Kiso Shinrin Tetsudo
The Kiso Shinrin Tetsudō ( Japanese 木 曽 森林 鉄 道 , Kiso Forest Railway ) was a 400 km long forest railway network with 762 mm gauge in the Kiso Valley ( 木 曾 谷 , Kiso-dani ) in the Japanese prefecture of Nagano .
history
The forest railway was initially built to transport wood in the sickle fir forests in the region. The Kiso Forest used to belong to a resident prince, but the property passed to the imperial family during the Meiji Restoration . The narrow-gauge railway was built in 1901 and initially pulled by hand or with draft animals. The first type B1 (0-4-2T) locomotives were delivered by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1907 . There were later other Baldwin locomotives, as well as a Shay locomotive that was sold to the Alishan Forest Railway in Taiwan when that line opened.
The route was heavily rebuilt in 1920 with steel bridges and 24 tunnels. The railway line was gradually decommissioned from 1966 to 1976.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Charles S. Small: Far Wheels II. Canton Ohio, Railhead Publications, 1986.