International Railroad Discussion > Kinki trains in the early 90s (Japan)

Torn away from the trains of Omaha and San Bernardino in the 1990s, I turned my camera to Japanese trains.  I took all of these JR picures on the line between Osaka and Kyoto.  Number two I am pretty sure was at Kyoto station.

John

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/18 04:21 by Korigaoka1811.

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LOVE the classic styling!

First image is at Oyamazaki Station, facing railroad east. I used the track curvature, the positioning of the catenary poles, and the crossing visible in the distance as clues.

Third image is at Takatsuki Station, also facing railroad east. The diagonal white structure (stair access) and the track arrangement were the clues, although the outside spur tracks have been shortened since you took the picture. The building in the background has been renovated and look a bit different, but there are plenty of similarities to confirm my claim.

Both trains should have been travelling away from you.

Are those pictures of JR trains, and is the train in the third picture a regional?  I lived in Hirakata in 1993-94, so I mostly was riding on the Keihan lines.  

tevillo27 Wrote:
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> Are those pictures of JR trains, and is the train
> in the third picture a regional?  I lived in
> Hirakata in 1993-94, so I mostly was riding on the
> Keihan lines. 

The 3rd photo should have been JR West's Limited Express "Raicho" (Thunderbird), using the "bonnet-nosed" Series 485 EMU set. OP briefly talks about it in Part 3 of his Kyoto Railway Museum photos he posted just before this - first photo.

"Raicho" typically travels between Osaka and Toyama (Japan Sea Side) and is often seen on the nicknamed "Kyoto Line" between Osaka and Kyoto (officially part of the Tokaido Line). Series 485 sets were "officially" retired around the time the newer Series 683 went into service, in the early 2000s. I quote "officially" as I found photos posted (Google search in Japanese) where Series 485 were used on the "Raicho" several years after the "official" retirement, probably to answer railfan demand?

cchan006 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> First image is at Oyamazaki Station, facing
> railroad east. I used the track curvature, the
> positioning of the catenary poles, and the
> crossing visible in the distance as clues.
>
> Third image is at Takatsuki Station, also facing
> railroad east. The diagonal white structure (stair
> access) and the track arrangement were the clues,
> although the outside spur tracks have been
> shortened since you took the picture. The building
> in the background has been renovated and look a
> bit different, but there are plenty of
> similarities to confirm my claim.
>
> Both trains should have been travelling away from
> you.

Thanks for the added information on the pictures.  I had forgotten Takatsuki Station's name but I rember it as a very good place to watch a variety of JR trains.  But I didn't go to Takatsuki often because I lived in Kuzuha (Hirakata) on the Keihan line and it was a long bus ride from Keihan's Hirakata station to Takatsuki and I've never liked riding busses.

John.

tevillo27 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are those pictures of JR trains, and is the train
> in the third picture a regional?  I lived in
> Hirakata in 1993-94, so I mostly was riding on the
> Keihan lines.  

I lived in Hirakata from 1990 to 1999, so we may have crossed paths unknowingly in 93 and 94.  I lived in Century Town by Keihan's Kuzuha Station.  Where were you?

John

I lived on a hill in the center of Hirakata, about equidistant from Hirakata-shi and Hirakata Koen stations. The memories of a time when I didn't have -- or need to --drive a car.  Keihan had a nice operation. Their quadruple track section near Kyobashi was quite something.