International Railroad Discussion > Japanese RR.September 2016 part three..A Hokkaido Branch

Monday 12th September 2016

I went for a run on the [reportedly to close]  Yubari branch in Hokkaido

the line is served by a handful on Diesel Rail Cars each day... my service was number 2629D from Oiwake at 1107 , arrival at the terminus at  1226  returning at 1234 as 2628D

if i waited at the end of track it would have been about 4 hours till the next train

there were a couple of passengers but a number of railfans were about both on booard and in the counrty with cameras recording the progress of the train

a track section supervisor rode up front with the driver making notes en route 

a few minutes delay on the return of some wild deer crossing the track  was the highlight of the trip

the terminus is at a relocation,having been moved back a few decades ago .... the line was known for large tonnages of coal in steam days, long since gone



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/22/16 19:24 by bakersfielddave.

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The one man train

the motorman collects fares and tickets from the passengers as they detrain

a former crossing point abandoned platform  languishes in the undergrowth

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the junction with the Sekisho line

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Thanks for posting these.  It's as close as I can ever come to riding trains in Japan.  Sounds like hointed rail.  I assume they use the Euroean system of have both rail joints at the same place.  Makes for a rough ride on the curves.

jfrank39 Wrote:
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> Thanks for posting these.  It's as close as I can
> ever come to riding trains in Japan.  Sounds like
> hointed rail.  I assume they use the Euroean
> system of have both rail joints at the same
> place.  Makes for a rough ride on the curves.

Yup, jointed rails in Japan have the joints at the same place. Majority of the 1067mm gauge network in Japan still use jointed rails.

bakersfielddave Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Monday 12th September 2016
>
> I went for a run on the   Yubari branch in
> Hokkaido
>
> the line is served by a handful on Diesel Rail
> Cars each day... my service was number 2629D from
> Oiwake at 1107 , arrival at the terminus at 
> 1226  returning at 1234 as 2628D
>
> if i waited at the end of track it would have been
> about 4 hours till the next train
>
> there were a couple of passengers but a number of
> railfans were about both on booard and in the
> counrty with cameras recording the progress of the
> train

Nice catch of the classic Kiha 40, workhorse DMU of the JR system, since the JNR days, from the late 1970s. I have a reasonable guess on why there were other railfans onboard this train.

Last month (in August), JR Hokkaido announced the possible abandonment of the Yubari Branch Line, which you rode on. Low ridership caused by population decline (urban migration) was mentioned as the primary reason. Abandonment is supposed to occur on March of 2019 at the earliest, so there is plenty of time to document this line, and thank you for doing that.

When the abandonment date is officially announced, there will be hordes of railfans showing up... you beat the crowd!

Thanks for sharing the video and photos.

Javier Ortiz
Dallas, TX

Suprised to see the use of box joints isn't against the rules there.