If rail transport is almost a religion in Japan, and it most certainly is, then this is the equivalent of Mecca or the Vatican. Over thirty railway cars, locomotives, or other rolling stock, from imported steam engines to the latest bullet train, can be seen in a compound of various buildings and sidings. Jim Klein, his son Riley and yours truly wandered through this veritable Aladdin’s shed of all-Nippon rail last month and thoroughly enjoyed it. I think it deserves a wider audience.
I did my best to try and photograph placards that accompanied most exhibits, so I’ll transcribe what I can from those. But don’t expect anything more – my knowledge of trains is …er… subway-level.
I don’t think I got the placards for the previous exhibit, which was an ancient (and unrestored?) early 1900s railcar, nor this one. As I recall, we have a six-seater hand-car here. Must have been quite a job pushing that thing about.
Locomotive number 1 was imported from England to be used on the very first tracks laid in Japan, the Tokyo to Yokohama line. It was in service from 1872 to 1911.
Nicknamed “Zenko,” this Mannin-Wardle 0-6-0 locomotive was in service until 1923.
The island of Hokkaido got their first trains in 1880. The locomotives used were a batch of eight made in Pennsylvania, of which this was the first to be put in use. Service lasted until 1915.
If you were to board a train in Hokkaido in the late 19th Century, the luxury carriage would have been one of these. Very American-looking, just like the locomotive.
Cutaways are cool, but 3-D cutaways are downright awesome! The loco is a 1912 Henschel und Sohn, originally made in the Hessian city of Kassel.
Japanese-made locomotives eventually took over completely by the early 20th Century, of course. This C 51 Class machine is a good example of an early design. It was in service between 1919 and 1962.
That Class C 51 loco bears a gold chrysanthemum – the Imperial emblem – as it’s pulling the Emperor’s train. It’s all behind glass, so obviously we’re not allowed in.
Here’s another glimpse into old style first-class travel. This long-haul / sightseeing saloon car was made in 1930.
Third class urban commuter cars were a bit less swanky, of course.
Historic machine here: this Class C57 locomotive, made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in 1940, was the last steam engine to haul a passenger train in Japan in 1975. Some Japanese steam engines were used for a few years longer, such as the ones on Sakhaline Island or in mainland China.
But it wasn’t all about steam, far from it. Quite a lot of rather bland, but hard-working and long-lived commuter rail car were on display. This electric Kumoha-40 was made circa 1935 and served the Tokyo area until the mid-‘80s.
For non-electrified lines, the likes of the Kiha 41300 Diesel railcars was used from the mid-‘30s to the late ‘80s. These were made by Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
Early postwar designs, like this 1956 Kiha 11 Diesel railcar, looked pretty much the same, to my (utterly untrained) eye…
Back to the electric stuff with a Kumoha 101. These were made in great numbers between 1957 and 1969 and served until the early naughties. Love that “Mid-Century Industrial Green” cabin colour.
Two EF58 electric locomotives were on display. These were made between 1947 and 1958 and used on mainlines as electrification became more and more widespread. This particular one was assigned to haul the Imperial train, a duty it performed until the early part of the present century.
The second EF58 features cool sun visors. These were made by Hitachi Heavy industries.
The coolest-looking electric loco was probably this EF55, put in circulation in the mid-‘30s and used until about 1965. Looks like something straight out of a Tintin book. Or a Miyazaki animé.
The EF66 locomotive, ladies and gentlemen. Used between 1968 and the mid-2010s. More brutal than the ‘30s streamliner, but equally characterful.
Before the bullet train network really grew, long-distance electric trains looked like this Kuha 181 – which is to say, pretty awesome. The JNR logo is a masterpiece of graphic design. But we can also visit the interior of this one, so let’s go in and take a seat.
Nice and clean, as you’d expect, with extra cooling courtesy of Toshiba.
Here’s what the top looks like. I’m guessing those are the AC units in the middle of the roof there. These trains entered service in 1958 and were in service until the mid-‘80s.
The Kuha 183 series took over mainline duties from the 181 gradually from 1972 onward. The last units were taken off service just five years ago.
I’m not sure they have sleeper cars any more in this country, but here’s one from the mid-‘60s on a Series 20 “Blue Train”. These were last in service in 1997.
