Subscribe via RSS
30Sep/190

Takatsuki, Osaka – May 2019

There's a lot to check out in this area of town. If you catch Hankyu in, you'll arrive at Takatsuki-Shi Station and you'll find yourself closer to 国道171号 (Koudou 171) (National Route 171), the main highway through town, than you would if you took JR. On this strip of tarmac, you'll find 3 different recycle shops!

DSC01407 DSC01408 DSC01409

Much fun was had and much junk was bought, but then it was time for trains. Actually, it was time for a cheeseburger at McDonalds next door. After that, a quick walk north takes you to a tunnel under the Hankyu line.

DSC01410

But we're not here for that either... further north (about another 20 minutes on-foot through some beautiful suburbia) is the main JR Kyoto/Tokaido line. More specifically, it's the location of the Takatsuki Staging Yards that I'd visited a really long time ago. The weather was much better on that previous adventure! I think it was a lot earlier in the morning and there were more EMUs in nicer locations.... and it wasn't raining.

Anyway, There's a whole new housing development being built over the rice fields, so the view from the JR lines back to Hankyu will soon be obscured.

DSC01417 DSC01439 DSC01441

But the view of the JR lines wont change as you really wouldn't want to get any closer...

DSC01413

DSC01415 DSC01420 DSC01419

As per the previous shots taken near the monorail, there's the usual selection of Harukas, Thunderbirds, etc... and they are going track-speed here. Surprising really, as the pedestrian crossing is pretty daunting. It's actually a lift-it-yourself weighted broom stick!

DSC01425

DSC01430 DSC01431 DSC01435

So, as per the link above, when you cross you get to wander straight through the storage yards. There wasn't much happening here this time around though.

DSC01427 DSC01429 DSC01424

From the middle of the crossing, there's also cool views in either direction!

DSC01422

DSC01423

Finally, back on the safe-side, there's a good view of the train wash. It just so happened that one EMU needed a clean whilst I was there.

DSC01442

DSC01446 DSC01451 DSC01449

I then walked all the way to Senrioka Station, getting off again at Kishibe to check out Suita Yards... but I'll throw that into another post.

Filed under: JPN No Comments
26Sep/190

Minami-Ibaraki, Osaka – May, 2019

I can't remember exactly why, but I'd been on the Osaka Monorail again (see all about it here) and alighted at Minami-Ibaraki Station. The goal was to transfer to JR by following the Monorail north and then turning east towards the Aeon Mall, eventually arriving at Ibaraki Station. On the way, you pass under the freight viaduct and then over the JR Kyoto/Tokaido Line. Both actually offer quite nice afternoon/evening vantage points.

DSC01512

Above you can see the same bridge that I shot the EF66 on previously from Minami-Ibaraki Station itself. The sun was in a really nice position, but there was really little visibility of the freight line from street level! If something did pass, I didn't hear or see it. As I kept venturing north, I passed over the JR lines and saw that there was a direct path to the Aeon Mall. The sun was still up so I checked out the area just across the overpass. It turns out that there was a nice channel to the west of the intersection where one could possibly see some interesting traffic.

As per usual, loitering around long enough got the following...

DSC01519

DSC01521 DSC01523 DSC01524

DSC01559

DSC01560 DSC01563 DSC01564

DSC01552

All the limited expresses that pass my apartment in Shin-Osaka! I was a little sad that I couldn't get a freight train... or the Monorail + a LTD.EXP in the same pic... so here's just a Monorail.

DSC01534

The sun was gone and even a local Crane was eating dinner...

DSC01546

I packed up and proceeded over to Aeon and had a delicious Chicken Katsu Curry with added Spinach!

Filed under: JPN No Comments
25Sep/190

Osaka Monorail – May, 2019

The Osaka Monorail runs a quarter-ring around northern and eastern Osaka. Starting at Itami Airport in the north, it passes through Senri-Chuo Station (the terminus of the Midosuji Subway Line), continues through to Expo City and then turns south, passing through Ibaraki and Settsu before terminating at Kadomashi. There's also a branch at Expo City that ventures north, terminating at Saito-Nishi Station.

From Shin-Osaka, getting to the monorail is quite easy. Catching the Midosuji Line subway at either Nishinakajima-Minamikata or Shin-Osaka Stations and heading north will get you to Senri-Chuo Station for an easy transfer. This is the terminus, so there's no need to really worry about which train you catch, although some do terminate and reverse at Shin-Osaka Station. If this happens, then just alight, wait on the platform and the next one should take you to the end of the line.

Riding the monorail is just like any other train in Japan. Buy tickets or use your Ikoka/Pasmo and then board after people have alighted. Note that, just like most trains, you get a great view out the front. There's also a really cool seat where you can pretend to drive... unless someone else takes the seat... and then just sleeps... because why else would you want the front row?

DSC08208 DSC08212 DSC08215

DSC08209

During this most recent trip to Japan, my first venture on the Monorail was due to a huge flea market known as Garage Sale being held at Expo Park, just north of Expo City. As mentioned above, the subway was taken north and then the monorail east to Expo Memorial Park Station. This station is fantastic, as to the east is the junction of the two monorail lines and, if you wait for a while at the eastern end of the platform, you'll get to watch the infrastructure deal with the traffic.

DSC07578

DSC07574 DSC07573 DSC07576

Don't forget to also check out Expo Park... especially for the Tower Of The Sun...

DSC07547

DSC07569

The flea market was awesome, but I'll post about that another time... also note that there's a Poppondetta Model Railway Store in the Lalaport Shopping Centre at Expo City! There's also delicious food and other great shopping.

From Expo City, the main monorail line turns south, towards Ibaraki. The next station is Minami-Ibaraki, but before you get there you pass under a huge sweeping concrete viaduct that happens to be a single-line electrified freight overpass. This line connects the freight yard in Suita to the yard adjacent to the Shinkansen staging yard in Settsu.

DSC08222

DSC08228 DSC08232 DSC08234

I checked my freight timetable and timed a trip on the Monorail once more to catch a freight movement on the bridge. Sure, it was only a light engine (from what I could see?) but hey, it's an EF66! After seeing that, I continued south to Minami-Settsu. Prior to arriving at the station though, the Monorail passover over the Ai River, which happens to be a branch of the Kanzaki River. Anyway, the main point? Directly on the other side of the river is a JR Freight yard and straight after that is the Osaka/Settsu Shinkansen Depot!

DSC07597

DSC07599 DSC07601 DSC07602

DSC07605

DSC07603 DSC07607 DSC07608

You'll find a differing amount of stored Shinkansen there depending on the time of day, but there'll always be at least one and therefore always be something to look at. The Yard is actually longer than 2 16-car shinkansens end to end to facilitate a storage area (closest to the monorail) and then actual cleaning/repair/inspection facilities at the far end.

