Image courtesy of Wikipedia / Photo by Rsa
Hiroshima News TSS: Welcome to “Tetsutama,” where newscaster Nogawa passionately shares the charm of railways. Following on from last time, we are continuing our coverage of Keihan Railway, a major private railway in the Kansai region. This time, we’ll be featuring a legendary train. So… let’s go!
[Announcer Nogawa Satoshi] “This is my beloved, the 8000 series. It’s truly the ‘face’ of Keihan Railway.” We visited the Neyagawa depot of Keihan Railway and have already covered the 8000 series, a limited express train, as well as the 3000 series, which debuted with the opening of the Nakanoshima Line, and other representative trains of Keihan. All of these Keihan Railway trains underwent a design overhaul in 2010 to coincide with the company’s 100th anniversary. This was handled by GK Design Soken Hiroshima, a design company in Hiroshima. The renewal was not limited to the train designs, but was a total design project that extended to station signs and equipment as well.
[Keihan Electric Railway Co., Ltd. Osaka Area Station Master Takeshi Osato and Announcer Nogawa] “The station entrance and exit signs. I’ve heard that these have been reborn thanks to the design of GK Design Research Institute Hiroshima.” “Currently, yellow signs indicate exits, and blue signs indicate entrances.” “No matter which station you go to, if you want to see an exit, look at the yellow ones. If you want to board, look at the blue ones. It’s become much easier to see now that it’s unified.” “That’s right.” Before the renewal, even on the same line, the colors and designs of the station names and destination signs were all different. This has been changed to a consistent design based on a philosophy. When you look around the entire station, there is a sophisticated atmosphere, isn’t there? Now, let’s go back to the Neyagawa Depot…
[Ryoichi Nishio, Technical Section, Vehicle Department, Keihan Electric Railway Co., Ltd., and announcer Nogawa] “Is the legendary train up ahead?” “Yes, it’s the legend.” “The legend! It’s the legend… there it is! The destination is ‘Otsu,’ but this is it. It’s commonly known as the ‘Biwako-go.’ Normally…” “You can’t see it.” “I see. Today you’ve given us a special opportunity to see the face of the legend.” “Yes.” “It’s nice. The riveting gives off a strong Showa era vibe… it’s riveted, but can you see how it has a flowing form? This is the ‘streamlined’ design that was popular worldwide in the early Showa era, isn’t it?” “Yes.” The Biwako-go was manufactured in 1934 to provide direct service between Osaka’s Tenmabashi Station and the current Biwako-Hamaotsu Station. This train, which provided direct service between the Keihan Main Line and the Keishin Line, reflects the characteristics of each line.
[Ryoichi Nishio, Technical Section, Vehicle Department, Keihan Electric Railway Co., Ltd., and announcer Nogawa] “First, I’d like you to take a look at this door. Please remember its size. And then the door in the back… this one. I think you can see that the length of the doors is quite different.” “The lower one here is what you would call a streetcar, and the door that looks like a normal door over there is a vehicle with two different heights to accommodate the platform of a dedicated track.” The Keishin Line was originally a line where streetcars ran, and now you can see “trains that look like normal trains” running through the city as streetcars.
[Ryoichi Nishio, Technical Section, Vehicle Department, Keihan Electric Railway Co., Ltd., and announcer Nogawa] “Look up, there’s actually a pantograph. However, the section in Otsu runs on trolley poles. So, actually, it has both a pantograph and a trolley pole.” “I see, there is indeed a trolley pole at the very front.” “On the Keihan Line, it collects power from the pantograph, and on the Otsu Line, it collects power from the trolley pole.” Furthermore, this vehicle incorporated Japan’s first technology.
[Ryoichi Nishio, Technical Section, Vehicle Department, Keihan Electric Railway Co., Ltd., and announcer Nogawa] “According to rumors, this was Japan’s first ‘articulated bogie’…” “It was the first in Japan at the time.” “It was truly groundbreaking, not only for Keihan, but also in the history of Japanese railways. It was a truly revolutionary vehicle.” “That’s right.” Now, let’s go inside the Biwako-go. Most of it is made of wood, and the vehicle’s nameplate is written from right to left, giving it a Showa era feel.
[Ryoichi Nishio, Technical Section, Rolling Stock Department, Keihan Electric Railway Co., Ltd., and announcer Nogawa] “Looking inside, the joints of the articulated bogies are quite interesting, aren’t they?” “This is what’s interesting. Actually, at the time, it wasn’t possible to move between cars on the Keihan Line.” “Yes.” “This Biwako train has a new feature called a gangway, and this is the first time for Keihan.” “Keihan’s first gangway!” “Yes, this has greatly improved convenience for our customers.” “Nowadays, moving between cars is nothing special, but there has been technological progress in that as well. This was the first train to have it on the Keihan Line, so I think it was groundbreaking. There’s a sense of ‘this is something special’ emanating from this form, like a stage. It’s nice. The sound resonates well in here.”
[Ryoichi Nishio, Technical Section, Rolling Stock Department, Keihan Electric Railway Co., Ltd., and announcer Nogawa] “Please, feel free to try driving it.” “Is that okay? It opens sideways… Excuse me. It gives a very compact impression.” “That’s right.” “It probably depends on the physique of the people at the time. And Mr. Nishio, there’s no speedometer.” “Back then, it was all about feel.” “That comes down to the craftsman’s skill.” “I’ve heard that there were a lot of people with a craftsman’s spirit.”
“Wow. So this is what the streamlined interior looks like, and this is what the front looks like. You can’t tell how the wood is used just by looking at it from the outside. It has a Showa era feel to it. And coincidentally, the 13000 series, which is still being mass-produced, is right there (at the end of the tracks). It’s not like a baton of history is being passed, but it feels like a strange coincidence.” “That’s right. The oldest train on the Keihan Line and the newest train are facing each other right now.” “This is a bit… It’s a bit too perfect a composition to be a coincidence.” The Keihan series will conclude next time. We will experience the famous trains that have made their mark on Keihan history at the museum.
