International Railroad Discussion > A Matsudo byproduct: The Nagareyama at Mabashi in '71

Since I was at Matsudo [ see previous posts ] I went two stations farther north on JNR to Mabashi for the Nagareyama Electric Railway.  If that name seems unfamiliar, don't worry, it has gone through at least six name changes since its beginning in 1916, but is still, amazingly, independently owned.  It was built in 1916 as a 762 mm ga light railway to link the town of Nagareyama with the JNR at Mabashi, 5.7 km away.
The gauge was widened to 1067 in 1924, with electrification in 1949.  As the area built up it changed from being a rural passenger-freight line to a commuter feeder.  Sobu was added as a prefix to the name in 1971, and the name Ryutetsu was formally adopted in 2008.
I did not ride the line nor did I stay long at Mabashi;  I only photographed one train set as it seemed like that might suffice for the traffic, and I had no information on their rolling stock.  The photos show control trailer 53 leading motor 1101 departing.  The third photo taken there seemed like it might belong to the railway, given its crane, the fold down bench seat, and its surroundings, but could be an industrial switcher, I just don't know.

Best regards, SZ



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/16/25 15:34 by Steinzeit2.

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Steinzeit2 Wrote:
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> The third photo taken there seemed like it
> might belong to the railway, given its crane,
> the fold down bench seat, and its surroundings,
> but could be an industrial switcher,
> I just don't know.
>
> Best regards, SZ

It's likely a Track Motor Car belonging to the Nagareyama Railway, based on the 1988 photo I found from this Japanese blog:

https://kuromarukuromaru.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-844.html

Nagareyama's Moha 1101 was a hand-me-down Keikyu Railway Class 400 (first generation). Its carbody was modified, so they don't look exactly the same, so difficult to know its heritage. That's mentioned in the above blog.

I was at Mabashi 5 years ago to catch JR Freight #75, one of Tokyo (Freight Terminal)--> Sumidagawa shuttles that traverses Nambu/Musashino/Joban Lines around Tokyo. Nagareyama's green Class 5000 EMU is a Seibu Railway hand-me-down Class 101. My primary target was the last first generation EF66 (#27, nicknamed "Nina") operating at the time, which I nabbed multiple times on the chase - future report.

As JR Freight #75 passes by, you can spot the Class 5000 sneaking out by spotting the moving pantographs. I video-edit-zoom the green EMU between the containers in the last clip.

Thanks again for the 1970s look back of Japan's railroading.

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