Once arriving at Minami-Settsu, one can exit to the east and head south to find a land of treasure!

DSC07632

Otherwise stay at the station and watch the trains coming and going from the crazy white wavy bridge further south. This bridge actually crosses the Yodo River!

DSC07616 DSC07620 DSC07628

DSC07619

Actually, the view north is pretty cool too!

DSC07634 DSC07639 DSC07648

If you keep travelling south, you'll end up at Kadomashi, the end of line. The track extends further south, through a crossover and into two end roads and a central lay-over. The best part here is that, if you've come south into the station, chances are good that your train has to run into the central road and turn back. Don't forget to head to the southern end of the platform to watch this happen!

DSC08203

DSC08204 DSC08205 DSC08206

DSC08207

At Kadomashi, one can make an easy transfer to the Keihan Railway.

Filed under: JPN No Comments
24Sep/190

Higashi Osaka Line – May, 2019

It was finally finished and it was finally my time to check it out! I've written about this before and before and before as it's exciting to see that JR West are continually building/extending/enhancing their network. This new line meant that, since I often stay in the area, one could have direct access to see the freight trains running through to Hirano without needing to hike too far on-foot!

DSC08351

The line starts at Shin-Osaka and uses platform 2. The train above had terminated an up service at Shin-Osaka Station, but was now on its way back down towards Kyuhoji. It's interesting that they managed to find enough of a slot to have the trains lay-over on platform 2 without causing too much of a timetable re-write. The fact that the trains are allowed to wait for (sometimes up to) 20 minutes at a time is quite interesting as I would've thought that this platform was heavily utilised by limited express services. It seem that crossovers have been installed on either side of platforms 1 and 2 to allow those limited express trains (Kuroshio and Haruka) to only now use platform 1 with no schedule changes!

As mentioned, the line starts at Shin-Osaka Station and heads north-east, following the Tokaido/Kyoto line alignment. Just after Higashi-Yodogawa station, the line splits off the main and elevates, taking you into Minami-Suita Station. This elevated curve and station actually form the fork of a full triangle connecting the Higashi Line to the Kyoto/Tokaido Line. From the northern platform, you can see the other half of the triangle; the path the freighters take to get to/from Suita Yard. Straight after the station is a beautifully curved bridge which you can see under construction here. It takes you across the Kanzaki River into JR Awaji Station. They had to prefix "JR" to the name, as Awaji Station is in use by Hankyu and it's a short walk to transfer between. This is also the easiest station to walk from to get to the northern bank of the Yodo River.

DSC08011

DSC08012 DSC08013 DSC08014

The shots above were actually from another trip I took where I wanted to be in-time for the first southbound freight through the Higashi Line. It turns out that if you take the first JR service, you'll just miss the first southound freight as the passenger service is scheduled afterwards. Instead, from Shin-Osaka you need to use Hankyu Minamikata Station to get to Hankyu Awaji and then walked across to JR Awaji.

DSC08020 DSC08021 DSC08022

DSC08027

From JR Awaji, there's also a good view down onto the Hankyu tracks below. Hankyu are currently undertaking a massive bit of construction to elevate their whole line from Juso to Awaji and beyond... and I believe it'll take quite a while longer as these concrete supports have been around for a few years.

DSC00948

Note that you can also stroll south-west from Hankyu Awaji Station to see the stuffed-and-mounted EH10 in the park just nearby...

DSC00949

From the northern end of the platforms at JR Awaji, you can see the shinkansen pass! You can also get a good view for southbound freight.

DSC00952 DSC00957 DSC00963

DSC00959

And then there's also the northbounders!

DSC00969

DSC00975 DSC00977 DSC00980

From JR Awaji Station, the line heads south and crosses the Yodo River. This bridge is a favourite for railfans in Kansai and used to be just a single lane, with a pedestrian path down one side. This has since been removed to allow the bridge to be dual-tracked.

DSC01458

I'm surprised they didn't receive bad press for removing the ability for pedestrians to cross the river here. You can now, of course, take the train, but more-often-that-not this was used by bicycles with large loads of stuff....

DSC08302

The first station after the bridge is Shirokitakoendori. As with all stations on this line, it's brand new and everything is very clean and tidy.

DSC08115

For some weird reason, I was particularly fond of the design of the escalators. Not just clean and tidy, but the quality and styling! JR West knows how to build a nice station.

DSC08117

From here it's an easy walk north to get to the southern side of the Yodo River. Stay on the eastern side and follow the bike tracks for some good views.

DSC08068 DSC08070 DSC08077

DSC08078

DSC08088 DSC08094 DSC08098

DSC08102 DSC08106 DSC08114

There's also some interesting vantage points from the fire escapes of nearby buildings. Just make sure you ask the local residents or authorities if it's OK to take train photos from an elevated position!

DSC08298 DSC08298 DSC08300

DSC08289

DSC08290 DSC08295 DSC08293

And then the freighter came through! A cute little light engine. My camera perfectly failed at this point with a lens error but I was happy the following shot succeeded.

DSC08303

The train's next stop is JR Noe Station. Again, this is another station where the 'plain' name was already taken; this time by the Keihan Railway. It's an easy walk to transfer between these two stations and it can be a good path to get to the Osaka Monorail, transferring at Keihan Kadomashi Station.

DSC07672 DSC07675 DSC07677

DSC07682

From JR Noe, the line travels south before joining the alignment of the Gakkentoshi Line. Just before the junction, you can see a former alignment and triangle where the Higashi Line branched west to a yard next to Sakuranomiya Station. It's now a footpath/cycleway and the yard is long-gone, full of apartment. I'll have to dig up more information on that area. But back to the line in question, after the bridge, the train curves into Shigino Station. Here you can transfer to the Gakkentoshi Line, through to Umeda at Kita-Shinchi Station, or after it turns into the Tozai Line and therefore beyond to Amagasaki or Nishi-Akashi.

DSC01462

DSC01461 DSC01463 DSC01465

DSC01469

DSC01474 DSC01476 DSC01479

DSC01487

DSC01488

Staying on the train, you'll now approach Hanaten Station and then curve south to finally intersect with the Yamatoji Line to Nara. Before this though, there's quite a few more new stations, where JR have once again had to prepend "JR" to make the names unique: JR-Kawachi-Eiwa Station, JR-Shuntokumichi Station and JR-Nagase. Kizuri-Kamikita Station after the list above, is finally a newly-named station, and I made an effort to get here one afternoon for a southbound freighter.

DSC01696 DSC01699 DSC01700

DSC01698

Next comes Shinkami Station, named "shin-" as Kami Station is already just next door on the Yamatoji Line. Due to the design of the triangle, getting an "internal" transfer seemed impossible, so they went ahead and built two stations.

