International Railroad Discussion > One evening in Maebashi Japan

sunset at Shin Maebashi  on the JR East Ryomo line ,a few hours north of Tokyo

the presence of photographers seemed to hint something special was going to be seen..!

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you can hear the fireman stokin g the firebox

the shovels they use here are very short and used one handed and very fast stoking is performed

open and closing the firehall door between scoops



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/13/17 00:05 by bakersfielddave.

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Very nice.
The fade off into the sunset in #3 is very emotional.

With all the pictures and videos I have seen over the years of Japanese Railroads here on TO I am so impressed with the Railroads in Japan. Especially the mixture of passenger equipment. Thank you to the people of Japan for having one of the most modern rail systems I have ever seen.

Jim
Hatboro, PA

Really enjoyed them.

It would be cool if Amtrak branded a jingle before every pre-recorded announcement.  Would sound professional and would alert everyone of an upcoming announcement.

 

Very cool videos. Is the steam a local? Can't believe they still run a steam in this day. Fantastic.

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amtrakbill Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It would be cool if Amtrak branded a jingle before
> every pre-recorded announcement.  Would sound
> professional and would alert everyone of an
> upcoming announcement.
>

The "jingle" are usually used for arrival announcements, or warnings (limited express or freight trains passing). Most of them are short in Tokyo (JR East). Go west (in JR West territory), and some of the jingles are based on popular pop tunes or folk music!

What's bigger is hassha-melody (or "hatsumelo" for short: departure melodies). In Tokyo, each station plays a certain melody so sound foamers often put microphones on tip of a long stick (to minimize background noise) and visit as many stations as they can and try to record the unique melodies.  

Wondeful sets of videos! Thanks for posting.

I see that the venerable 115 Class EMUs are still earning their keep in the Takasaki area, as you caught a few. What's interesting is that E233 set with the Green Cars are being used for regional service, instead of going to/from Tokyo and beyond on a longer distant run. It's probably one of those Japanese scheduling tricks, where they try to earn revenue on deadhead moves.

Class 485 EMUs(beige and red, in JNR colors, first clip) were recently retired from revenue service, and there was series of "last run" railfan trips in the Tohoku area last year. Some railfans are calling it a "lie" as the 485s are still used for charters, but maybe they should have read the fine print like I did. (485s are also used in Tokyo occasionally to train engineers, which I've caught on video)

You caught the 485 running a school field trip charter... which might explain why the school girls were taking cell photos of the destination board on the side - otherwise, they don't look like foamers at all.

As for what the railfans were waiting for, I already know what happens at Shin-Maebashi, so the third clip was no surprise. 

Yes the train was an advertised service in the Jr timetable book it is easy to find these trains there is an SL notation in the timetable but they are rare operations I wish I could have traveled on it

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/17 18:08 by bakersfielddave.

I miss Tokyo station jingles. Hope to go back again someday.

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..