[Iwate Prefecture] It's already been a year since the last run of SL Ginga, which was introduced to support reconstruction and revitalize the railway line, "Thank you SL Ginga!"

``SL Ginga'' ran on the Kamaishi Line connecting Hanamaki Station and Kamaishi Station in Iwate Prefecture SL Ginga reached its last run in June 2023, about a year ago. In this article, we will once again introduce what kind of train the SL Ginga was.

What kind of train was SL Ginga?

The Kamaishi Line is a JR East line that connects Hanamaki Station and Kamaishi Station .
The SL Ginga train operated in this section for nine years from 2014 to 2023, mainly on Saturdays and Sundays.
As you can imagine from the fact that the train runs in Iwate Prefecture and the name SL Ginga, it was inspired by ``Night on the Galaxy Railway'' written by Kenji Miyazawa,

The model of the Galaxy Express that appears in ``Night on the Galaxy Express'' is said to be
the Iwate Light Railway ``Night on the Galaxy Express'' to run on.

The SL Galaxy was born due to the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred in 2011.
A new SL train will be operated from 2014 in order to support the recovery in terms of tourism and revitalize the region, including areas along the Kamaishi Line.

For nine years since then, the train has continued to run along the Kamaishi Line, energizing the areas along the line and leaving a variety of memories for tourists and railway fans alike.

C58 steam locomotive No. 239 preserved in the park

The SL Ginga is a steam locomotive that is pulled by a steam locomotive.
JR East has decided to secure a new steam locomotive for use in the SL Galaxy. The model chosen was C58 steam locomotive No. 239, which had been preserved at Iwate Prefectural Sports Park in Morioka City.

The C58 steam locomotive is a medium-sized steam locomotive that was introduced in 1938 and 427 locomotives were manufactured in 10 years.
It was active on the local routes of the Japanese National Railways (predecessor of JR), towing passenger cars and freight cars carrying cargo. Unit 239 was manufactured in 1940, and three years later, in 1943, it was assigned to the Miyako engine depot, and from 1970, it was assigned to the Morioka engine depot. It spent most of its time from manufacture to scrapping as a locomotive belonging to a locomotive depot in Iwate Prefecture. After being scrapped in 1972, it has been carefully preserved in a park since 1973.

Unit 239 was removed from the park in 2012 and underwent a thorough restoration of its boiler and other parts over the course of about a year. It was ready to run and arrived at JR East's Morioka Vehicle Center in January 2014.

The interior of the train is inspired by “Night on the Galaxy Express”

In addition to a steam locomotive, an SL train requires a passenger car to carry passengers.
The SL Galaxy's passenger cars consist of four cars, and both the exterior and interior are decorated in the image of ``Night on the Galaxy Railway.''

The exterior was decorated with the symbols of Scorpio, Sagittarius, Aquila, and Cygnus, starting with Car 1, the lead car in the Hanamaki style.

The interior design gives you a sense of the worldview of the Taisho era in which Kenji Miyazawa lived.
The interior had an atmosphere unlike any other train,
gas lamp-style lamps , stained glass-style decorations , and Nanbu Ironware-style luggage racks Car 1 was also equipped with the world's first planetarium onboard a train

Unique passenger car, Kiha 141 series

The SL Galaxy passenger cars were quite unique and unusual, not only in terms of interior and exterior, but also from a technical standpoint.
Not only was this vehicle not originally made for SL trains, it was not even a JR East vehicle in the first place.

The SL Galaxy's passenger cars, the Kiha 141 series, were operated by JR Hokkaido, but were purchased and modified by JR East.
JR Hokkaido's Kiha 141 series was originally a modified version of the 50 series passenger cars manufactured during the JNR era.

The 50 series passenger cars were manufactured in 1977, and as they were non-powered, they were towed by locomotives.
It was a popular train that was often used for local trains in Hokkaido, Tohoku, San'in, Kyushu, etc., and was also nicknamed
the Red Train It ran regularly in the Tohoku region until the 1990s, and I remember riding the Ou Main Line train with my father just before the Yamagata Shinkansen opened in 1992.

However, trains running with locomotives pulling passenger cars were inefficient in many ways, so the 50 series passenger cars were used to replace self-propelled trains and diesel cars (vehicles that ran on diesel fuel). I was taken aback.
Among them JR Hokkaido has converted surplus 50 series passenger cars into self-propelled diesel cars by equipping them with cabs and diesel engines.
This the Kiha 141 series diesel car .

Returning to the story of SL Ginga, the Kamaishi Line has steep slopes, and a C58 steam locomotive to pull four passenger cars up the steep slope on its own.
Therefore, it was decided that JR Hokkaido's Kiha 141 series, which was originally a passenger car with power attached to it, would be suitable for the SL Galaxy's passenger cars, and JR East purchased four of JR Hokkaido's surplus Kiha 141 series cars. It was re-modified to become an SL Galaxy passenger car.

When the SL Ginga was in operation, the driver sat in the driver's seat of not only the steam locomotive but also the passenger car, and the locomotive and passenger car worked together on the steep uphill slopes.
There is no other example in Japan of operating a steam locomotive train with passenger cars that can also run on their own.
Also, when transporting this passenger car, the Kiha 141 series was used to drive itself.
was called a ``passenger car'' to distinguish it from the original passenger car because it was a self-propelled passenger car

Retirement of SL Galaxy

In 2021, it was announced that SL Ginga would cease operation due to aging.
The issue of aging was not the steam locomotives that were built in 1940, but the Kiha 141 series passenger cars. On June 11, 2023, SL Ginga ended its nine-year and February service with the last group train service from Kamaishi to Hanamaki. The SL Ginga usually runs during the day, but its final service was after sunset, reminiscent of ``Night on the Galaxy Railway.'' It is thought that the aging passenger cars will be completely retired, but the steam locomotives will be kept operational for the time being.

summary

The SL Ginga, which was introduced to support reconstruction efforts and revitalize railway lines, has reached a critical juncture when its operation ends due to aging passenger cars.
However, it will continue to run forever in the memories of those who rode on the SL Ginga and those who waved goodbye along the line.
“Thank you, SL Ginga!”