If you've stayed on-board then you're now approaching Kyūhōji Station - the end of the Higashi Osaka Line! Here you get the best transfers onto the Yamatoji Line to continue onto Nara and further east into Kansai. I actually did this on my previous trip through to Yokkaichi and Sendai.

Filed under: JPN No Comments
23Sep/190

Unleashing An Old 8-bit ISA IO Card

This monster had been sitting in my box-o'-stuff for a while... actually, it seems next month is its three year anniversary in the box... jeesh. This was part of a dismantled 386 PC, used at the Siding Spring Observatory where I assume they needed a lot of IO to control telescopes? Anyway, I've been cleaning/clearing out a lot of junk lately and decided to finally check this thing out. As per that post above, I'd guessed it might be similar to the ACCESS - IOD-64, but I wasn't too sure.

DSC01830

DSC01831 DSC01832 DSC01833

DSC01834 DSC01835 DSC01836

As you can see it's a full length card with four 50-pin IDC headers along the top. There are very few markings on the card, making it near-impossible to work out who the manufacturer was. The bottom left tag area indicates D6004039 and the top-right IC has a serial number indicating 5215001. The card is 8-bit.

Base IO Header Status

Before getting started with anything like this, record everything you have in its initial state. Take photos of all the switches, all the jumpers, all the traces (handy to point fingers at who scratched what), all the pins, all the headers... one always ends up changing too-many-variables and needs a reference point to return to! Even if that point is incorrect (say 0x220 is a furphy?), it's a base to begin testing from again.

In this situation, I also wanted to know what the four ports were outputting, voltage-wise. Turns out the basic idea is as follows:

01 03 05 07 09 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25
~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v
+12v +12v 0v 0v 0v 0v 0v 0v 0v 0v 0v 0v 0v
02 04 06 08 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26
27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49
~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v ~1.4v +5v
0v 0v 0v 0v 0v 0v 0v 0v 0v 0v 0v 0v
28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50

So, the two tables above should be butted together at the 20s... they're just too long to display in one hit. The table, as a whole, describes the first IO 50-pin IDC plug on the board. This is the one closest to the end plate. Note that the port is keyed, that a SCSI cable fits perfectly and that pin 1 lines up with the red wire.

DSC01837

From the image above, pin 1 is in the bottom-right and pin 50 top-left. We can determine that the even pins (top row) 6 to 50 are all ground/common since you can see them bridged via a horizontal trace. Pins 2 and 4 are providing 12v and pin 49 gives you 5v. I may have accidentally grounded all of these supply lines whilst initially testing, but it doesn't seem to have hurt the card! It did nearly melt my test wire though.

One quick thing we could determine here was the "V/G" jumper aligned with each header. My guess that it was either 'voltage' or 'ground' and would probably control the 'rail' of second pins from 6 to 48. A quick swap of the jumper on the first header proved that assumption totally wrong. Instead, when set to V, as they all were at the start, pins 2 and 4 were 12v. When on G, pins 2 and 4 then became GND, just like the entire rest of the row. This jumper does not affect the 5v on pin 49.

I never did work out what the EDP jumper setting did!

Programming Choices

I was going to install Visual Basic 6.0 (mount it with Daemon Tools) and build a pretty windows form, but I quickly realised that there's no direct hardware access to IO ports? I might dig into that again. Instead I downloaded QBasic 4.5 (it's also on the Win98 CD!) and slapped it in a folder on C:\. Note that if you want to play with QBasic on Windows 7++ then use dosbox.

QBasic supports the INP() Function which simply (and unrestricted-ly) reads a byte from an IO address. I had always thought this was only for serial/parallel ports, but it then occurred to me that any port in the system is really just a direct mapping (hopefully with some electrical isolation) of the data lines into the ISA bus. Therefore, if you give the IO address of anything else on the bus, you'll read data from those locations! Here's a list of standard ports for x86 which can, in this scenario, give you an idea of areas to avoid.

Hardware Configuration

Trying to work this out was a blast.... no, really... it took quite a lot of trial and error. If you look at the images above, you'll see the IO Address setting is set to 0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0, and if you look below, you'll even note a sharpie'd address written on the side of the first IDC port! 0x220 base IO address!

DSC01846

Crap, that'll conflict directly with any SoundBlaster... if that's what you happened to have installed. Using my new-found knowledge above, I wrote a really simple QBASIC script to get the data from a range of addresses near 0x220.

FOR PORT# = 220 TO 230
  PRINT INP(PORT#)
NEXT PORT#

The output was upsetting... just multiple outputs of the number 255. I wondered what the chances were that the dipswitches had been tampered with? Who knows if that inscription of 0x220 was, at all, correct? At the same time, if my pins were floating, then would the card report a 1 or a 0? Knowing where the supply voltage pins where, I danced around them and grounded a few of (what I expected were) the IO lines.

DSC01855

I still didn't get any results around 0x220, so I started searching... but, of course, where do I start searching? A DOS terminal screen gives me about 8 good rows of text space in text-mode, so I set a larger offset and started panning through the addresses. Using the IO Port Mapping for x86, I knew there were a few locations to skip and so I just kept digging.

This got pretty annoying after a while, so I went graphical... it really helped the next step!

DECLARE FUNCTION PortIsFree! (portNum#)
DIM DATACACHE(0 TO &H900) AS INTEGER
DIM OnOffPoints(0 TO 128) AS INTEGER
DIM OnPoint AS INTEGER
DIM OffPoint AS INTEGER
DIM COLWIDTH AS INTEGER
DIM ROWHEIGHT AS INTEGER
DIM COLUMNS AS INTEGER
DIM MAXADDRESSES AS INTEGER
COLWIDTH = 8
ROWHEIGHT = 16
COLUMNS = 75
MAXADDRESSES = &H5A
SCREEN 12
RESTORE OffPointData
FOR PY = 0 TO 5
  FOR PX = 0 TO 3
    READ A
    PSET (PX, PY), A
  NEXT PX
NEXT PY
RESTORE OnPointData
FOR PY = 0 TO 5
  FOR PX = 4 TO 7
    READ A
    PSET (PX, PY), A
  NEXT PX
NEXT PY
RESTORE OffCrapData
FOR PY = 0 TO 5
  FOR PX = 8 TO 11
    READ A
    PSET (PX, PY), A
  NEXT PX
NEXT PY
RESTORE OnCrapData
FOR PY = 0 TO 5
  FOR PX = 12 TO 15
    READ A
    PSET (PX, PY), A
  NEXT PX
NEXT PY

