Tōbu Yaita Line

Tōbu Yaita Line
Overview
Type Heavy rail
Locale Tochigi Prefecture
Termini Shin-Takatoku
Yaita
Stations 9
Operation
Opened 1 March 1924
Closed 30 June 1959
Owner Tobu Railway
Technical
Line length 23.5 km (14.6 mi)
Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Old gauge 762 mm (2 ft 6 in)
Electrification Not electrified

The Tōbu Yaita Line (東武矢板線 Tōbu Yaita-sen) was a 23.5 km railway line in Japan operated by Tobu Railway, which connected Shin-Takatoku on the Tōbu Kinugawa Line to Yaita on the Tōhoku Main Line in Tochigi Prefecture. The line opened on 1 March 1924, and closed on 30 June 1959.[1]

Operations

In its final years, there were just five trains in each direction daily, with only three in each direction running over the entire length of the line.[2] Trains were mixed passenger and freight services hauled by 4-4-0 steam locomotives built by Beyer, Peacock and Company in the UK, with passenger cars converted from former Tobu electric multiple units.[2]

History

The line first opened on 1 March 1924 by the Shimotsuke Electric Railway (下野電気鉄道 Shimotsuke Denki Tetsudō), as a 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow gauge branch line which extended 9.9 km from Takatoku Station (later Shin-Takatoku Station) to Tenchō Station (天頂駅).[2] The line was re-gauged to 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) and extended from Tenchō to Yaita on the Tōhoku Main Line, with the 23.5 km line completed in October 1929.[2]

On 1 May 1943, the line was bought by the Tobu Railway, becoming the Yaita Line.[2]

The line closed on 30 June 1959.[2]

See also

References

This article incorporates material from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia

  1. ↑ 歴史でめぐる鉄道全路線NO.5 東武鉄道２ [Railway Line History No. 5: Tobu Railway 2]. Japan: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. September 2010. p. 23. ISBN 978-4-02-340135-8.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hanai, Masahiro (April 1998). "東北本線沿線に失われた私鉄の接続駅を訪ねる1 東武鉄道矢板線" [Visiting Lost Private Railway Interchange Stations on the Tohoku Main Line (1): Tobu Yaita Line]. Japan Railfan Magazine. Vol. 38 no. 444 (Japan: Kōyūsha Co., Ltd.). pp. 76–81.
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