Japanese railroads, circa 1970

[sirenwerks]

Anyone here know Japanese railroads? I'm looking for a book on Japanese railroads, especially circa 1970, in English; or to connect to someone who can provide solid information. I've seen some of the amazing design the JR had in its 0 series Shinkansen, Kuhane 581, Kuha 489, etc. and I've been thinking about a extended HCD that I can test myself on - featuring a small Japanese civic scene and some scenery - and to provide me a reason to buy some of these trains. But I need some real information before I commit. I've been looking on the internet but have yet to find quality photos and information that's not in Japanese, which unfortunately I don't speak and can't read.

[ChristianJDavis1]

What exactly are you looking for? I have a few translatable sources for things like signaling and the trains themselves, but most of the information I have is 50's and earlier (JGR/JNR). Also, are you trying for early JR (late 70's) or really late JNR? I have one book on the end of steam in Japan, so mid-70's, but it is not in English.

[sirenwerks]

Really late JNR, it sounds like. Of the three trains I mentioned I think the latest is 1973. I suppose I'd like to know more about the equipment of the era - the different passenger set designs and where they ran, and some freight, diesel and steam and to be able to select era-specific and place-specific paint schemes. I'd also like to know more about what the railroads looked like in terms of stations, facilities, etc. and get a feel for what the communities served and scenic regions served looked like from track level. The latter two of those I can get mostly from photos, but the first will take some reading or talking to knowledgeable people.

[ChristianJDavis1]

If you give me a little time I could try and get some of my resources compiled into one place and I can send you some links. The good part about late JNR is even though there was new stuff coming into the scene, a lot of the old stuff was also running around. Kato, Micro Ace, and Tomix are pretty good at either labeling region or providing parts to pick your own. If you find really specific lines or engines, kit manufacturers like green max make little DMU's and private road equipment. Once I send some links, you can probably get more of a "feel" for what stations and right of ways looked like. Mainly how I chose what to do in HO was start from one train and build the rest around it. I found a cheap D51 2-8-2 on eBay. I supplanted that with an electric that would also run in that era. Then I got freight cars that could be used by both. Pictures will help a lot when deciding what is right, because in 1948, you would not have any intermodal flats, but in 1970, little dinky two-axle freight wagons were still in widespread use, even coupled up to the cars built to replace them. JNR liked to run things into the dirt most of the time. I will look through what I have and try and PM it to you tomorrow, but off of the top of my head, try googling "Sumida crossing." It is a Japanese blog that has some info from the period you are trying to model. The JNS forum is pretty good for information, but it is not as active as this forum here.

[ChristianJDavis1]

Upon rereading your post, I see you did mention some trains (the text appears really small for some reason). For one, a layout with the Shinkansen and the other trains would have to have two separate tracks to be accurate, as the Shinkansen's are standard gauge, while Japanese main lines are 3' 6". Also, the standard trains you mentioned are older style emu's, which would very likely still be running around during that time (more so the Kuhane than the Kuha). That covers you for passenger, as many of the express trains were becoming like that rather than the standard engine followed by separate couches/sleepers. You also have the option of what is called a "blue train," which is all sleepers, if I recall correctly, headed by either a blue EF65 or a red ED70. Older electrics like EF15 and newer electrics like EF65, EF70, and EF80 would be good for freight. You picked a good time period as the old was on its last legs but new power was slow to take over. Modeling electrified territory limits steam options, though.