OnPoint = 0
OffPoint = 33
otherOnPOint = 64
OtherOffPoint = 80
GET (0, 0)-(3, 5), OnOffPoints(OnPoint)
GET (4, 0)-(7, 5), OnOffPoints(OffPoint)
GET (8, 0)-(11, 5), OnOffPoints(otherOnPOint)
GET (12, 0)-(15, 5), OnOffPoints(OtherOffPoint)
PORTSTART# = &H220
SELPORT# = &H220
PREVSELPORT# = &H220
FIRSTLOOP = 1
DATAOUT = 0
CLS
DO
	DIM row AS INTEGER
	DIM col AS INTEGER
	col = 1
	row = 1
	FOR PORT# = PORTSTART# TO (PORTSTART# + MAXADDRESSES)
		IF (PORT# > 0) THEN
			IF (FIRSTLOOP = 1 OR SELPORT# <> PREVSELPORT#) THEN
				LOCATE row, col
				IF (SELPORT# = PORT#) THEN
					COLOR 12
				ELSE
					COLOR 15
				END IF
				PRINT HEX$(PORT#);
			END IF
			freeport = PortIsFree(PORT#)
			IF (freeport = 1 OR 1 = 1) THEN
				DATAIN# = INP(PORT#)
				CACHED = DATACACHE(PORT#)
				IF DATAIN# <> CACHED OR FIRSTLOOP = 1 THEN
					DATACACHE(PORT#) = DATAIN#
					dotrow = (row * ROWHEIGHT)
					offset = (col - 1) * COLWIDTH
					FOR bit = 8 TO 1 STEP -1
						IF (DATAIN# AND (2 ^ (bit - 1))) THEN
							IF (freeport = 1) THEN
								PUT (offset, dotrow), OnOffPoints(OnPoint), PSET
							ELSE
								PUT (offset, dotrow), OnOffPoints(otherOnPOint), PSET
							END IF
						ELSE
							IF freeport = 1 THEN
								PUT (offset, dotrow), OnOffPoints(OffPoint), PSET
							ELSE
								PUT (offset, dotrow), OnOffPoints(OtherOffPoint), PSET
							END IF

						END IF
						offset = offset + 4
					NEXT bit
					LOCATE row + 2, col
					PRINT "    "
					COLOR 15
					LOCATE row + 2, col
					PRINT DATAIN#
				END IF
			END IF
		END IF
		LOCATE 1, 1
		col = col + 6
		IF (col > COLUMNS) THEN
			col = 1
			row = row + 4
		END IF
	NEXT PORT#
	PREVSELPORT# = SELPORT#
	FIRSTLOOP = 0
	LET K$ = INKEY$
	LOCATE 29, 20
	IF K$ = "q" OR K$ = "Q" THEN
		EXIT DO
	ELSEIF K$ = "/" THEN
		SELPORT# = SELPORT# + 20
	ELSEIF K$ = CHR$(0) + CHR$(77) THEN
		SELPORT# = SELPORT# + 1
	ELSEIF K$ = CHR$(0) + CHR$(75) THEN
		SELPORT# = SELPORT# - 1
	ELSEIF K$ = CHR$(0) + CHR$(72) THEN
		CLS
		FIRSTLOOP = 1
		PORTSTART# = PORTSTART# - MAXADDRESSES
		SELPORT# = PORTSTART#
	ELSEIF K$ = CHR$(0) + CHR$(80) THEN
		CLS
		FIRSTLOOP = 1
		PORTSTART# = PORTSTART# + MAXADDRESSES
		SELPORT# = PORTSTART#
	ELSEIF K$ >= "0" AND K$ < = "9" THEN
		IF (DATASTEP = 0) THEN
			DATAOUT = VAL(K$)
		ELSE
			DATAOUT = VAL(K$) + (DATAOUT * 10)
		END IF
		DATASTEP = DATASTEP + 1
		IF DATASTEP > 2 THEN
			DATASTEP = 0
		END IF
		LOCATE 29, 1
		PRINT "         ";
		LOCATE 29, 1
		PRINT DATAOUT;
	ELSEIF K$ = "s" THEN
		OUT SELPORT#, DATAOUT
	ELSEIF K$ <> "" THEN
		PRINT K$;
	END IF
LOOP
END

OffPointData:
DATA 00,10,10,00,10,10,10,10,10,10,10,10,10,10,10,10,10,10,10,10,00,10,10,00
OnPointData:
DATA 00,12,12,00,12,12,12,12,12,12,12,12,12,12,12,12,12,12,12,12,00,12,12,00
OffCrapData:
DATA 00,9,9,00,9,9,9,9,9,9,9,9,9,9,9,9,9,9,9,9,00,9,9,00
OnCrapData:
DATA 00,1,1,00,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,00,1,1,00

FUNCTION PortIsFree (portNum#)
	IF (portNum# >= &H2F8 AND portNum# < = &H2FF) THEN
		PortIsFree = 0
	ELSEIF (portNum# >= &H170 AND portNum# < = &H177) THEN
		PortIsFree = 0
	ELSEIF (portNum# >= &H1F0 AND portNum# < = &H1F7) THEN
		PortIsFree = 0
	ELSEIF (portNum# >= &H278 AND portNum# < = &H27A) THEN
		PortIsFree = 0
	ELSEIF (portNum# >= &H3B0 AND portNum# < = &H3DF) THEN
		PortIsFree = 0
	ELSEIF (portNum# >= &H3F0 AND portNum# < = &H3F7) THEN
		PortIsFree = 0
	ELSEIF (portNum# >= &H3F8 AND portNum# < = &H3FF) THEN
		PortIsFree = 0
	ELSE
		PortIsFree = 1
	END IF
END FUNCTION

DSC01862

Ahh... christmas... this now made it very easy for the next step... determination of the IO address switch. If you look at the photo of the monitor, you'll see from 680 that the first and last pins are grounded. This continues for 3 bytes, then skips a lot and continues again. That was the pattern I created on the cables to make it easier to find the card when I was adjusting the switches below.

Decoding the switch for IO address

Here comes the binary! I checked out the manual for that card I mentioned at the very start and it had a very convoluted way of adjusting the port offset. I chose to have more fun with the qbasic app above which simply displays the IO map of the system. Changing the cards' dipswitches whilst the machine was still on instantly affected the bytes displayed on-screen! The pattern of grounded wires, set on the first and last IO ports on the card, made it easy to distinguish... and, well, as dangerous as it sounds, it worked perfectly! The only slightly concerning thing was the address sharing... some of the areas had a duplicated area 0x400 bytes higher in the port table.