Japanese railways’ number one claim to fame has to be the bullet train, known here as the Shinkansen. This is the first iteration, the 0 Series, came out in 1964, but planning for this remarkable achievement (and the coining of the term Shinkansen) went back to 1940.
The 0 Series were withdrawn in 2008, but the layout is still the same in present-day Shinkansen. They don’t have the water fountains any longer, unfortunately. If you’re thirsty these days, you have to pay.
But if you need to spend a penny, that’s free. Yes, there are pissoirs on bullet trains – still have them to this day, in fact. Not a bad idea.
The number two / unisex option would have been more challenging, at least to most Westerners. This and the design of the washbasin may be the two most dated aspects of this train.
The Series 200 Shinkansen, introduced in 1982 and in service until 2013, was an evolution of the original design, but for use in colder and snowier climates, such as the west coast of Honshu (e.g. Niigata, Nagano, etc.) and Hokkaido. Max speed: 240kph, even in a blizzard.
There were at least two simulators at the museum. One was a steam engine simulator (you actually had to shovel mock coal in the firebox, too!), and one had you at the controls of the latest generation bullet train.
Plenty of other displays reviewed the history of rail in general and of Japanese railways in particular, but there was also a small room, kind of out of the way, where a myriad of old train-related bits and pieces were just amassed in no particular order. These two plaques, which used to be affixed on the nose of the trains, were found there. Made me think of Subaru and Toyota, for some reason.
There were a few other railcars outside, most of which could be used as picnic areas. There were also two miniature railways: one inside that was actually miniature, and one outside where kids could ride on. This curmudgeonly Diesel locomotive seemed to rule over this open-air part of the museum…
That’s pretty much it, in a post-length nutshell – or rather, that’s the extent of the photos that were decent enough to be posted. Sometimes, the low lighting made for some pretty lousy results, picture-wise. But I highly recommend this museum, if you’re in the area. Great place to spend a few hours in and lose your train of thought.
This was surely a highlight of our most recent visit to Tokyo and easily accessible by, you guessed it, rail, maybe 45 minutes from central Tokyo for about $7 or $8, trains running every few minutes. Great suggestion, T87-san!
The variety of exhibits was excellent, the newer classes of Shinkansen were also on display in a slightly separate hall, and overall it seemed a quite comprehensive overview of Japanese rail, the state of preservation and ability to access everything was quite remarkable.
The steam train simulator wasn’t just static with a screen in front of it either, it was actually on a motion table so the whole thing was rocking left to right, up and down, etc, as you would expect with a train changing direction or just on the tracks, very similar to a professional airplane simulator.
T87 understates the little room with “stuff” in it, it was a good sized barn’s worth of stuff, with plenty of signs, gadgets, large chunks of yesteryear “tech”, and all sorts of bits and bobs not currently on display but surely waiting for their time in the sun. A treasure trove of stuff for people who like “stuff”.
There were even multiple exhibits of scale train stuff with very large (1:20?) excellently constructed scale models of seemingly every variant of train ever used in sort of a “timeline” format along the length of one side of the building and then a huge room with one of the largest model train setups I’ve seen (seemingly HO, but it looks like the Japanese actually use 1:80 instead of 1:87?). We of course tried to identify every little scale car on the roads in the exhibit…
While not particular a steam train buff, I was fascinated by the cutaway that T87 shows – it was quite a large train, and yes, it was not a model or anything but a real train cut away to show the innards of every part of it, this REALLY helped to fill in a lot of blanks about how that worked and was fascinating to look at/study.
Multiple trains/engines also had access below them via stairs and a “pit” of sorts where you could stand below the train and see everything from underneath.
Add a good cafeteria, very reasonable admission fee, polite hordes of little schoolkids in field trips, and an well stocked gift shop, this museum isn’t just for rail anoraks, it’s interesting for everyone.
This train museum, (which I was completely unaware of) is now on my “Must See” list of things to go to when I get to Japan!
I also want to go to a bus museum, where hopefully, I can see a Miyazaki Bus, made like a cat!
VERY COOL you get to look UNDERNEATH the locomotives! And that cutaway is TREMENDOUS!
Super intro to Japanese rail, wish this country took it as seriously, our passenger service is pathetic.
