JAPAN’S GOOD RAILWAYS

Greymouth Evening Star, 4 October 1945, Page 6

JAPAN’S GOOD RAILWAYS

MAINLY BRITISH MADE. When the Allies get down to the more practical details of the business of administering the islands of Japan they will find the railway system one of the most western aspects of the country (writes Beverly L. Lee, in the “Sydney Morning Herald”). The first locomotives in Japan were built by an English firm. They were run by English engineers on a railway partly designed by an Englishman, and it was an Englishman who financed the first railroad in the Japanese Empire. Even English words went into'the Japanese language along with the first trains. In 1872 <a railway was opened between Tokio and Yokohama, a distance of 18 miles. The first locomotive was built to the order of the Japanese Government by the Vulcan Foundry, in Lancashire, and, despite the progress of the last half-century, some of these earliest English engines are still running. In fact, the original one was still drawing heavy freight loads only a few years ago. It could easily be identified by the “1” marked on the tank.

British engineers were responsible for the surveying and construction of virtually all the important Japanese systems, and from the outset the men who were sent out to supervise the work found themselves faced with tremendous difficulties. They found that the Japanese terrain was not suited to railway construction, and it is a tribute to their engineering skill that they overcame the mountain barriers, the earthquake hazards, and the frequent landslides caused by the heavy rains which turn the most placid streams into raging rivers almost overnight. Time and again embankments and birdges were swept away before the reliable railways of to-day took shape. For many years after the railways were built the officials and drivers were Englishmen, and all the kev positions' - were held by British experts. Even now, when the Japanese have learnt to build their own railways, the influence of Britain remains. Such terms as “pointsman” and “signal-box” are in daily use, while some other words have been given a Nipponese touch. For instance, tickets are called “teckets,” and a waggon is “waggo.” Another word which is heard frequently could hardly be recognised as English, but in Japans railway stations “go-hay” means “go ci lie cid ’ ’ After the first railway was opened in 1872 and until 1907, when the Government decided to nationalise the system, rail transportation was in the hands of companies, large and small. At one stage they were subsidised by State funds, but it- was not until all, except a few local lines, came under single control that any real progress was- made, and even then rail travel was subject to many vicissitudes before it reached its present high standard. In 1869, for instance, about £50,000 was needed to build a trunk line between Tokio and Kyoto-Kobe. This amount had been promised by the State Treasury to start the work of construction, but the Treasury found itself unable to make the outlay, and private enterprise, when apprcachecl, declined to venture m what appeared to the Japanese financier of the time a novel and. risky field of investment. At this point an Englishman, Horatio Nelson Lay, came forward with a proposal that was accepted by the Government, and a loan lor £ 1,000,009 was successfully pla'ced in London. From this date until recent events changed their plans, railway officials visited England every year to keep in touch with railway developments there.

PUNCTUALITY MAINTAINED Japan shared with Germany the distinction of having the most punctual trains in the world. The people take rail trips for pleasure much as we might cruise on the harbour oi visit Koala Park. In fact, they h av .® even given up going on foot on then annual religious pilgrimages in favour of train travel. The railways run special excursions at reduced rates to meet the needs of huge crowds going at certain times to temples, such as Ise and the Moon Temple. Apart from such special occasions, rail travel is cheap in Japan. Even so, one authority claims that passenger receipts are greater than freight receipts owing to the fact that it is cheaper to use the sea routes for the carriage of goods. Apparently Japan was the only country in recent times that found passengers the more valuable asset. This however, is disputed by some authorities, who assert that the State has made successful efforts to attract freight loadings of exceptional value: Japan showed enterprise in evolving built-in tanks for carrying cargoes of live fish—fish being such an important part of Japanese diet (particularly live carp from the inland lakes). Dry ice was also widely used in refrigerators to carry such perishable goods as meat, butter, and dried fish. It is generally conceded that the Japanese railroads challenged comparison with any other system. Their Tail system was the largest in Asia, and it was the Japanese who brought railways to Korea, Formosa, and to Manchuria, as part of thier colonisation plans. The important part played in this development by Great Britain was acknowledged by a spokesman of the Japanese railways a short time before the war, and very strange these words bf Mr. M. Shimoda, of Osaka, sound to-day. Summing up the gratitude (per'haps only the Japanese equivalent of it) of Japan, he said: “To onlookers, Japan’s rail progress in recent years may apnear to be marvellous. But we

remember we owe almost everything to England. We hope the English people will always look on us as students and younger brothers.” To-day—or rather, up to the outbreak of war—Japanese journeyed in trains hauled by locomotives that

often had double smoke-stacks to enable them to attain greater power at high speeds, and passengers enjoyed the comforts of observation cars, dining cars, and sleeping berths oh the British pattern. . .Some of the crack trains had names

that were, popular with the travelling public: The “Mikado” was one of'the most up-to-date engines in use, and also one of the largest, while the “Swallow” was probably the most famous express in the Japanese islands.