The layout, which up until now, was nameless, finally has an identity. I wanted something that sounded Japanese, and yet wasn't necessarily based ona real place. The name that came unbidden into my head was "Shintahara". It definitely sounded Japanese, and a bit of Googling turned up a couple of people with the name Shin Tahara, but not a place by that name. I started with this and decided to run with it. For me, one of the important factors in my design strategy is why a railroad exists. It's all about the story behind a model railroad. Why was the railroad built? What purpose does it serve. What towns did it go through?
It was with this theory in mind that I developed the history for my T-Gauge layout. After much thought and planning, I've taken my rough layout design and plotted it in Anyrail. This new layout design has some elements of the previous sectional layout. It's basically a 24" X 36" base with extensions for the branchline. The branch is the main focus of the layout and is what gives it its name.
Based on the layout design as I have it with the branchline up-and-over loop, I decided to incorporate that into the actual prototype history. Loops are rare on Japanese railways, but not unheard of. One famous example is actually a combination loop/switchback at Okaba on the Hisatsu Line on the island of Kyushu. The exact location for the Shintahara remains shrouded in mystery at the moment aas I'm not exactly sure where in Japan I'm going to put it.
I started with some route icons from Wikipedia and began working in both directions from this point. As I did this, the line took on a life of its own and the Shintahara Railway was born. Basing the history on a number of other current and former lines in the country gave the Shintahara a plausible reason for being. The line's history as it exists now is below.
Shintahara Railway Company
The Shintahara Railway company was chartered in 1893 to connect the villages of Shintahara and Atakami with the Japanese Government Railway at the town of Baiji. The original portion of the line began construction in 1895 and was completed by late 1896. A branchline to the village of Kintubo was constructed in late 1896. The line initially began operation with a pair of 0-4-2 tender locomotives purchased used from the Japanese Government Railway (JGR). The line also had a few passenger and goods wagons as well. In 1900, the JGR built a line through Shintahara, and constructed a second interchange with the Shintahara Railway.
The village of Echindo several miles into the mountains northeast of Shintahara had a small coal mine operation. The short line saw this as an opportunity and constructed a line to tap this resource. The line was partially funded by the JGR as well. The terrain heading out of Shintahara dictated either a switchback or a loop configuration to gain elevation. The Shintahara Railway opted for the loop. The line passed through the small village of Itohara on the way to Echindo. A total of three tunnels and one long trestle were needed to reaching Echindo, which was reached in early 1904. In 1906, the line extended further into the mountains to the villages of Katangi and Ryabuko. There was another coal mine ay Ryabuko, so the four tunnels and one trestle used to get there were warranted. In 1907, the Shintahara Railway was completely absorbed into the new Japanese National Railway.
A Hot Springs bath house was opened in 1914 in Shiku and became a source of much traffic on the line.
Due to the secondary nature of the Shintahara Line, it was never electrified. Steam lasted on the line until 1970, after which passenger duties were taken over by a number of KiHa 30 diesel railcars. Freight service was taken over by diesels. The Ryabuko coal mine closed in 1970, and few freight cars travelled between Shiku and Ryabuko.
A tunnel collapse in 1974 on the line just north of Shiku sealed the fate of the line to Ryabuko. Passengers still continued to travel by rail to the Onsen in Shiku, but improved roads through the mountains diminished this traffic.
The closure of the Echindo coal mine in 1984 had an impact on the line as well. Freight service was reduced to a trickle, and only a couple of years after the mine closed, all freight operations on the line were discontinued.
JNR was looking at various options to purge itself of the line, and when the company was dissolved, JR East took control of the Shintahara. Wishing to divest itself of the line as well, JR East sold the Shintahara line to a group of local investors. The new Third Sector Company, Shintahara Railways Group took control of the Baiji to Shiku section on May 1, 1988.
The line operates with a pair of KiHa 40 railcars with a pair of KiHa 30's on reserve at the Baiji shops. Also on roster is a single KiHa 47/48 set.
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