SW1 SW2 SW3 SW4 SW5 SW6 SW7 SW8 Output
0x3F0,0x7F0
X 0x1F0
X 0x2F0
X X 0x0F0
X 0x370,0x770
X X 0x170
X X 0x270
X X X 0x470
X 0x3B0,0x7B0
X X 0x5B0
X X 0x2B0
X X X 0x4B0
X X 0x330,0x730
X X X 0x130
X X X 0x230
X X X X 0x430
X 0x3D0,0x7D0
X X 0x1D0
X X 0x2D0,0x6D0
X X X 0x4D0
X X 0x350
X X X 0x550
X X X 0x250,0x650
X X X X 0x450
X X 0x390
X X X 0x190,0x590
X X X 0x290,0x690
X X X X 0x490,0x890
X X X 0x310,0x710
X X X X 0x110,0x510
X X X X 0x210,0x610
X X X X X 0x410
X 0x3E0
X X 0x5E0
X X 0x2E0,0x6E0
X X X 0x4E0
X X 0x760
X X X 0x560
X X X 0x660
X X X X 0x460
X X 0x3A0
X X X 0x5A0
X X X 0x2A0,0x6A0
X X X X 0x4A0
X X X 0x720
X X X X 0x520
X X X X 0x620
X X X X X 0x420
X X 0x7C0
X X X 0x1C0
X X X 0x6C0
X X X X 0x4C0
X X X 0x740
X X X X 0x540
X X X X 0x640
X X X X X 0x440
X X X 0x380
X X X X 0x580
X X X X 0x680
X X X X X 0x480
X X X X 0x300
X X X X X 0x500
X X X X X 0x600
X X X X X X 0x400
X 0x7F0
X X 0x5F0
X X 0x6F0
X X X 0x4F0
X X 0x770
X X X 0x570
X X X 0x670
X X X X 0x470
X X 0x7B0
X X X 0x5B0
X X X 0x6B0
X X X X 0x4B0
X X X 0x730
X X X X 0x530
X X X X 0x630
X X X X X 0x430
X X 0x7D0
X X X 0x5D0
X X X 0x6D0
X X X X 0x4D0
X X X 0x750
X X X X 0x550
X X X X 0x650
X X X X X 0x450
X X X 0x790
X X X X 0x590
X X X X 0x690
X X X X X 0x490
X X X X 0x710
X X X X X 0x510
X X X X X 0x610
X X X X X X 0x410
X X 0x7E0
X X X 0x5E0
X X X 0x6E0
X X X X 0x4E0
X X X 0x760
X X X X 0x560
X X X X 0x660
X X X X X 0x460
X X X 0x7A0
X X X X 0x5A0
X X X X 0x6A0
X X X X X 0x4A0
X X X X 0x720
X X X X X 0x520
X X X X X 0x620
X X X X X X 0x420
X X X 0x7C0
X X X X 0x5C0
X X X X 0x6C0
X X X X X 0x4C0
X X X X 0x740
X X X X X 0x540
X X X X X 0x640
X X X X X X 0x440
X X X X 0x780
X X X X X 0x580
X X X X X 0x680
X X X X X X 0x480
X X X X X 0x700,0x300
X X X X X X 0x500
X X X X X X 0x600
X X X X X X X 0x400
X 0x7F0,0x3F0
X X 0x5F0
X X 0x6F0
X X X 0x4F0
X X 0x770
X X X 0x570
X X X 0x670
X X X X 0x470
X X 0x7B0
X X X 0x5B0
X X X 0x6B0
X X X X 0x4B0
X X X 0x730
X X X X 0x530
X X X X 0x630
X X X X X 0x430
X X 0x0x7D0,0x3D0
X X X 0x5D0
X X X 0x6D0
X X X X 0x4D0
X X X 0x350
X X X X 0x550
X X X X 0x650
X X X X X 0x450
X X X 0x390
X X X X 0x590
X X X X 0x690
X X X X X 0x490
X X X X 0x310
X X X X X 0x510
X X X X X 0x610
X X X X X X 0x410
X X 0x3E0
X X X 0x5E0
X X X 0x6E0
X X X X 0x4E0
X X X 0x360
X X X X 0x560
X X X X 0x660
X X X X X 0x460
X X X 0x3A0
X X X X 0x5A0
X X X X 0x6A0
X X X X X 0x4A0
X X X X 0x320
X X X X X 0x520
X X X X X 0x620
X X X X X X 0x420
X X X 0x7C0
X X X X 0x5C0
X X X X 0x6C0
X X X X X 0x4C0
X X X X 0x740,0x340
X X X X X 0x540
X X X X X 0x640
X X X X X X 0x440
X X X X 0x380,0x780
X X X X X 0x580
X X X X X 0x680
X X X X X X 0x480
X X X X X 0x300,0x700
X X X X X X 0x500
X X X X X X 0x600
X X X X X X X 0x400
X X 0x3F0,0x7F0
X X X 0x5F0
X X X 0x6F0
X X X X 0x4F0
X X X 0x770,0x370
X X X X 0x570
X X X X 0x670
X X X X X 0x470
X X X 0x3B0,0x7B0
X X X X 0x5B0
X X X X 0x6B0
X X X X X 0x4B0
X X X X 0x330,0x730
X X X X X 0x530
X X X X X 0x630
X X X X X X 0x430
X X X 0x3D0,0x7D0
X X X X 0x5D0
X X X X 0x6D0
X X X X X 0x4D0
X X X X 0x350,0x750
X X X X X 0x550
X X X X X 0x650
X X X X X X 0x450
X X X X 0x790,0x390
X X X X X 0x590
X X X X X 0x690
X X X X X X 0x490
X X X X X 0x710,0x310
X X X X X X 0x510
X X X X X X 0x610
X X X X X X X 0x410
X X X 0x3E0,0x7E0
X X X X 0x5E0
X X X X 0x6E0
X X X X X 0x4E0
X X X X 0x760,0x360
X X X X X 0x560
X X X X X 0x660
X X X X X X 0x460
X X X X 0x7A0,0x3A0
X X X X X 0x5A0
X X X X X 0x6A0
X X X X X X 0x4A0
X X X X X 0x720,0x320
X X X X X X 0x520
X X X X X X 0x620
X X X X X X X 0x420
X X X X 0x7C0,0x3C0
X X X X X 0x5C0
X X X X X 0x6C0
X X X X X X 0x4C0
X X X X X 0x740
X X X X X X 0x540
X X X X X X 0x640
X X X X X X X 0x440
X X X X X 0x780
X X X X X X 0x580
X X X X X X 0x680
X X X X X X X 0x480
X X X X X X 0x700,0x300
X X X X X X X 0x500
X X X X X X X 0x600
X X X X X X X X 0x400,0x800

So from above... the magical calculation is... dunno... but the weird sharing of XXX with XXX+400h was confusing and slightly dangerous when both ranges could conflict with other hardware in the system!

