Mukōgaoka-Yūen monorail

Mukōgaoka-Yūen monorail
Monorail train in 1990
Route length:	1.1 km
Power system :	600 V  =
Top speed:	40 km / h
Society:	Odakyū Dentetsu
Route
Legend Odakyū Odawara line 1927– 0.0 Mukōgaoka-Yūen ( 向 ヶ 丘 遊園 ) 1.1 Mukōgaoka-Yūen-seimon ( 向 ヶ 丘 遊園 正門 ) 1966-2000

The Mukōgaoka-Yūen Monorail ( Japanese. 向 ヶ 丘 遊園 モ ノ レ ー ル , Mukōgaoka-Yūen Monorēru ) was a monorail on the Japanese island of Honshū . Located in the area of ​​the city of Kawasaki in Kanagawa Prefecture , it connected the Mukōgaoka-Yūen station with the amusement park of the same name . The monorail ran from 1966 to 2000, the operator was the Odakyū Dentetsu railway company .

Route and technique

The starting point was the south side of the Mukōgaoka-Yūen station ( ), where the terminal station of the monorail was located above the median of the access road. The 1.1 km long route followed the Nikaryō Canal in a south-westerly direction, which runs parallel to Prefecture Road 9. After a tight curve she crossed both and ended in the station Mukōgaoka-Yūen-seimon ( ) directly at the main entrance of the amusement park. The depot was also located there . The single-track line was electrified with 600 V DC (with a feed line via a busbar ).

At installation it was one of only two saddle orbits of the type Lockheed (the other was from 1966 to 1974 circulating monorail Himeji ). The elevated route consisted of a solid concrete carriageway on which a steel rail was laid. Accordingly, the noise development was similar to that of a conventional railway line. The only train of the Odakyū 500 series, consisting of two coupled cars, came from Kawasaki Aerospace . Made of an aluminum alloy , the cars were 13.57 m long, 3.05 m wide and 3.275 m high. They had a curb weight of 16.2 tons, held 120 people (46 of them on seats) and had a driver's cab . The drive motors from Mitsubishi Electric generated an output of 75 kW.

history

The railway company Odakyū Dentetsu opened on April 1, 1927 the Odakyū Odawara line from Shinjuku to Odawara , including the Mukōgaoka-Yūen station. The amusement park of the same name opened its doors on June 14 of the same year. To make traveling to and from the hotel easier, a narrow-gauge excursion train operated between the train station and the amusement park; A train with a diesel locomotive was used . During the Pacific War the service was stopped, but the Odakyū Dentetsu resumed on March 25, 1950, this time with a battery electric locomotive . Because of the expansion of Prefecture Road 9, the route had to be canceled in autumn 1965, which is why the railway company was looking for an alternative.

Station at the amusement park (1989)

Notice board at the train station

A test track had existed on the Kawasaki Aerospace plant in Kakamigahara ( Gifu Prefecture ) since 1962 , on which Lockheed tested a self-developed system for monorails as part of a joint venture. Odakyū Dentetsu acquired one of the prototypes, had it adapted and, within a few months, set up a monorail line, the route of which was largely identical to that of the excursion train. The opening took place on April 23, 1966, the construction costs amounted to 200 million yen . During the opening hours of the amusement park, the train ran every 15 minutes, a journey took three minutes. In the 1980s the daily average number of passengers was around 1800, but halved in the 1990s.

During a routine check on February 13, 2000, maintenance technicians discovered deep cracks on the landing gear , caused by the long-term stress. Thereupon the Odakyū Dentetsu ordered the immediate cessation of operations. This monorail was meanwhile the only one of the Lockheed type and the line was no longer in good condition. A complete replacement would have cost 380 million yen, which the railway company found to be too high in view of the falling visitor numbers. The official shutdown of the monorail was on March 1, 2001. Three and a half weeks later, on March 24 and 25, a farewell event took place; then the demolition began. The theme park itself was closed in March 2002.

Web links

Commons : Mukōgaoka-Yūen Monorail  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 向 ヶ 丘 遊園 モ ノ レ ー ル 線. hakanaki-jokei.com, 2005, accessed April 30, 2020 (Japanese). 
2. ↑ 日本 の モ ノ レ ー ル め ぐ り . In: Tetsudō Pikutoriaru . tape 38 , no. 12 . Denkisha kenkyūkai, Chiyoda December 1988, p. 26 .
3. ↑ さ よ な ら 向 ヶ 丘 遊園 モ ノ レ ー ル. Kishinori Travel, March 25, 2001, accessed April 30, 2020 (Japanese). 
4. ↑ ^{a b} Yoshio Ikukata: 向 ヶ 丘 遊園 モ ノ レ ー ル . In: Tetsudō Pikutoriaru . (Archives Selection). No. 2 . Denkisha kenkyūkai, Chiyoda December 2002, p. 91-94 .
5. ↑ 甦 る 読 者 短信 & Topic Photos . In: Tetsudō Pikutoriaru . (Archives Selection). No. 2 . Denkisha kenkyūkai, Chiyoda December 2002, p. 130 .
6. ^ ^{A b} Leroy W. Demery: Monorails In Japan: An Overview. (PDF; 1.9 MB) (No longer available online.) Carquinez Associates, January 22, 2005, pp. 23–24 , archived from the original on April 23, 2017 ; accessed on April 30, 2020 (English). 
7. ↑ 小田急 モ ノ レ ー ル 線 廃 止 日 来 月 1 日 に 繰 り 上 げ . In: Kōtsū Shimbun . Chiyoda January 22, 2001, p. 1 .
8. ↑ 向 ヶ 丘 遊園 モ ノ レ ー ル 小田急 が さ よ な ら 見 学会 . In: Kōtsū Shimbun . Chiyoda March 5, 2001, p. 3 .

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