Jōzankei Railway Line

Jōzankei Railway Line
Route length:	29.9 km
Gauge :	1067 mm ( cape track )
Power system :	1500 V  =
Maximum slope :	25  ‰
Minimum radius :	161 m
Legend ← ↑ Hakodate main line 1903– −2.7 Shiroishi ( 白石 ) 1903– Naebo ( 苗 穂 ) 1910– 0.0 Higashisapporo ( 東 札幌 ) 1926-1986 Chitose Line (old route) 1926-1973 1.0 Toyohira ( 豊 平 ) 1918-1969 ← Subway Sapporo Namboku Line 1971– Minami Hiragishi ( 南平 岸 ) 1971– 4.7 Sumikawa ( 澄 川 ) 1933-1969 Jietai-mae ( 自衛隊 前 ) 1971– 5.6 Jikei-gakuen ( 慈 恵 学園 ) -1969 6.4 Makomanai ( 真 駒 内 ) 1920-1969 Camp Crawford Makomanai ( 真 駒 内 ) 1971– 8.1 Midorigaoka ( 緑 ヶ 丘 ) 1960-1969 Makomanai-gawa 11.0 Ishikiriyama ( 石 切 山 ) 1918-1969 2.1 * Toyoha mine 13.5 0.0 * Fujinosawa ( 藤 の 沢 ) 1918-1969 14.4 Jyugoshima-kōen ( 十五 島 公園 ) 1959-1969 15.3 Shimofujino ( 下 藤 野 ) 1948-1969 16.6 Higashimisumai ( 東 簾 舞 ) 1951-1969 Misumai-kawa 17.4 Misumai ( 簾 舞 ) 1918-1969 19.5 Toyotaki ( 豊 滝 ) 1948-1969 20.8 Takinosawa ( 滝 の 沢 ) 1924-1969 21.9 Koganeyu ( 小 金湯 ) 1936-1969 22.8 Ichinosawa ( 一 の 沢 ) 1926-1969 Ichinosawa-gawa 25.5 0.0 ** Nishikibashi ( 錦 橋 ) 1928-1969 6.2 ** Onkonosawa ( オ ン コ ノ 沢 ) 26.3 Shiraitonotaki ( 白 糸 の 滝 ) 1933-1969 27.2 Jōzankei ( 定 山 渓 ) 1918-1969

The Jōzankei railway line ( Japanese 定 山 渓 鉄 道 線 , Jōzankei Tetsudō-sen ) was a railway line in the west of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō . It belonged to the railway company Jōzankei Tetsudō , opened up the southern districts of Sapporo and was in operation from 1918 to 1969.

description

The Jōzankei railway line was a 29.9 km long branch line that branched off the Hakodate main line in southeast Sapporo between the Shiroishi and Naebo stations . From there it ran along the Toyohira Valley - first in a southerly direction to Ishikiriyama, then westwards to Jōzankei, which is known as the location of an onsen bath. The line was cape gauge , single-track and electrified with 1500 volts DC voltage . 20 train stations and stops on demand were developed.

Part of the former route has been used by the Namboku line of the Sapporo subway since 1971 , which runs on elevated lines in this area.

history

In 1913 the construction of a small train into the Toyohira Valley was planned. It should facilitate the transport of wood and ore, but also bring tourists to Jōzankei. The route originally planned could not be used because it was flooded in August of the same year. Finally, in December 1915, the private railway company Jōzankei Tetsudō ( 定 山 渓 鉄 道 ) was constituted, which planned a conventional railway line. After construction began in April 1917, the entire line between Shiroishi and Jōzankei was opened on October 18, 1918 .

Over time, new stops were built along the route. Of particular importance was the Higashisapporo station , opened in 1926 , where the line intersected with the Chitose line of the Hokkaidō Tetsudō . The Jōzankei Tetsudō electrified the section Higashisapporo – Jōzankei on October 25, 1929, the section between Higashisapporo and Naebo (a section of the Chitose line) on July 25, 1931. From 1932, the company began to operate bus routes from Sapporo. During the Pacific War , excursion traffic fell significantly, while ore and gravel transports temporarily increased strongly.

Shortly after the end of the war, the volume of traffic increased again. Camp Crawford, the headquarters of the American occupation forces on Hokkaidō, where a siding had been laid, also contributed to this. On October 1, 1957, the Jōzankei line was withdrawn from Naebo to Higashisapporo, whereupon the direct current overhead line was removed there. On December 7 of the same year, the railway company Tōkyū Dentetsu took over the majority of shares in Jōzankei Tetsudō. But around this time, freight traffic began to shift from rail to road. Due to the limited capacity of the railway line, competition from parallel bus lines and private cars also grew.

In March 1969, the Tōkyū Dentetsu decided to sell the Jōzankei railway line to the city of Sapporo to enable the construction of the planned first line of the Sapporo subway . The closure of the line happened on November 1, 1969. The company Jōzankei Tetsudō was renamed Jotetsu Corporation in 1973 ; it is still active today as part of the Tōkyū group in the fields of bus transport and tourism.

List of train stations

Surname	km	Connecting lines	location	place
Shiroishi ( 白石 )	−2.7	Hakodate main line	Coord.	Shiroishi-ku , Sapporo
Higashisapporo ( 東 札幌 )	00.0	Chitose line	Coord.
Toyohira ( 豊 平 )	01.0		Coord.	Toyohira-ku , Sapporo
Sumikawa ( 澄 川 )	04.7		Coord.	Minami-ku , Sapporo
Jikei-gakuen ( 慈 恵 学園 )	05.6		Coord.
Makomanai ( 真 駒 内 )	06.4		Coord.
Midorigaoka ( 緑 ヶ 丘 )	08.1		Coord.
Ishikiriyama ( 石 切 山 )	11.0		Coord.
Fujinosawa ( 藤 の 沢 )	13.5		Coord.
Jyugoshima-kōen ( 十五 島 公園 )	14.4		Coord.
Shimofujino ( 下 藤 野 )	15.3		Coord.
Higashimisumai ( 東 簾 舞 )	16.6		Coord.
Misumai ( 簾 舞 )	17.4		Coord.
Toyotaki ( 豊 滝 )	19.5		Coord.
Takinosawa ( 滝 の 沢 )	20.8		Coord.
Koganeyu ( 小 金湯 )	21.9		Coord.
Ichinosawa ( 一 の 沢 )	22.8		Coord.
Nishikibashi ( 錦 橋 )	25.5		Coord.
Shiraitonotaki ( 白 糸 の 滝 )	26.3		Coord.
Jōzankei ( 定 山 渓 )	27.1		Coord.

Web links

• Description of the Jōzankei lineage (Japanese)
• Photo gallery of the previous route (Japanese)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 定 山 渓 鉄 道 の 施 業. Kobe University Library, October 18, 1918, accessed November 5, 2017 (Japanese). 
2. ↑ 地方 鉄 道 及 軌道 一 覧: 附 ・ 専 用 鉄 道. National Parliamentary Library , April 1, 1954, accessed November 5, 2017 (Japanese). 
3. ↑ Kazuo Tanaka: 写真 で 見 る 北海道 の 鉄 道 (Hokkaidō's railroad in photos) . tape 1 . Hokkaidō Shinbunsha, Sapporo 2002, ISBN 978-4-89453-220-5 , pp. 36-37 .
4. ↑ 姿 消 す 定 鉄 札幌 市 の 買 収 に 仮 調 印 五 ・ 三億 で 合意 バ ス 真 駒 内線 七 割 認 め る. Hokkaidō Shimbun, March 25, 1969.

 Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap