International Railroad Discussion > Kamonomiya (Birthplace of Shinkansen)

Kamonomiya Model Section, otherwise known as the Shinkansen Test Tracks stretched between Kamonomiya to the west, and Ayase to the east. Kamonomiya is about 2 miles NE of Odawara, and Ayase is about 9 miles west of Yokohama. The test tracks end-to-end were about 20 miles (32 km) long. The Test Tracks started operations in 1962, 2 years before the start of revenue service in 1964. 

This is where theories from Research & Development became reality. Test tracks got integrated into Tokaido Shinkansen's mainline in 1964. On the west end today, there are MOW equipment stored between the Shinkansen and non-HSR Tokaido Lines, verifiable by satellite view maps.

I made a visit to Kamonomiya to document the modest monument right by the Tokaido Line Station. That was 3 years ago. I did some impromptu railfanning twice, when Mt. Fuji was visible, and when Mt Fuji wasn't.

The reason I went there again on a cloudy day was to catch the now-retired EF66 #27 nicknamed "Nina," the last operating first generation EF66 locomotive. Nee = 2, and Nana = 7 phonetically, and you get "Nina" from combining the numbers.

First train (double-decker EMU) in the video is Class 215, which I was able to catch before their retirement in 2021. I rode the Class 215 to visit the SCMaglev Test Tracks in 2014, so it's sort of on topic. All Class 215 sets were scrapped, none survive.

I caught a Shinkansen speeding by in the distance next. Since that segment is east of the MOW yard (to the left, not visible), it's running on the former Kamonomiya Model Section. There wasn't a location where I could document the MOW yard without trespassing.

The next train is a late-running Fukuyama Express with the second generation EF66. Bound for Tokyo Freight Terminal, inbound, or eastbound. When I caught it, I didn't anticipate catching the EF66 #27 here...

But knowing that I caught the 2nd generation earlier, I had to return to catch #27 when I was able to plan the intercept at Kamonomiya. Weather didn't cooperate, so no Mt. Fuji on that visit. Oh well.

That's it for the quick report.
 

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Good sized freights, how far to they travel?
Regards, Jim Evans

FiveChime Wrote:
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> Good sized freights, how far to they travel?
> Regards, Jim Evans

Japan's longest distance freight train goes between Sapporo (Hokkaido) and Fukuoka (Kyushu), about 1300 miles. The ZLCTM (LATC to Tacoma) covers 1100 miles, so compared to the U.S., they make shorter runs.  This particular route takes 43 hours.

Most JR Freight trains run under 500 miles, like Sapporo to Tokyo or Fukuoka to Nagoya, and so forth. The popular Tokyo <--> Osaka runs are under 350 miles. I found one article (in Japanese) which estimated the average distance travelled for all JR Freight trains is about 560 miles.

In the video, Fukuyama Rail Express (all green containers) is 21 cars long. I'll have to figure out the train # for the train pulled by EF66 #27, but that one has 26 cars, to the train's weight & length limit discussed earlier.