International Railroad Discussion > ?? (Megane) Spectacles bridge

The Megane bridge is the third bridge on the Usui pass railway between Gunma and Nagano. Usui Pass was the first rack and pinion line in Japan, on the Shin-Etsu Line of the then Japanese National Railway. It was replaced in 1963 by a new parallel adhesion line, and in turn replaced by the Nagano Shinkansen line opened for the 1998 Winter Olympics at Nagano.

1. Megane bridge from highway old highway 18. Google street view was very helpful to let us know that the parking area was 400 meters uphill from the bridge. Only exciting part was the ice from the last snow in the shadows on the way up
2. Roman Abt designed the system which was used. The grade on this segment is 6.6%!
3. A section of rack rail in the railway museum at Yokokawa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/15 02:56 by Railpax71.

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ED 421 in the museum at Yokokawa is one of the orignal rack lomotives.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/15 02:53 by Railpax71.

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I found some of the rack rail used as a drainage grate in the town. Other pieces of rack rail were used as cable guideways in the Megane bridge. Here is a drawing of the Megane bridge from one of the informational posters along the hiking trail.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/24/15 02:50 by Railpax71.

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One of the remnants of the Usui Pass railway is the Maruyama substation. One of the double tracks is paved over as a trail to this point and the other track is still active as a locomotive school for the museum. Farther up the trail the tunnels are lighted on the original rack rail route.

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It's common for hardcore Japanese railfans to make a pilgrimage to Usui Pass, to visit "Yokokaru," the name derived from Yokogawa and Karuizawa, the eastern and western ends of Usui pass. Kind of like "SeaTac" derived from Seattle and Tacoma. FYI, Karuizawa is an upscale all-season resort town, with skiing in the winter.

A complete railfan experience can be had, since steam excursions out of Takasaki often go to Yokogawa.

Thank you for making the trek to the Meganebashi and posting a report! I'll have to dig through my archives for any photos of my visit to the railroad museum there about 10 years ago.

This is a good tour and I will absolutely be back--but in warmer weather! The hike from the museum to the Megane bridge is 9km round trip. We chose to do the museum to the power house at Maruyama about 3km roundtrip.