With SL Galaxy reaching its last run, it was just a year ago: "Thank you SL Galaxy!" [Iwate Prefecture]

"SL Ginga" the Kamaishi Line, connecting Hanamaki Station and Kamaishi Station in Iwate Prefecture . The SL Ginga sadly had its final run about a year ago in June 2023. In this article, we will introduce what kind of train the SL Ginga was.

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What kind of train was the SL Ginga?

The Kamaishi Line is a JR East line that connects Hanamaki Station and Kamaishi Station .
The SL Ginga is a train that ran on this section for nine years, from 2014 to 2023, mainly on Saturdays and Sundays.
As you can imagine from the name SL Ginga and the fact that it runs through Iwate Prefecture, the train was based on "Night on the Galactic Railroad" written by Miyazawa Kenji

The Galaxy Railroad that appears in "Night on the Galactic Railroad" is said to have been modeled after
the Iwate Light Railroad "Night on the Galactic Railroad" to run on.

The impetus for the creation of the SL Ginga was the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred in 2011. The decision
was made to operate a new steam locomotive train in 2014 to support the recovery efforts in tourism and to revitalize the region, including the areas along the Kamaishi Line.

For the nine years since then, it has continued to run on the Kamaishi Line, invigorating the areas along the line and leaving behind many memories for tourists and railway enthusiasts

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C58 steam locomotive No. 239 preserved in the park

The SL Ginga is a steam locomotive, so to speak.
JR East decided to secure a new steam locomotive to be used on the SL Ginga. The locomotive chosen was No. 239, a C58 steam locomotive that had been preserved at Iwate Prefectural Sports Park in Morioka City.

The C58 class steam locomotive is a medium-sized steam locomotive that first appeared in 1938, with 427 units manufactured over the course of 10 years. They were used on the local lines of the Japanese National Railways (the predecessor to JR), pulling passenger cars and freight cars. No. 239 was manufactured in 1940, and was assigned to the Miyako Locomotive Depot three years later in 1943, and then to the Morioka Locomotive Depot in 1970. For most of the time from its manufacture until its scrapping, it served as a locomotive belonging to a depot in Iwate Prefecture.
After being scrapped in 1972, it has been carefully preserved in the park since 1973.

No. 239 was removed from the park in 2012 and underwent thorough repairs, including a boiler, over a period of about a year. It was then returned to a running condition and arrived at JR East's Morioka Rolling Stock Center in January 2014

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The interior of the train is inspired by "Night on the Galactic Railroad"

In addition to the steam locomotive, a steam locomotive train also needs passenger cars to carry passengers.
The SL Ginga passenger cars are made up of four cars, and both the exterior and interior are decorated with the image of "Night on the Galactic Railroad."

The exterior was decorated with the symbols of Scorpio, Sagittarius, Aquila, and Cygnus, starting from car number 1, the lead car on the Hanamaki side

The interior evokes the worldview of the Taisho era, the time when Kenji Miyazawa lived. It
gas lamp-style lamps , stained glass-style decorative lighting , and Nanbu ironware-style luggage racks , creating an atmosphere unlike any other train.
Car No. 1 also houses the world's first planetarium on a train

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An unusual passenger car, the Kiha 141 series

The SL Ginga passenger cars were quite unique and unusual not only in terms of their interior and exterior, but also in terms of their technology.
Not only were they not originally made for steam locomotives, but they were not even JR East vehicles in the first place.

The passenger cars of the SL Ginga, the Kiha 141 series, were originally operated by JR Hokkaido and then purchased and remodeled by JR East.
JR Hokkaido's Kiha 141 series was also originally a remodeled version of the 50 series passenger cars manufactured during the Japan National Railways era.

The 50 series passenger cars were manufactured from 1977 onwards, and as they were not powered, they were pulled by locomotives. They were
popular and often used on local trains in Hokkaido, the Tohoku region, the San'in region, Kyushu and other areas, and were nicknamed
the Red Train They were commonly used in the Tohoku region until the 1990s, and I remember my father taking me on a train on the Ou Main Line just before the Yamagata Shinkansen opened in 1992.

However, trains with locomotives pulling passenger cars were inefficient in many ways, so the 50 series passenger cars were replaced by self-propelled electric trains and diesel railcars (vehicles that run on diesel).
JR Hokkaido in particular installed a driver's cab and diesel engine on surplus 50 series passenger cars and converted them into self-propelled diesel railcars.
This is the Kiha 141 series diesel railcar .

Returning to the story of the SL Ginga, the Kamaishi Line has some steep gradients, and it was difficult for
the C58 steam locomotive Therefore, JR Hokkaido's Kiha 141 series, which was originally a passenger car fitted with a motor, was deemed suitable for the SL Ginga passenger cars, and JR East purchased four Kiha 141 series cars that were surplus from JR Hokkaido and remodeled them to become passenger cars for the SL Ginga.

When the SL Ginga was in operation, a 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 to run up steep slopes.
There is no other example in Japan of a steam locomotive train being operated with passenger cars that can also propel themselves.
Also, when these passenger cars were sent out for transport, the Kiha 141 series was used to propel them.
called "passenger cars" to distinguish them from regular passenger cars, as they were passenger cars that could propel themselves

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SL Ginga's retirement

In 2021, it was announced that the SL Ginga would cease operation due to aging.
The problem was not with the steam locomotive, which was built in 1940, but with the passenger cars, Kiha 141 series. On June 11, 2023, the SL Ginga's final group train service from Kamaishi to Hanamaki marked the end of its nine-year, two-month run. While the SL Ginga usually runs during the day, its final run was an after-dark operation reminiscent of "Night on the Galactic Railroad." It is expected that the aging passenger cars will be completely retired, but the steam locomotive will remain in working order for the time being.

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summary

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

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