Port Mapping

So now we know how to set the base address, how do we then actually work with the data? The card needs 16 consecutive IO Ports, so please make sure you find a space in the address table that has the capacity. You don't want it interfering with other hardware in your system. Actually, the code above gives you a really good idea as to what areas in use and which are free. Also make note of the 'ghosting' that seems to occur with the lower address ranges. The table below expects you've set the above address to 0x220, but this means the data will also be visible on 620! This could easily interfere with an AWE Soundcard.

Port Usage
0x220 CN1 pins 33,35,37,39,41,43,45,47
0x221 CN1 pins 17,19,21,23,25,27,29,31
0x222 CN1 pins 01,03,05,07,09,11,13,15
0x223 Control Register for CN1
0x224 CN2 pins 33,35,37,39,41,43,45,47
0x225 CN2 pins 17,19,21,23,25,27,29,31
0x226 CN2 pins 01,03,05,07,09,11,13,15
0x227 Control Register for CN2
0x228 CN3 pins 33,35,37,39,41,43,45,47
0x229 CN3 pins 17,19,21,23,25,27,29,31
0x22A CN3 pins 01,03,05,07,09,11,13,15
0x22B Control Register for CN3
0x22C CN4 pins 33,35,37,39,41,43,45,47
0x22D CN4 pins 17,19,21,23,25,27,29,31
0x22E CN4 pins 01,03,05,07,09,11,13,15
0x22F Control Register for CN4

Writing to the ports

With the QBASIC code above, you can use the Up and Down arrows to paginate. You can then use the left and right to select a specific address. Use the forward-slash key to skip 10 addresses at a time. Once on an address, you can write a value to the selected port by typing that number in and pressing the letter S. From here I worked out the following:

  • You can only write out values to the bytes if you send a value to the control register first.
  • If you write a number to one of the three blocks of pins, then it'll set all associated bits HIGH.
  • Sending a 0 therefore sets them all LOW, 255 will set them all HIGH.
  • The final control register allows you to set all three bytes to 0 or 255 quickly. But I haven't totally decoded what the required values are.

I'm still trying to ascertain how it works. The EDP jumper seems to determine if one is allowed to send bytes to the ports, but I haven't correctly determined exactly how.
As is, the card could easily be used to control/read binary bits in its default setting.

Let's control a model railway!

This card would've been perfect when I was younger. I remember back at Lyneham Hockey Courts in Canberra, there was an engineer who'd built a smallish model railway at one of the conventions and it was totally computer controlled. There was this hulking XT/AT machine next to the layout with ribbon cables running everywhere. A card with this much IO would've been fantastic for sensors, point control and even throttles. I might do that now, just for fun, using some of the off-the-shelf Arduino modules in my box-o'-junk. Sure, it's cheating, but I'll still be using the full power of the card.

An L298 can provide the throttle, but it needs a variable resistance fed into this. We can use a Resistor Ladder to provide this, as we have so many pins available.

I might just put it back in its box for the next rainy day. If anyone has further documentation on this card, then please leave a comment!

Filed under: Retro No Comments
18Sep/190

Shin-Osaka Station Area – May 2019

Whilst recently staying in the area, I made it my goal to check out all corners of the railway. There's a lot to see around Shin-Osaka Station, so I'll try and document everything I stumbled across!

Staging Yards

To the west of Shin-Osaka Station, there's a large staging yard where all sorts of trains get cleaned/repaired/shunted. I started my walk around the yards from the south-east corner, as that was closest to the apartment.

DSC01138 DSC01140 DSC01183

Straight up there were interesting things to be seen. The Salon Car Naniwa was stored, not to be going anywhere anytime soon, and the Twilight Express Mizukaze was being cleaned and prepared for an afternoon departure. I started my anti-clockwise walk around the yard.

DSC01144 DSC01147 DSC01158

There wasn't much to be seen along the northern edge of the yard. Although you can see into the yard, under the shinkansen tracks, you can't really get much of a vantage point as the Tokaido line (for freight and non-revenue movements) runs along the ground level. On the western edge of the yard, there's a level crossing where the Tokaido Line runs out and re-connects with itself. I wonder if this part is actually called the Tokaido Line? It's the track that allows the freight trains to skip Osaka Station.

DSC01148

DSC01152 DSC01153 DSC01154

The level crossing gives you a good fore-warning of railway events. Unfortunately, I only got to see it trigger once when a Thunderbird was dead-heading from Osaka in to the yard. The Twilight Express Mizukaze was being washed and didn't budge. I'd actually hoped it'd leave this yard via the apartment, but instead it seems to have exited on this west side, turned left at the triangle and proceeded down to Osaka Station.

I continued my lap around the yards, there's something to see over every fence... although you might have to jump!

DSC01177 DSC01178 DSC01179

DSC01157

DSC01171

DSC01162 DSC01163 DSC01164

DSC01159

DSC01166 DSC01167 DSC01176

DSC01180 DSC01181 DSC01182

Freight Branch

That line I mentioned above splits off from the main line on the northern side of the actual platforms at Shin-Osaka Station. If you follow the road under the station to the west of the lines, then you'll cross the tracks. It's still a level crossing, so you'll know when something is coming.

DSC01582 DSC01586 DSC01588

DSC01589

DSC01592

If you browse over to the Shin-Osaka Webcam write-up, you'll find interesting things that you can wait here for. Above is the light-engine movements that I've written about. If you see the DE10 run west at around 8am, then you'll have good chances of seeing it drag something east at around 2pm! Extra hint when there's others waiting around!

DSC01611 DSC01618 DSC01623

Higashi-Yodogawa Station Area

Walking east from Shin-Osaka Station, you can do a lap of the area via the Higashi-Yodogawa Station pedestrian overpass. This station used to have a level crossing which, spanning over 10 tracks, was more-often-than-not closed.

DSC08317

The station itself has received a huge upgrade, probably because of the new Higashi-Osaka Line changing the track layout quite a bit. The overpass it a bit of overkill... with REALLY LONG ramps to allow bicycles to easily be pushed over the hill.

DSC08311 DSC08313 DSC08315

Walking down the southern(eastern?) side of the line, I realised I was in direct frame for the Shin-Osaka Webcam. It was dusk, so I used the flashlight on my phone to annoy the locals.

If you look really closely in the video above, I'm standing for the first 4 seconds to the left of the pedestrian underpass tunnel entrance. I'm wearing a white t-shirt and I hold my phone above my head to shine a tiny little white light for a few seconds. I then walk to the right, mid-way into the frame, to the next street corner and do the same again with my phone.

DSC08319

Here's the neighbourhood in more light! Can you spot where the camera might be!?