US train buffs should check out the old B&O Mt Clare exhibit, one of the best in the world. My wife’s mother, uncle and grandfather worked for the B&O, I’ve been here many times, amazing collection, including the first successful US engine the Tom Thumb. Well worth a visit :
https://www.borail.org/collection/mt-clare-station/
https://www.borail.org/collection/tom-thumb/
WOW, WOW AND WOW! Thank you for a most interesting tour of Japanese rail transportation. I will be forwarding the link to many friends. The advanced designs and beauty of these trains is remarkable. Thank – Tom
I’m a big rail fan, and there’s some great stuff there. The Kuha 181 is awesome; reminds me of some European locos at the time too.
I was in Japan in 1981 and loved all the trains, including a ride on the original O series Shinkansen to Osaka. Everything about it was superb, but then that goes to a lot of things in Japan.
This sounds great! If I ever make it to Japan I will be sure to go.
One of the television shows I watch is Japan Rail Journal, which features the goings-on with the Japan railways. I used to watch on the cable channel NHK world. Now I stream it from the app “NHK World.”
That looks fantastic! Thank you. I have not been there, maybe I can sneak in a visit sometime. I am somewhat notorious in my family, hence the common refrain “not another train museum!”
I have been to another good rail museum, in Nagoya, roughly halfway between Osaka and Tokyo. It has exhibits on the new maglev train set to open between Nagoya and Tokyo in 2027 as well, which will be amazing I am sure.
https://museum.jr-central.co.jp/en/
The Shinkansen is awesome, but all the trains in Japan are awesome (and so much quieter than, say, BART in the U.S.), even the locals. One of the most interesting trains (now replaced by diesel-electric units) were the “Hida” trains that traveled the route from Nagoya to Takayama. They were diesel multple units, and you could feel them shift, especially when they were going up steep hills as is common on that route.
The first few pictures have many colors and dark tones. Lot’s of wood and such on the interiors.
Then they suddenly change and everything seems white and the insides give me a very cold feeling. Makes me feel like the pics are from a psych ward.
Another Railfan here, thank you for this terrific article .
-Nate
“I’m not sure they have sleeper cars any more in this country, ”
Japan does still have sleeper trains (and buses!). I once stumbled into a whole series of travelogue-type videos on Youtube.
Aha! I was aware of the buses, but not the trains.
Looking into it, the last sleeper routes are Tokyo – Izumo and Tokyo – Takamatsu (both via Osaka). That second one is especially intereting, as it’s on Shikoku, the smallest of the four main islands.
There’s an idea for a trip…
Glad you made the trip there – I try to go once every two years or so as they swap in new displays – really fun way to spend a day.
I hope there was a Type 9700 steam loco or another 2-8-2 since these were the origin of the name Mikado for that style. An interesting note on diesle rail cars is a lot have multi speed transmissions You can see this in the old Microsoft Train Simulator where the Kiha 31 railcar on the Hisatsu line has a two speed drive. The other JR line is Hakone where you can drive the Odakyu 7000 Romance Car or the 2000 series commuter cars
If I get to walking again, as well as getting some bank, I need to go to Japan, to see this railway museum. In addition, I need to get to the Tokyo Subway Museum. My understanding is that the museum has some of the original Ginza Line cars. I would love to hear the Japanese version of what their Ginza Line cars were based on. I think they were patterned on Philadelphia’s Frankford Elevated fleet, though having Standard Gage (1435 mm, or 4’8.5″, for those who are metrically challenged),and the standard New York City subway 3rd rail (also used on Philadelphia’s Broad Street Subway). The Ginza Line cars outlasted the Frankford El trains, which left passenger service 1960-61, except for a few, used as work cars until 1982..the Ginza Line originals ran until 1968
Thank you T-87-san! What timing as I am flying to Japan tomorrow on a short notice business trip, with some ‘me time’ set aside and The Railway Museum is top of the list of places to visit, either this upcoming Saturday or Monday Nov 25 towards the end of the trip. I had been wondering how much time to set aside for a visit and your post has indicated a good half day, maybe more for a train geek like me, should be planned.
I am especially interested in locomotive No. 1 as I have an unbuilt 1:45 plastic kit of it and this will give me the information I need to paint it properly.
Anyone interested in the early history of Japanese railways needs to read this book by Dan Free. An amazing history, well written and illustrated.
Another railway museum is located just west of Kyoto Station. If you look out your train window you’ll see it very soon after you depart the main station to points west. Also, just to the NW of Kyoto is Kameoka and I believe the scenic train that runs along the Hozu River from there is an antique.