky to pick up a few years ago whcih had photos and drawings of all the major classes.

Continental Modeller magazine published by Peco in England ran a series of articles a few years ago on all the Diesel,DMU and EMU classes running at the time. If you want I can scan them in and post them here

There are a lot of railway websites in Japan but you either have to let Google or Babel fish translate as some western computers don't like displaying Japanese characters.
I think there is going to be an increasing interest in JNR as the rapidly growing availability of Japanese rolling stock in Z scale is getting a lot of people looking in that direction and of course the arrival of T gauge has definetaly got people talking.

 

links to Japan interest sites

This is a page of links to various Japanese sites
http://ktransit.com/links/Railfan/railfan_asia.htm

including some western based sites as well
hope this helps

 

RAILSEEK - TrainBoard's Search Engine

I will try to get those added to RailSeek later

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Many thanks! If I find something I recognize from one of the shows I watch, I may have to add it to my collection.

 

I was stationed in Japan for two years and road the trains all the time. Actually Yokosuka, where the base is, had two seperate lines. Japanese National Railway (JN) and Kiekyu (KHK) both had passenger stations in towm and JNR ran frieghts through. I can't find any of the pictures though.:thumbs_down: I do have some Kato units I picked up over there. One is a E-1 MAX Sankesen (Bullet), the other is the "express" version of the KHK train I rode most. I also have a GreenMax kit of the "local" KHK train but it was broken recently and I need to find a new frame:tb-hissyfitEvery website I've seen says that kit is "Long out of production." I got them when I left in 95 and they sat in thier boxes until this passed Christmas when I got an Atlas Trainman set and actually had a layout to run them on, even if it was only a small oval. All three ran smooth and quiet as if I'd just bought them.

A couple websites to check out
http://www.rtri.or.jp/japanrail/JapanRail_E.html
http://www.keikyu.co.jp/worldwide/

A local MRR club site with a good overview
http://www.japanrailmodelers.org/

 

It does open to me and it's a page of links to 30+ sites. Once I get home I can validate those sites and get them into RAILSEEK; hopefully tonight.

:tb-nerd: :tb-nerd: :tb-nerd: :tb-nerd:​

 

A couple for an earlier era:
SLnet Žž‚Ì—·luö‹C‹@ŠÖŽÔŽÊ^Wv‹@ŠÖŽÔ‚̉摜E“®‰æ‚Ö‚²µ‘Ò
http://homepage3.nifty.com/EF57/
EMUs and high speed trains aren't my style...

 

I've added several of the sites to RAILSEEK

:tb-nerd: :tb-nerd: :tb-nerd: :tb-nerd:
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My son is going into the Air Force this Sept. He's hoping to be stationed in Japan sometime. Maybe I can get a trip there as part of the deal!

 

The Japan Rail Modelers link was VERY cool! Not only the model and prototype photos, but the photos of Japan as well. There's a gorgeous photo of a train outside of Kyoto with a ridge of green mountains in the background...simply gorgeous!

 

In Whisper of the Heart (an Anime by Studio Ghibli released in the US by Disney), they seem to be riding a Keio Series 7000 in the old paint scheme. MicroAce does/is doing a model of that. I missed the last release and am sorry I did.

 

There is a member here who posted several threads full of proto pics of Japanese trains. It has been awhile since I have been on so I can't bring to mind the members name.

Here is a link to a post of his (Westfalen) with very nice pics http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showpost.php?p=568589&postcount=42

 

Those are some very cool photos! I hear Japan is a neat place. I hope to get there some day!

 

This Japanese language web site will give photos of all kinds of Japanese trains:Shinkansen, blue trains (long distance sleepers), operating steam, commuter trains, JR Freight, major private railways, streetcar lines, and gadgetbahn.

“ú–{‚ð‘–‚é“S“¹ŽÔ—¼￾}ŠÓ

Tokyo Rail has much information on trainsin and around Tokyo in English, inspite of the new streetcar currently on the cover page.

http://tekkenweb.sakura.ne.jp/tokyorail/index.html

You Tube is an excellent way to see and hear what is going on in Japan. Here's a few You Tube channels that will allow you to pick and choose from a wide variety.

JR passenger trains, some freight.

