International Railroad Discussion > Another JNR 50 yrs ago: an NTL depot

After my visit to the engine terminal in my previous post, the next stop was the Torikai depot of the NTL in the Osaka suburbs.  At that time [ Shin-] Osaka was still a terminus, but the New Sanyo extension would partially open with the year.

1)   A general view, with MoW facilities and equipment on the right, and a set entering the one of the yard tracks.

2)  The brand new experimental 951 two car set, which had just made its debut.  As my hosts and I approached it, I remarked, since I had not expected to see it, something like " Ah, the 951 set";  the depot host said something to my guide for the day, who said to me "He thinks you're an industrial spy", apparently for readily recognizing it quickly.  In response I opened my briefcase and showed them the 951 on the cover of one of the latest Japanese railfan magazines, which seemed to make the situation much more pleasant.

3)  A comparison of the 951's nose with the original one.

To be continued......

---

---

---

My prime reason for a visit to the depot was to see the non-revenue equipment:

4)  Track recording car 921-1.   This was the original car, built new for the initial construction, and was the granddaddy of all the Doctor Yellow test trains.  There was a second non-self-propelled car built later which was converted from a sleeping car;  I didn't see it, regrettably.

5)  The original idea was that the track recording cars would be hauled over the line at night, when the catenary was switched off for maintenance, by one of these three dedicated high speed diesels of the 911 class.  This turned out to be not the best solution, since it would interfere with the extensive work windows that turned out to be needed which could 'only', given the intensive service, be done at night.

6)  For MoW trains and general shunting there were nine of these 912 class units, such as 912-3 here.  These were basically the JNR's 13 class diesels, of which they had 400+, but mounted on standard gauge trucks and with the other necessary NTL modifications.

More to come.....

---

---

---

7)  One of the work train cars, obviously built using recycled 1067 mm ga equipment.  In the left background can be seen a train on the main passing at speed;  even with the finger on the shutter button, capturing one at the optimum moment wasn't easy --  this clearly wasn't one of them.....

8)  A lineup of three sets, with the isolation switches for those tracks

9)  A 16 class "Green Car" [ = first class ].  All original NTL sets had all cars motored, arranged electrically as married pairs.

---

---

---

10 - 11)   Sets on the ready tracks

12)  A view from the cab before riding back to Shin-Osaka in it.  Note the speedometer with integral 'cab speed'.
      My first thought when stepping into the cab for the first time was, of all things, "Just like a GP7".  It wasn't of course, it just seemed so much less "modern" than a Metroliner cab.  But that was very deceiving, since like all JNR equipment, accessibility for troubleshooting or component replacement [ rack mounts ! ] was superb, unlike a Metroliner;  and of course they had full width cabs, since nobody* except the Metroliner concept ever considered making every car of a high speed train capable of independent operation.

Coming Attraction:  The final visit of that day was to a JNR coach yard, and that will be in the next post.

With best regards, SZ

*The closest examples that come to mind would be the Etat / SNCF's Z3800's, which weren't really high speed units, although they could have been;  and the FS ALe 601's, which were intended to work with trailers.

---

---

---

Steinzeit2 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Coming Attraction:  The final visit of that day
> was to a JNR coach yard, and that will be in the
> next post.
>
> With best regards, SZ

The photos of the 951, especially next to the Class 0s, are treasures. Class 200s which were the first sets used for the Tohoku and Joetsu Shinkansen Lines have hints of 951 in terms of exterior appearance.

Torikai facility is still in service, and Doctor Yellow goes into the facility to "take a break" when it makes the maintenance runs from Tokyo to Hakata and back. I was going to reply earlier with a video of the facility viewed from onboard the Shinkansen, but I can't find it, oh well.

Thanks for the great look into the past. Looking forward for more.