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.
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. 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). In total, the track has 13 switches. An overhead line is used to transmit electricity at 36 volts DC to trams and locomotives. 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).
The railway opens to the public on the afternoon on the first Sunday every month. It is named after a mine that was once located there.
Rolling stock
As of August 2015, the following rolling stock is used on the line.
| 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
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.