Kyushu Railway

Kyushu Railway (九州鉄道, Kyūshū Tetsudō) was a company that built and operated railways in Kyushu, one of four main islands of Japan. Most of its lines came under the control of Japanese Government Railways following nationalization in 1907, and many are now operated by Kyushu Railway Company.

Kyushu Railway
Overview
HeadquartersMoji, Fukuoka
LocaleKyushu, Japan
Dates of operation18891907
SuccessorJapanese Government Railways
Technical
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Length442.8 miles (1907)

History

The company was incorporated on August 15, 1888 in Fukuoka, Fukuoka. The first 22 miles (35 km) of the railway, between Hakata Station in Fukuoka and Chitosegawa temporary station in Asahi, Saga (near Kurume, Fukuoka), opened on December 11, 1889 as the first railway in Kyushu.[1]

The company expanded the railway by means of both construction and acquisition of other companies. As of 1907, it operated 442.8 miles (712.6 km) of railways in Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Ōita and Saga prefectures in northern Kyushu.

On July 1, 1907, the entire operation of the company was purchased by the government of Japan under the Railway Nationalization Act. Consequently, the company was dissolved.

List of lines

Operation of Kyushu Railway as of June 30, 1907
Endpoints
(Present station names in parentheses)
Length
(miles)
Line names
(designated after nationalization)
Notes
Moji (Mojikō) – Yatsushiro143.4Kagoshima Main Linevia Ōkura
Kokura – Usa (Yanagigaura)42.6Nippō Main Line
KokuraKurosaki8.8Kagoshima Main Linevia Tobata
Wakamatsu – Kami-Yamada33.3Chikuhō Main Line, Kami-Yamada Line
HakataSasaguri7.4Sasaguri Line
TosuNagasaki98.6Nagasaki Main Line, Sasebo Line, Ōmura Line
KubotaNishi-Karatsu26.8Karatsu Line
AritaImari8.1Matsuura Line
HaikiSasebo5.5Sasebo Line
UtoMisumi15.9Misumi Line
Yukuhashi – Soeda (Nishi-Soeda)23.1Tagawa Line, Hitahikosan Line
Nōgata – Ita (Tagawa-Ita)9.9Ita Line
Kotake – Kōbukuro3.0Kōbukuro Line
Iizuka – Nagao (Keisen)3.6Chikuhō Main Line
Gotōji (Tagawa-Gotōji) – Miyatoko (Itoda)1.9Itoda Line
Katsuno – Kirino (Chikuzen-Miyada)3.2Miyada Line
Katsuno – Sugamuta2.7Tagawa LineFreight
Soeda (Nishi-Soeda) – Shō0.6Tagawa LineFreight
Kawara (Magarikane) – Natsuyoshi1.5Tagawa LineFreight
Gotōji (Tagawa Gotōji) – Kigyō0.6Gotōji LineFreight
Kawasaki (Buzen-Kawasaki) – Daini-Ōtō1.2Hitahikosan LineFreight
Azamibaru (Taku) – Yunokibaru0.8Karatsu LineFreight
Ōchi junction – Ōchi0.5Karatsu LineFreight
Ōshima – Nishi-Karatsu0.8Karatsu LineFreight
(Overlap of Hakata – Yoshizuka)(1.0)
Total442.8

Rolling stock

Class 4 (No. 11) made by Krauss in Germany

A special coach made by German car manufacturer van der Zypen & Charlier was imported by Kyushu Railway for VIP use in 1891. The coach was improved and designated as the imperial coach in 1902 for use by Emperor Meiji when he visited an army drill in Kumamoto Prefecture. After the nationalization, the coach was called the imperial coach No. 2 but was not used again by the emperor. It was designated a railway heritage (鉄道記念物, tetsudō kinenbutsu) in 1963 and is now exhibited at the Railway Museum in Saitama.[2]

Fleet of Kyushu Railway[3]
YearSteam
locomotives
Passenger
cars
Freight cars etc.
WagonsTrucks
1890338107
19001593026493,173
19062443921,0485,300

Kyushu Railway History Museum

Kyushu Railway History Museum, the former headquarters of the company

The Kyushu Railway History Museum was established near Mojikō Station in Kitakyūshū in 2003. The red-brick main building of the museum is the former headquarters of Kyushu Railway.

References

  • Ishino, Tetsu; et al., eds. (1998). 停車場変遷大事典 国鉄・JR編 [Station Transition Directory - JNR/JR] (in Japanese). {{{1}}}. Tokyo: JTB Corporation. p. {{{2}}}. ISBN 4533029809.
  1. Kyushu Railway History Museum. "九州鉄道記念館 九州鉄道の歴史". Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  2. East Japan Railway Culture Foundation. "鉄道博物館 展示資料紹介". Archived from the original on 2008-06-12. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
  3. Wakuda, Yasuo (1993). Shitetsushi Handobukku (in Japanese). Tokyo: Denkisha Kenkyūkai. p. 169. ISBN 978-4-88548-065-2.
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