Japanese Vacation No.9 (week 4)

[bill937ca]

Love those timber floors and tables in the Wakayama train.  Even the seats are timber, but they don’t look very comfortable.  Still, there is style here … and I just noticed that one of those tables is “beer-counter” height.  See?  The Japanese think of everything!!!

Now I’ve just noticed the cocktail cabinet built into the second car.  While I’m mixing drinks, do you want to see if you can find some olives?  Seriously though, what’s in those drawers and cupboards?  I love this train!

Beer trains can be found in Japan during the summer.  Cities that come to mind are Toyohashi and Nagasaki.  The bench seats are just right, tables fit down the middle aisle and add a Karaoke machine. Nagasaki Electric Tramway 207 has bar stools instead of bench seats.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/My_0nzWrtzg" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/My_0nzWrtzg</a>

http://www.ohmitetudo.co.jp/railway/event/beerden/09/beerden.html

Tetsudo.com lists beer train events.

http://www.tetsudo.com/event/4410/%E4%BC%9A%E6%B4%A5%E9%89%84%E9%81%93+%E5%86%B7%E3%81%88%E3%81%B2%E3%81%88%E3%83%93%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E5%88%97%E8%BB%8A+%E9%81%8B%E8%BB%A2/

http://www.tetsudo.com/event/4088/%E3%81%8F%E3%81%BE%E5%B7%9D%E9%89%84%E9%81%93+%E7%B4%8D%E6%B6%BC%E3%83%93%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E5%88%97%E8%BB%8A%EF%BC%88%E3%83%84%E3%82%A2%E3%83%BC%EF%BC%89/


More photos and links for `beer train` from Google.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=&q=%E3%83%93%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E5%88%97%E8%BB%8A&gs_sm=s&gs_upl=1500l1500l0l2477l1l1l0l0l0l0l237l237l2-1l1l0&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1292&bih=526&sei=uBnRTraRGKjX0QHazJkG

In this sense of train there is no distinction between trams and trains.

[bill937ca]

For heavens sake West, get that last image off the thread.  So typically Australian with its dull lighting, bland colours and excessive number of gaudy yellow grab-rails.  Nobody else in the whole world can screw up a train interior like us!  I bet it smells like a gym too !!!

Sounds like a city bus in Canada. 

[westfalen]

Love those timber floors and tables in the Wakayama train.  Even the seats are timber, but they don’t look very comfortable.  Still, there is style here … and I just noticed that one of those tables is “beer-counter” height.  See?  The Japanese think of everything!!!

Now I’ve just noticed the cocktail cabinet built into the second car.  While I’m mixing drinks, do you want to see if you can find some olives?  Seriously though, what’s in those drawers and cupboards?  I love this train!

Beer trains can be found in Japan during the summer.  Cities that come to mind are Toyohashi and Nagasaki.  The bench seats are just right, tables fit down the middle aisle and add a Karaoke machine. Nagasaki Electric Tramway 207 has bar stools instead of bench seats.

We hired a similar tram in Hakodate in 1990, I'm not sure if the still have it.

[scott]

In this world there are few creatures that lead a more social life than a meerkat.   I can see it looks really happy ... not!

Yeah, that's pretty disturbing.

[Webskipper]

Do you any pictures of Shinkansen stations?

[The_Ghan]

For heavens sake West, get that last image off the thread.  So typically Australian with its dull lighting, bland colours and excessive number of gaudy yellow grab-rails.  Nobody else in the whole world can screw up a train interior like us!  I bet it smells like a gym too !!!

Cheers

The_Ghan

Watch what you say, these are the pride of the fleet on our premier service.

No comment about the foot under the seat on the left? It belongs to some bloke sprawled out on the seat sleeping off whatever he did the night before.

west, you use the term "pride" loosely, right?

I'll bet you've painted the front yellow .... and all the doors are yellow too, aren't they?  Why?  Completely unnecessary!  All those photos of Japanese trains and interiors have proved that!

When I go to an office building the lift doors are not yellow.  The foyer grab rails are not yellow.  The stair handrails in shopping malls are not yellow.  My car doors are not yellow.  The front door to my house is not yellow ... (although considering the trouble I have getting in after a big night out sometimes, maybe it should be) ...

This is not particularly a dig at QR.  Same shit here in Sydney and Mark isn't at all impressed with my opinion on the subject.  Same shit in WA on the Fremantle line (the only one I've ridden).

Why do we do that here in Australia?  It is unnecessary.  It makes our trains less attractive.

I've already voiced my opinion on train colours for separate lines in another thread and I was met with the usual barrage of lame excuses about maintenance facilities and the like.

I'm reminded of the Great Wall / Great Fence analogy: China built the Great Wall. Australia built a rabbit-proof fence!

