In Iwate Prefecture, the Santetsu 36-700 Series DMU is a recognizable train.
If anything, when you see the red, white and blue train, many know it to be a staple of the Sanriku Railway.
Sanriku Railway Co., Ltd. is a third-sector railway company that operates its line which runs through the Sanriku coast in Iwate prefecture. The railway was established in 1981 but 30-years later, the railway was damaged badly due to the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.
The station buildings, the roadbeds were washed away and three cars were decimated. But five days later, when operations resumed between Kuji Station and Rikuchi-Noda Station, the operation of the lines brought hope to the community.
Because there were cars that had to be scrapped due to being damaged by the tsunami, three new cars were made, the 36-701 to 361-703, which was newly built and introduced with support from Kuwait.
That is why on the side of the 36-700 cars, the words in Arabic, English and Japanese are found on the side vehicle which says “We greatly appreciate the support from the state of Kuwait”.
By April 2014 with the resumption of full line operation, three new cars (36-704 to 36-706) were newly built and introduced to the North Rias Line. In 2018-2019, eight extra cars (36-711 to 36-718 were introduced for the extension fo the Rias Line by taking over the JR Yamada Line.
In 2019, Kamaishi in Iwate wanted to thank everyone worldwide for support of Iwate and a song of thank you was sung by elementary and junior high school students as part of the Smile Tohoku Project.
And to continue to showcase the smiles, Kamaishi Higashi Middle School (along with 117 students) worked on a train wrapping sponsored by Kamaishi City, Smile Tohoku Project and Kao Corporation.
On March 25, 2019, the “Sanriku Tetsudo Sumairu Ressha” (Sanriku Railway Smile Train), designed with the “smiles” drawn by all the students of the school, entered Unosumai Station for the first time. On the platform, many smiles welcomed them with “Thank you Santetsu” and “Welcome Santetsu”.
To celebrate this train, TomyTec’s TOMIX released the TOMIX 97924 Limited Edition Sanriku Railway 36-700 #Thank You From KAMAISHI Wrapping Train. Two trains are included in this limited edition set:
– Type 36-702 reproduces “#Thank You From KAMAISHI” wrapping (Motor Car)
– Type 36-716 reproduces Sanriku Railway standard red, white and blue paint (T-Car)
While I do keep to the “I only get trains that I’ve ridden on or seen”, this train I wanted to add to my collection is because of the respect I have for the families and people who live in the coast lines affected by the earthquake and tsunami disaster.
I had visited a few of the regions five years after the disaster and while I didn’t see this train, I felt that I wanted this train because it carries the hope and smiles of people and children of Kamaishi and also Iwate prefecture. I felt nothing but respect and compassion for these people who still are rebuilding over a decade later.
There are no pantographs on top of both trains, while the motor car features a flywheel and silver wheels. Both run perfectly on the both TOMIX and KATO tracks.
I then installed Tomix 0733 LED’s but because the seating is orange/red, the light reflection inside makes everything look like an orange/white light. But nevertheless, TOMIX LED lights are easy to install.
Unfortunately, not sure what may have happened but the front TN coupler (SP) of the motor car had a coupler disassembled and because they are small and tiny and not easy to put back, I will need to replace with another coupler.
The 36-702 train runs on an M-13 motor and runs smoothly and quite powerfully. I really like this motor since TOMIX started using them.
As for the headlamps and tail lights, this is very interesting. Because for the motor car, the top headlights light up and two red tail lamps light up in the rear as standard with most trains.
But for the 36-716 tailcar, the car is already determined which side is the front and which side is the rear (it doesn’t automatically detect like most trains). So, you will have to position the train car correctly, otherwise, you may have the T-car showing the top front lamps instead of the rear lamps. Flip it and the two red tail lamps will light up and the front lamps will not.
The train comes with numerous stickers, headmarks and coupler adapters (non-TN coupler replacements).
So, you have the smaller seal that can be glued to the a little bigger white seal which then could be glued on your train. I really wish TOMIX would do what KATO has done by making the headmarks magnetic.
The good news is that it includes the headmarks and once you put them on, it makes it a lot easier to know which side is front and which side is rear, especially for the T-Car due to the way it produces its head lamps and tail lights.
Overall, I am quite happy with the TOMIX 97924 Limited Edition Sanriku Railway 36-700 #Thank You From KAMAISHI Wrapping Train. It was no doubt a wonderful thank you from the young students to the world but also a train filled with smiles and hopes of younger generation for the future of Iwate prefecture.
This limited edition is set is definitely recommended!