DSC08318 DSC08321 DSC08325

Shin-Osaka Station

Finally, the station itself! You'll see all sorts of services passing through here. Most stop, as it's the major connection to the Shinkansen above. Freight pass on the northern-most lines, either directly past the station (and the yard mentioned above), or through the station, past the apartment and down to Ajikawaguchi.

DSC08332

DSC08340 DSC08341 DSC08342

DSC08347

With all the departure boards, you'll know exactly what's coming and going... I'm going to finish this article with a shot from 10 years ago, on the same platform, in what-feels-like another lifetime.

The Twilight Express pulls into ShinOsaka

Ahh... loco-hauled sleeper trains... I miss you.

Filed under: JPN No Comments
11Sep/190

Shin-Osaka Apartment – May 2019

It's just occurred to me that I've been visiting/staying at this apartment for well-over 10 years now. I first found it via a google search for "long stay apartments" in 2007, when I was planning my first longer-than-usual trip to Japan. The goal was to spend time away from Australia whilst switching jobs... avoiding all those funny clauses in IT contracts.

It turns out the advertisement is still online, 12 years later! Note that the TV/Video doesn't exist anymore... it was analogue terrestrial and, well, I don't think I ever turned it on for longer than 5 minutes... although... Japanese TV Commercials are pretty hilarious. Especially when you have no idea what's going on and just catch the odd (weirdly placed) English adjective. There also is no PC... but there is amazing wifi... Fiber to the wall is the bessssst.

The Location

The apartment is located 10-minutes-walk south of Shin-Osaka Station. I've also proven that it's located a 5-minute-run south! Every now and then, one might wake up late, or take too long getting ready, to realise that their Shinkansen wont wait... And so... One doth run. You also have the Nishinakajima area just south of the apartment, with it's Hankyu Station, Subway Station and host of amenities. There's even a Sega world with original arcade games!

Right near the apartment is a Lawson and a Famimart. Under the railway bridge to the west is a Coco Ichiban Curry House, Daily Yamazaki, Post Office ATM, Yayoiken, MOS Burger, etc... The list goes on! There's a real post office just north-east of the apartment and the staff are very friendly and helped me send some large boxes this time around.

The View

The apartment, unfortunately, faces to the east. Fortunately, the main stairwell (actually, and the fire-escape spiral stairwell) have great views of the main line between Shin-Osaka and Osaka Station.

DSC01047 DSC01037 DSC01071

Of note, to the right are two repeater signals that you'll want to keep an eye on. Three vertical lights indicates a green signal ahead, diagonal is caution and horizontal is stop.

DSC00936

They're both at stop above. This can be very handy when trying to work out if a northbound train is operating.

The video above was taken over the course of a fortnight... all services seen are described below.

What can you expect to see?

There's around 8 freight services per day, and on any day at least 75% of those will run. Some might just be loco provisioning whereas others are full services down to Ajikawaguchi. You'll also get all of the north-east Tokaido Line express passenger services. Sometimes there's also random freight movements with DD51s. Of course, the Twlight Mizukaze also passes through on some of its journeys.

So, where to start? Let's get up at 0455 in the morning! First you'll get a southbound freight train... and then the M250 Super Rail Cargo. Note that it doesn't run Sunday night/Monday morning.

DSC00982

DSC00989 DSC00989 DSC00995

DSC00996

DSC08326 DSC08329 DSC08330

Of course, trains this early are only really visible during the summer months when the sun rises very early; thanks to Japan not using daylight savings. The next sweet spot for freight is between 11:15 and 11:55am. Three are due in this period. Sometimes they're just light engines, other times provisioning.

DSC01006 DSC01008 DSC01009

DSC01012 DSC01014 DSC01020

DSC01067 DSC01068 DSC01069

DSC01083

DSC01084 DSC01086 DSC01087

DSC01090

DSC01101 DSC01103 DSC01106

DSC01109

DSC01567 DSC01569 DSC01571

Some of the shots above were also taken around 4pm, where you'll get two more freights in a half-hour window. Below, we have the odd movements, which I happened to fluke. Note that the Shin-Osaka Webcam comes in really handy here! It gives you visibility north of Shin-Osaka Station which'll give you enough time to put pants on, run outside and get your happy snaps!

DSC01022

Above is a DD51 towing two Kansai Main Line DMUs southound. I assume these were going via Osaka, anti-clockwise via the Osaka Loop Line (they'd have to reverse to go clockwise), through Tennoji and then east to their depot?

DSC01690 DSC01691 DSC01692

Meanwhile that HD300 got towed back and forth quite a few times!

DSC00945 DSC01081 DSC01595

Plus the other express passenger services...

DSC01187 DSC01189 DSC01095

And then, of course, the main event!

DSC01079

DSC01076 DSC01077 DSC01078

Sightings

Below is a quick list of the times I saw the freight trains. Yup, there were some early starts! The first part indicates the time a train departs either Suita or Ajikawaguchi. The latter being arrival at the other end, with the arrow indicating the direction.

0450 -> 0510: 0457
0511 -> 0526: 0514
1128 <- 1049: 1118, 1117, 1118, 1118, 1119, 1118, 1118, 1118, 1118
1128 -> 1201: 1136, 1136, 1135, 1134, 1135, 1135, 1135, 1135, 1135, 1135
1143 -> 1230: 1150, 1150, 1151, 1150, 1150, 1150, 1151, 1150, 1150
1528 -> 1600: 1534, 1536, 1536, 1536, 1535
1719 <- 1633: 1711, 1721, 1713
1826 <- 1802: 1819, 1820
2320 <- 2259: 2313, 2313, 2313, 2312
2324 <- 2309: 2320, 2321, 2320, 2320, 2321

Trackside - Green Pedestrian Bridge

In the shots above, you can see a green pedestrian bridge running parallel to the tracks. This is a pretty good point in the afternoon when the sun is on the right angle. Of course, the weather doesn't always have to agree... either way, I checked it out when the Mizukaze was due.

DSC01779 DSC01780 DSC01783

Right before it came through, I had a trifecta of expresses!

DSC01792 DSC01795 DSC01797

It's a really mean-sounding train... all-diesel so it can run along the entire 'west' coast of Japan.

The Bridges Over The Yodogawa

If you follow the main road (turn right at Family Mart) that runs parallel on the eastern side of the railway, you'll end up on the northern bank of the Yodogawa. This area happens to be a 10 minute walk, just south of the apartment, and provides a nice view of the railway lines. Before getting there though, you have to cross the Hankyu lines. There's then a pedestrian bridge over the road that also gives you a nice bit of elevation.

DSC01190 DSC01191 DSC01192

DSC01201

DSC01199

From here, you then just get to stare at the JR lines...

DSC01193 DSC01195 DSC01203

Of course, I was here for a good reason...

DSC01205 DSC01207 DSC01210

I'll wrap up the apartment post here and post a few more articles soon about other places to visit in the area!

