International Railroad Discussion > "Railway Museum in Train" (Japan)

I made this trip in October of 2015.

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands that make up Japan. When the government-run JNR (Japan National Railways) was privatized in 1987, JR Shikoku became the organization responsible for running the JNR network within the island.

2014 was the year of anniversaries for the Yodo Line, JR Shikoku's southwestern non-electrified single track segment. It was the 100th anniversary of the line's start of revenue service, and 40th anniversary of the line's completion between Uwajima and Kubokawa stations.

The biggest 2014 anniversary to celebrate, at least for railfans was the 50th anniversary of the Shinkansen, their HSR.

JR Shikoku decided to modify one of their Kiha 32 DMU into something special to celebrate the anniversaries. Thus, the "Railway Museum in Train" was born. The Japanese call it the Tetsudo Hobby Train (鉄道ホビートレイン, or Railroad Hobby Train, or Model Railroading Train).

It's an interesting concept, a real train that celebrates model railroading. I knew about this project in 2014 already, but my "Japan To Do" list was full, so I couldn't make the trip until 2015. Due to Yodo Line being located farthest from the dual purpose auto/rail Seto-Ohashi Bridge on the northeast part of Shikoku, it's essentially an overnight trip from Tokyo, requiring sleeper travel (Sunrise Limited Express) or overnight hotel stay somewhere, EVEN using the Shinkansen.

Sunrise Limited Express was booked full for the week, so I elected to stay overnight in Matsuyama, about 2 hours train ride away from Uwajima, the northwestern terminus for the Yodo Line.

- Railroad Hobby Train at Yoshinobu Station.
- Ready to depart Uwajima Station for the 2nd trip.
- Videos of the prototype and in N scale.

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Bakersfielddave made a brief reference to this train back in 2014, 3rd photo in the thread:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?6,3430701

I'll briefly describe the video I posted above. The Railroad Hobby Train is arriving at Ekawasaki Station going westbound, running in "reverse" direction. The train is departing Uwajima for its 2nd trip next, running "forward." I bought the N scale MicroAce rendition of the train in summer of 2014 in anticipation of riding the train, and decided to play along with the concept by running it on an N scale layout.

- JR Shikoku decided NOT to put the Shinkansen nose on both sides. Railroad Hobby Train had to be practical enough to be able to couple to another car, in case of ridership demand. Photo taken at Ekawasaki.

- Another shot from the Shinkansen side of the train, also at Ekawasaki.

- Cab view from the inside. No engineer, since I'm riding it in "reverse."

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Yodo Line has plenty of "experiential" moments, as the line goes through mountain territory with maximum of 3% grade. Further east, the line runs along the beautiful Shimanto River and the train is popular with hikers and nature lovers.

- Another cab view going in "reverse" with Yodo Line scenery.

- By seeing how some of the passengers are dressed, they might be "essential" travellers.

- For students, this train was definitely essential (standing room only near Uwajima).

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There are some model railroad displays inside the train.

- "Railway Museum in Train"

- HO scale of the Railroad Hobby Train inside itself.

- Shinkansens Class 0, 100, 500, N700, and Railroad Hobby Train. 
 

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- Lady showing curiosity of the model railroad displays.

- This display case has trains, not just cars.

- Stations and fares board. 0 to 21 lists all the Yodo Line stops. Fares light up and change accordingly while the train traverses the line, so passengers can prepare the appropriate fares when they exit. On the bottom (non-functional) are all the Shinkansen stops from Tokyo to Shin-Osaka when the service started in 1964.

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- Seats from an actual Shinkansen Class 0 inside the train. The railfan couple sitting there travelled similarly to me. They boarded the "intercept" train from Uwajima, de-trained at Ekawasaki, then boarded the Railroad Hobby Train for experiential travel.

- Closer look at the seat fabric of a "normal" seat shows railfan bias.

- I stamped my JR Rail Pass onboard the train.

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While the goal of my trip was Tori-tetsu (撮り鉄, or photo-taking railfanning), it ended up being a Nori-tetsu (乗り鉄, or train-riding railfanning) experience. From Matsuyama, I rode the morning limited express train to Uwajima along the Yosan Line.

- I reserved a hotel in Matsuyama, with a morning view of the streetcars.

- C12 #231 visible from the train, at Uchiko station.

- More Yosan Line scenery: Ozu Castle near Iyo-Ozu station.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/09/21 19:51 by cchan006.

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- Limited Express Uwakai at Uwajima Station (I rode this train).

- Cartoon character Anpan Man seats in Uwakai's reserved section.

- My "intercept" train to Ekawasaki was special, too, Kaiyodo Hobby Train.
 

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Kaiyodo is a company that's focused on the hobby of figurines. Might be more popular than model railroading, due to the popularity of anime (Japanese animation) and anime characters.

- Kaiyodo Hobby Train's paint scheme has changed from orange/blue to red/green, so this is "historic" now.

- Inside the Kaiyodo Hobby Train, including a display.

- Before modifications,. Railroad Hobby Train looked like this, a generic Kiha 32 in blue/white. Kiha 32 was manufactured in 1987 specifically for Shikoku use, as it's smaller than other DMUs of the era. The DMU is considered "JNR" instead of JR, as the model went into service before the privatization of JNR into JR groups. This was taken at Ekawasaki.

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- Kiha 32 and Kaiyodo Hobby Train leaving Ekawasaki, crossing the Hiromi River. Just around the corner, Hiromi River joins the Shimanto River.

- Secret to station cleanliness. I raised my camera, and the cleaning lady bowed and gave me permission to take her photo.

- Bonus video: I documented the crossing of the Seto-Ohashi Bridge(s) from inside the train on my return trip via Okayama to Tokyo. Unedited clip was 9:48 minutes long, so I edited some sections out to fit under 6 minutes.

That's it for the report.

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That Shinkansen end is one of the goofiest things I've seen.

great stuff!

Fun! Such a blinding plethora of rolling stock and liveries, seems like each one unique. Thanks for the interesting look at a fascinating land!

mile250 Wrote:
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> That Shinkansen end is one of the goofiest things
> I've seen.

I like it however.
 

Really nice coverage Charles, and great that they offered so much for the railfans.

Rich