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Sakuradani Light Railway

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Kaze-No-Toge Station on the Sakuradani Light Railway in February 2013, with electric cars 1408 and 10 visible

The Sakuradani Light Railway (桜谷軽便鉄道, Sakuradani Keiben Tetsudō) is a privately owned, ridable 15 in (381 mm) gauge electric garden railway in the Toyono District of Osaka Prefecture, Japan.[1]

The Sakuradani Light Railway was built as a hobby by Setsuo Mochimoto (持元節夫), who had been interested in model trains since his childhood, but started building a full-size railway in the 1990s.[1] Visitors are allowed to drive the trains. The 150 metres (490 ft) long loop of the Minamiyama Line stops at the single-track platform of Sakuradani Station (桜谷駅) and the double-track platform of Kaze-No-Tōge Station (風の峠駅).[2] In total, the track has 13 switches. An overhead line is used to transmit electricity at 36 volts DC to trams and locomotives.[2] The shorter Lower Line, which is not connected to the Minamiyama Line, runs at a lower level and has a length of 165 feet (50 m).[3]

The railway opens to the public on the afternoon on the first Sunday every month.[1] It is named after a mine that was once located there.[3]

Rolling stock

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As of August 2015, the following rolling stock is used on the line.[4]

Number Type Date built Power output Livery Remarks
16 Flat wagon July 1996 -  
2 Battery locomotive May 1997 100 W Yellow  
7 Battery locomotive May 2000 116 W Black Built to resemble a steam locomotive.
8 Steam locomotive November 2000 0.2 hp Black  
301 Passenger coach December 2001 - Brown & cream  
DeKi 12 Electric locomotive January 2004 232 W Black Built to resemble a Kusagaru Electric Railway locomotive.
150 Passenger coach July 2004 - Vermillion & cream  
HoTo 71 Open wagon November 2004 - Black Built to resemble a Kusagaru Electric Railway wagon.
MoHa 1408 Electric car May 2005 220 W Blue & cream Built to resemble an Akiu Electric Railway car.
DeKi 3 Electric locomotive July 2006 270 W Dark green Steeple-cab type.
201 Passenger coach July 2008 - Blue & cream  
OHa 7 Passenger coach December 2009 - Green & cream  
10 Electric car August 2011 600 W Vermillion & cream Built to resemble a Ueda Electric Railway car.
KiHa D11 Gasoline-driven car June 2012 300 W Blue & cream Built to resemble a Shizuoka Railway car.
ED51 Electric locomotive April 2013 600 W Maroon
OHa 8 Passenger coach November 2013 - Green & cream Rebuilt from KiHa 3.
- Handcar August 2015 - Green & cream

References

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  1. ^ a b c Kanda, Tsuyoshi (5 July 2012). 【桜谷軽便鉄道】小さな列車に大きな夢 [The Sakuradani Light Railway: A small railway with big dreams]. Asahi Shimbun Digital (in Japanese). Japan: The Asahi Shimbun Company. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  2. ^ a b Otake, Naoki (5 June 2015). あなたも運転できる!「桜谷軽便鉄道」は鉄道ファンの夢の終着駅 [You can drive too! The Sakuradani Light Railway is the final stop of a train enthusiast's dream]. Sankei West (in Japanese). Japan: The Sankei Shimbun and Sankei Digital. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  3. ^ a b Introduction with map of Sakuradani station & Kaze-No-Touge station.
  4. ^ 桜谷軽便鉄道の車両たち2015 [Sakuradani Light Railway rolling stock 2015] (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan: Sakuradani Light Railway. August 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
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