International Railroad Discussion > Shinjuku Timeout (JR Freight #3086, Tokyo, Japan)

If I'm within striking distance of Shinjuku around lunch time, I try to visit there to document the only freight train to run through downtown Tokyo area in daylight, JR Freight's Train #3086, which runs from Sapporo, Hokkaido to Nagoya Freight Terminal.

Report from 2 years ago:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?6,3757950

I've also posted videos of #3086 at other locations, at the crossing in Yoyogi (just south of Shinjuku), and near the curve at Komagome where the Yamanote Freight Line officially begins on the north end. I even got triple-blocked by passenger EMUs when I chose an angle with light at Yoyogi Station.

I treat this train like Union Pacific's MRVSJ (Roseville to San Jose manifest) that used to run near my home territory in Silicon Valley. Both of them run consistently, and they run at a time of day where I don't have to wake up early.

I was loitering around Tokyo area last month, and realized that I could go for an against-the-light angle due to overcast, so after reserving a seat on a Shinkansen toward Nagoya for a trip later in the day, I headed from Tokyo to Shinjuku on the Chuo Line to document Train #3086 once again. This elevated angle insures I don't get blocked by passenger trains, but as luck would have it, I wouldn't have been blocked had I shot with the light from Yoyogi. Maybe Murphy visited Shinjuku, too, just to tease me.

The video starts with a Tokyo-bound Chuo Line Rapid (red stripes), then a Sobu Line Local (yellow stripes), and an Outside Loop Yamanote Line train (barely visible).

Shonan-Shinjuku Line E231 EMU shows up next, heading to a destination on the Tokaido Line. Another Outside Loop Yamanote Line train is seen in the background, then a Chuo Line Rapid crawls toward Shinjuku trying to time a signal change from red. If you are observant, you should be able to see an Odakyu Line train behind it. Saikyo Line train then shows up in the foreground.

To finish the video, I nab Train #3086. In the background, you might see the tail end of another Odakyu Line train, and opposing Yamanote Line trains are meeting while #3086 is running through.

I had a nearby angle taken away when the Highway Bus Terminal moved elsewhere and the escalator ramp was demolished due to low usage. Furthermore, the Kinokuniya bookstore right behind where I was standing closed two of its three floors and became a foreign language-only bookstore, so I could no longer buy the JR Freight Timetable at this location. Changes become constant in a modern economy, but hopefully, Train #3086 will keep running this way and keep valuable traditions alive.

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