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
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
- 1 2 3 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.
- 1 2 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.
- 1 2 Introduction with map of Sakuradani station & Kaze-No-Touge station.
- ↑ 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.