Iyotetsu Bocchan Tram (Steam Tram)

This is an unusually detailed video of Iyotetsu's diesel powered steam tram.  You can tell that it differently is a diesel!  There are good close-ups of the turntable in the tram terminal and the coupling and uncoupling.

Listen to it start up at 6:50!

That's definitely one of the weirder things I've seen.. What's it used for?

That's definitely one of the weirder things I've seen.. What's it used for?

Its a tourist oriented passenger service along the tram lines. It runs about once an hour mostly during the tourist season.

Matsuyama has several tourist attractions like the Matsuyama Castle in the center of the city and up high, Dogo Onsen the oldest onsen hot spring in Japan and Ishite-ji Temple.  Iyotetsu is another local railway that gets much traffic from JR stations to local attractions.

http://www.japanvisitor.com/index.php?cID=357&pID=1734

http://wikitravel.org/en/Matsuyama

http://wikitravel.org/en/Image:Matsuyama.png

Matsuyama can be reached by taking the Sunrise Seto sleeper EMU from Tokyo.

Wow 4 people just to move that thing, either the wages are low enough or that tourist train is heavily subsidize.

This is the little guy that the new kato fun train steam train looks very close to now.

cheers

jeff

One of my ex-girlfriends lived in Matsuyama for a year and she told me the operators of Bocchan were a bunch of pricks, whistling and calling at ladies. Very non-Japanese and unprofessional IMHO...

"Darn those kids."

thats unfortunate, they always seemed so professional in all the videos ive watched! wonder if the town has cracked down on this, seems like something that does not go with a very touristy attraction! but maybe the demand is high enough they can be jerks. especially disturbing as there are a lot of kids riding these, not the example you want to have your kids around. sad to hear.

cheers,

jeff

Some literary background on the Bocchan or Botchan tram.

http://www.publictransit.us/ptlibrary/TheBotchanTrain1.htm

Ah, just reminded myself I still have a photograph of Botchan that one of my ex-gf's took when she stayed in Matsuyama. I just thought I'd share it with you guys.

Also, added two more Iyotetsu pictures she made for your entertainment (they were actually my requests).