Tōbu Yaita Line
Overview
OwnerTobu Railway
LocaleTochigi Prefecture
Termini
Stations9
Service
TypeHeavy rail
History
Opened1 March 1924
Closed30 June 1959
Technical
Line length23.5 km (14.6 mi)
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Old gauge762 mm (2 ft 6 in)

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 & Company in England, 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. 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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