Product Description

From the end of the Taisho era to the mid-1960s, simple railways were small railways that supported agriculture and life in eastern Hokkaido (Kushiro and Nemuro regions) and northern Hokkaido (Soya region, etc.). Before the war, it was called Colonial Track.

The gauge (the width between the rails) was 762mm, narrower than the Japanese National Railways (JR)'s 1067mm, and at first it was powered by horses. Its role was to connect the Japanese National Railways station and the settlement, and various goods were transported there.

Due to the progress of development, the transport power of one horsepower was insufficient, and in 1927, the power was changed from horses to gasoline locomotives, and in 1955, the first self-propelled passenger car (diesel car) with a simple track appeared. did. However, once the road network was developed, the main mode of transportation shifted to automobiles, and in 1971, the simple railway that had supported the development of the northern land came to an end.

Today, embankments, bridge piers, track ruins, and self-propelled passenger cars remain in various places, giving us a glimpse of the simple track. This book provides an overview of all the simple railways in eastern Hokkaido, northern Hokkaido, and central Hokkaido, along with valuable photographs, and introduces the ruins of the four eastern Hokkaido tracks and the two northern Hokkaido tracks, which still have their remains relatively intact.


Item Size/Weight : 25.9 x 18.6 x 1.2 cm / 627g

Product Specifications

Item code

213066

ISBN code

9784802213066

Purchase Information