YouTube - mogusaen's Channel

Railwaymovies channel

YouTube - RAILWAYMOVIES's Channel

Lots of steam here:

YouTube - nukuri's Channel

Lots of freight here:

YouTube - JNRKARECHI's Channel

Osaka area private railways

YouTube - pikarail's Channel

A few random selections.

Kintetsu, the largest private railway.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0SduVy4ZIc&feature=PlayList&p=097FC076F5B18C8A"]YouTube - 09/08/04 近鉄電車[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6qThnACzeg&feature=PlayList&p=097FC076F5B18C8A"]YouTube - 近鉄　アーãƒ￾ンライナー　プラス　パート１[/ame]

Crew change on the Keikyu

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8OqJoB5CXY&feature=PlayList&p=B8C0AD4003436137"]YouTube - 京急新1000å½¢1009ç·¨æˆ￾到ç￾€ç™ºè»Š[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcjjikZ_V_s&feature=PlayList&p=B8C0AD4003436137&index=56"]YouTube - 京急新1000å½¢1041ç·¨æˆ￾到ç￾€ç™ºè»Š[/ame]

Y crossing

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGSJDE5MS5E"]YouTube - 西武池袋線Yå­—è·¯è¸￾切　椎å￾￾町～池袋 crossing[/ame]

Japan is a country of grade crossings

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07z5ar52CbA"]YouTube - Tateishi Ekidori Street at night[/nomedia]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glyeJq7U8_Y"]YouTube - æ￾±æ­¦æ￾±ä¸Šç·šã€€å¤§å±±é§…付近[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2nrIODVNX4"]YouTube - Train in Tokyo,Japan (Tobu Tojo Line)[/ame]

Vintage electric loco.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57Rmcni3tZA&feature=PlayList&p=3B2F79227AA5A7C9"]YouTube - å†￾ã￾³è²¨è»ŠæŠ¼ã￾—è¾¼ã￾¿[/ame]

Local interurban

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlsiqAUNxvk"]YouTube - 高æ￾¾ç￾´å¹³é›»é‰„600å½¢ ç￾´é›»å±‹å³¶é§… Takamatsu-Kotohira Electric Railroad, Nagao line[/ame]

Steam

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNa2J6c8cpo&feature=PlayList&p=95FA6BAC7A27AA5A"]YouTube - 横郷ã￾®èŒ¶ç•‘　C11通é￾Ž[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m28qP3esqc&feature=PlayList&p=95FA6BAC7A27AA5A"]YouTube - 大井å·￾鉄é￾“C56[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg2sK0uZupQ&feature=PlayList&p=95FA6BAC7A27AA5A"]YouTube - SLã‚„ã￾¾ã￾￾ã￾¡å￾·ï¼ˆé‡￾連）Ⅱ SteamTrain Yamaguchi[/ame]

That's we some of us like Japanese trains!!

 

Bill - Great breakdown of the trains of Japan. I have to add one of my personal favorites and one of the hardest models to get from MircoAce, the Rapi:t 50000.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyAWcI2EGEs"]YouTube - å—æµ· 空港特急ラピートβ Limited Express "rapi:t" for Kansai Airport[/ame]

 

The Hankyu Electric Railway's six track mainline leading into Omeda Station in Osaka. Lines to Kobe, Kyoto and Takarazuka- each have their own double track mainline. The trains with two door cars are limited expresses with forward facing seating.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCIhQ_RkjPA&feature=PlayList&p=8D2A16B50E81D5F3"]YouTube - ã€é˜ªæ€¥é›»é‰„】6000ç³»6008Fï¼ å三（080511）[/ame]

Japan Rail Freight (JRF) EH200

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGb__PhlsAw&feature=PlayList&p=A670B8BE8F09044D"]YouTube - EH200901å—æ¾æœ¬é§…発車シーン[/ame]

More JRF electrics.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1sVA30LMak&feature=PlayList&p=A670B8BE8F09044D"]YouTube - é–€å¸é§…　EF81é‡é€£ã€€ï¼†ã€€EH500コキãƒãƒ©[/ame]

Diesel operation is more limited, mainly on lighter lines.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qenn2fRRiPw&feature=channel"]YouTube - 09/02/21 5282レ[/ame]