Pride is doing all those things that cteno4 reminded us aren't done here anymore.  They are in Japan!  They were here!  Why, even the detailing of the old Tullochs in Sydney showed more pride.  And my favourite, the little diesel railcars that used to do the NSW south coast out of Sutherland.  The woodwork in those was really something to be proud of.

The short story here in Australia is we're all too lazy to do it right.  "She'll be right mate .... I'll spray it yella'!"

Cheers

The_Ghan - now practising his duck-n-weave, sidestep and 100m sprint!

[bikkuri bahn]

You can find a little bit of the dreaded yellow in Japan too.  These units on the Kumamoto tram system were based on the Adtranz GT series, so that explains the decidedly non-Japanese interior coloring.  Here is a sister unit with more toned-down coloring.

*I always associate yellow fittings and strong primary colors with Northern European (Netherlands, Denmark, etc.) railway systems.  Maybe because the grey skies prevalent in those climes have to be compensated with bright interiors

[The_Ghan]

Chalk and cheese bikkuri.  I like the toned down one, but the other makes me feel like having a sick day.

Cheers

The_Ghan

[westfalen]

Do you any pictures of Shinkansen stations?

Not much from this trip other that what I've already posted.

[westfalen]

For heavens sake West, get that last image off the thread.  So typically Australian with its dull lighting, bland colours and excessive number of gaudy yellow grab-rails.  Nobody else in the whole world can screw up a train interior like us!  I bet it smells like a gym too !!!

Cheers

The_Ghan

Watch what you say, these are the pride of the fleet on our premier service.

No comment about the foot under the seat on the left? It belongs to some bloke sprawled out on the seat sleeping off whatever he did the night before.

west, you use the term "pride" loosely, right?

Very loosely. It's interesting but not unexpected that of all the interior train shots I've posted the one that gets the most negative responses is the one from back home. I've got to admit the first time I stepped into one of our units with all the yellow was 4.00am one morning and I had to close my eyes it was such an assault on the senses at that time of the morning, I'm just glad there is no yellow in the cab. This is what things were like before the health & safety fanatics started turning everything yellow.

[scott]

[quote author=bikkuri bahn link=topic=5830.msg60548#msg60548 date=
*I always associate yellow fittings and strong primary colors with Northern European (Netherlands, Denmark, etc.) railway systems.[/quote]

It's a Lego design problem. The only good colors are red, yellow, and gray. The green is too grassy, and the blue is just boring. Black and white are blah . You can occasionally find maroon (nice), pink (hideous), light blue (eh), orange (middling), etc., but they're a lot less common, and it takes a lot of bricks to build a train.

[cteno4]

this is why it really requires a team with the talent, skill, and experience with both the spacial design as well as a great colorist. good design colorists are pretty far and few between these days. always been a really niche part of design (ray eames was brilliant), but sort of a lost art these days, thus the use of primary colors. again the computer and its ability to grab any color fast and play with a few gives folks the appearance of having done a job of it, but again its something that needs subtler playing with by hand and eye more. color synching monitors also has its issues...

color is sooo tough as everyone has their own strong likes and dislikes, and also many folks feel they are colorists themselves! really good colorist though can usually find something that most all will like or at least they wont notice and have to start redesigning themselves...

i often wonder if little kids just want to puke with all the stuff they are surrounded in being primarily only primary colors or worse only a pastel palette!

jeff

[KenS]

Amazing vacation you had.  Thanks for posting all the photos. They were quite enjoyable to look through.

[cteno4]

Yes Westfalen, Big Big kudos to you for giving us all such a nice vicarious/virtual railfanning trip of japan!

thanks mucho!

jeff

[westfalen]

this is why it really requires a team with the talent, skill, and experience with both the spacial design as well as a great colorist. good design colorists are pretty far and few between these days. always been a really niche part of design (ray eames was brilliant), but sort of a lost art these days, thus the use of primary colors. again the computer and its ability to grab any color fast and play with a few gives folks the appearance of having done a job of it, but again its something that needs subtler playing with by hand and eye more. color synching monitors also has its issues...

color is sooo tough as everyone has their own strong likes and dislikes, and also many folks feel they are colorists themselves! really good colorist though can usually find something that most all will like or at least they wont notice and have to start redesigning themselves...

i often wonder if little kids just want to puke with all the stuff they are surrounded in being primarily only primary colors or worse only a pastel palette!

jeff

The yellow on QR trains has nothing to do with not having a good design team, there probably was an experienced and highly paid colourist who chose very different colours but was told by QR's health and safety people that yellow had to be used, the original IMU's had blue/green handrails in keeping with the Gold Coast theme. On QR health & safety over rides everything, even common sense, not to mention good taste.

[The_Ghan]

west,

That cardinal/cordovan interior looks great.  Health and Safety need their butts kicked for what they did.

Cheers

The_Ghan