Kumamoto Dentetsu ('Kumaden')

[bill937ca]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/T_fWLZgC610" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/T_fWLZgC610</a>

[disturbman]

Nice variety of rolling stock, I particularly like the one with the yellow stripe on the front of the cabs. An old Keisei unit?

[bill937ca]

The author indicates the old rolling stock is from Tokyu, Nankai and Toei.  The yellow stripe trains look ex-Nankai to me. The green cars are old Tokyu stock modified to as single units.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/Kb-1IZWxK64" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/Kb-1IZWxK64</a>

[miyakoji]

According to good old wikipedia, the ones with the yellow stripe are their 6000 series, which were numbered the same way by the original owner, Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation.

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%9D%B1%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E4%BA%A4%E9%80%9A%E5%B1%806000%E5%BD%A2%E9%9B%BB%E8%BB%8A_%28%E9%89%84%E9%81%93%29

The ex-Nankai rolling stock is Kumaden's 200 series (3rd generation), which was 22000 series when it was still with Nankai.

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%86%8A%E6%9C%AC%E9%9B%BB%E6%B0%97%E9%89%84%E9%81%93200%E7%B3%BB%E9%9B%BB%E8%BB%8A

[bill937ca]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/KjrejMyH3Ks" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/KjrejMyH3Ks</a>

The Kumamoto electric railway is a small railway company in Kumamoto City in Japan.
This old train is 5000 series EMU.
It was manufactured in 1957.
The citizens and the railroad fan are called "Tree frog".

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/_REc2Gf1q3g" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/_REc2Gf1q3g</a>

[bikkuri bahn]

Those scenes make Kumaden look like a living museum of rolling stock.  The ex-Tokyu 5000 series is a good example of the innovation and experimentation carried out by the private railways in the late 1950's- monocoque body built with high tensile strength steel and direct cardan shaft drive traction motors in this case.  However, with the introduction and success of the JNR 101 series, the enthusiasm for new, unorthodox designs cooled off somewhat among the private operators.  

I only had one encounter with a 5000 series- back in 1980, standing on an apartment stairwell, I saw one pass below me on the Toyoko Line between Tammachi and Yokohama.  The type ceased running on the Toyoko Line that year, and the line itself in that area has been undergrounded, and the right of way is now a pedestrian pathway/park.