Atami Jinsha Tetsudo Explained

The Atami Jinsha Tetsudo (Jap. for Atami man(powered) vehicle railway) was a 9.5miles long 2feet manpowerered narrow gauge railway in the province of Izu, Japan which was operated around 1900.

The initially 7miles long handcar line was opened in 1895[1] and connected the coastal towns Atami and Yoshihama on the Izu Peninsula. The train crew comprised two men and a boy. The men, muscular coolies, pushed the car on the up-grades and jumped on the rear platform for a ride when the car was coasting on a level or down-grade. The boy rode on the front platform, and it was his duty to blow a horn as a warning at hills and curves, and to manipulate the brakes. The fare, including tips for the crew, on the road was equivalent to 21 cents per round trip.[2] The line was expanded by 2.5miles to Odawara in 1896.[1]

In 1907 the track was re-gauged to, and steam locomotives were introduced.[3] The line closed in 1923 as a result of the Great Kanto earthquake.[1]

References

  1. https://shizuokatourism.com/shizuoka-prefecture-railway-stations-tookaidoo-main-line-atami-cityshinjohara/ Shizuoka Prefecture Railway Stations: Tookaidoo Main Line (Atami City~Shinjohara).
  2. https://archive.org/stream/streetrailwayrev10amer/streetrailwayrev10amer#page/720/mode/1up An odd Japanese car.
  3. Dan Free: Early Japanese Railways 1853-1914: Engineering Triumphs That Transformed Meiji-era Japan. Tuttle Publishing, 27.11.2012.