Filed under: JPN No Comments
6Sep/190

Katsura, Kyoto – May 2019

I made a pitstop in Katsura on my way back to ShinOsaka from the Eizan Dentetsu in north Kyoto. I'd seen from Google Maps that there was a Hankyu depot here and I wanted to check it out. I was also using Hankyu to return from Kyoto, transferring off Keihan at Gion-Shijo.

Katsura Station

This is the junction where the Kyoto and Arashiyama lines join. From the station, a short walk north will get you right next to the Katsura depot. I wandered around on-foot, to see what I could from the street.

DSC01380

Straight up, no disappointments! The 4053 maintenance train was sitting right at the end of the yard, just begging to be photographed.

DSC01382 DSC01386 DSC01392

The yard is perpetually busy, with trains being constantly shuffled in and out.

DSC01387

DSC01390 DSC01389 DSC01388

I then followed the elevated Arashiyama Line to the magical land that time forgot.

DSC01393

Well, to the magical land that equipment, of which time has forgotten, gets deposited!

DSC01395

There were some beautiful old macintosh desktops in this branch, as well as a lot of interesting musical equipment!

Hankyu Kyo-Train

Most station platforms on the Hankyu Kyoto Line have stickers on them advertising the Hankyu Kyo-Train. I had totally forgotten about it and failed to plan it into my journey. It runs at specific times on weekends only! I did have one chance to see it though. I had just been to the Hard-Off above and was dawdling back to Katsura Station. It occurred to me that the Kyo-Train would be making its final run from Kawaramachi to Umeda as I was wandering to Katsura... and... if I ran (in the rain) I could get line-side to see it.

DSC01398

DSC01401 DSC01405 DSC01406

DSC01403

Total fluke! The livery isn't too different to a standard 6000-class, but the interior is meant to be beautiful. Hankyu are always fitting a consist out like this, so I'll make sure I catch the next one, next time I'm in Japan.

Filed under: JPN No Comments
3Sep/191

Eizan Dentetsu, Kyoto – June 2019

After three weeks of gallivanting around Japan, my rail pass had run out. But thanks to some intricate planning, I'd already been to the southernmost point, westernmost point, northernmost point and easternmost point of the JR network. It was therefore time to check out places much closer to the apartment in Shin-Osaka. The following location just happens to be one of my favouries and, yes, I've been here quite a few times before.

Getting to the Eizan Railway

From Shin-Osaka, you've got a few methods to get to the north-east of Kyoto. One way could be to take any JR service to Kyoto and then transfer to either a bus or the subway. Another is to take the Midosuji Subway from Shin-Osaka or Nishinakajima-Minamigata south to Yodoyabashi Station and then Keihan straight through to Demachiyanagi Station. Finally, you can do the same with Hankyu, hopping on at Minamikata Station, transferring to a Kyoto-bound service at Ibaraki and then transferring once more to the Keihan Railway at Kawaramachi Station. This final option lets you walk across the famous bridge over the Kamo River at Gion-Shijo!

I ended up going a totally different way. I'd already checked out Demachiyanagi, and would end up there at the end of the day, so I chose to ride the subway from JR Kyoto all the way to the northern terminus at Kokusaikaikan Station and then walk over to Hachiman-Mae Station.

Hachiman-Mae Station

This is the first station on the Kurama Line after the Hieizan line splits to the east. As the name mentions, it's in front of the Hachiman Shrine, up the hill, to the north-east. I haven't ventured up to that one yet, but the photos look amazing. Meanwhile, here's Hachiman-Mae Station...

DSC01226

DSC01227 DSC01228 DSC01229

This time the goal was to see the new maple-green Kirara, so the waiting game begun. Thanks to the frequency of the line, even on a Sunday, it didn't take long to see a service.

DSC01235

DSC01236 DSC01239DSC01244

The maple-orange Kirara then came northbound!

DSC01246

The design of these vehicles is amazing and many awards have been won. I still haven't actually travelled at night, when the forests are lit during Autumn, because supposedly that's when the design really lends its hand to showing the passengers the beauty of the area. From the inside, you really get the idea of the view... the forest totally engulfs you.

DSC01249

Whilst heading up the hill, the maple-green consist passed southbound. I must admit, I miss the maple-red. The green is quite intense... and yes, it perfectly matches maple leaves, so it's still in the grand scheme of the colouring, but...

DSC01254 DSC01255 DSC01256

This was actually great timing. I'd chosen a location just south of Ninose Station and now I could approximate when this livery would pass.

Ninose Station

Yup, yup, yup... been here before... check over here for some beautiful photos in the snow. It's a station nestled in a valley with a small town right next to it. There's some beautiful galleries and cafes to enjoy, but there's also a fantastic viewpoint where the railway passes high over a river and roadway just south of the station.

DSC01258 DSC01259 DSC01262

We arrived and had to wait for the southbound EMU to pass... after this, the precinct was beautifully vacant. There was the odd cicada, but the overwhelming sound was that of the water rushing south down the mountain.

DSC01330

DSC01322 DSC01328 DSC01329

As I was waiting a random bunch of joggers were heading downhill. Did they take the train to the top first?

DSC01323

From the station there are two relatively steep staircases at either end of the platform. Due to the dampness of the forest, they can be quite slippery, so do be careful.

DSC01263

DSC01318 DSC01319 DSC01320

As you're descending, the view is fantastic.

DSC01325 DSC01326 DSC01327

Actually, that logging is a bit of an eyesore... but I'm sure it'll grow back quickly. A short stroll down the road will get you to the rail bridge just south of the station.

DSC01264 DSC01266 DSC01267

DSC01286

Finding a good angle was actually quite a challenge. I had my 18-200 "all-rounder" on, but the widest angle wasn't really wide enough... or maybe it's due to the slope of the road... or maybe I just always seem to take photos on an angle... just look at all my posts!

DSC01269 DSC01270 DSC01273

DSC01272

The first EMU passed. It was easy to hear coming as there are quite a few curves prior to the bridge. There's also a signal which some of the following services stopped at. This one also hit its horn and seemingly came to a sharp stop, but it was out of view when it did so. Note that this is the EMU that we saw heading south from Hachiman-Mae Station above. We know that maple-green was following it southbound, so it should be next!

DSC01275 DSC01278 DSC01279

There are only two stations to north past Ninose, so the maple-orange EMU I came on was the next service to pass southbound. After this had shot past, I checked out the area. Thanks to google, I knew I had around 20mins until the next pass, so I dawdled around and gandered at the gallery and tearooms just on the other side of the bridge. Much much too fancy for me, so I quickly retreated back into the shadows... no one wants to be out of position when a train is about to approach!

DSC01281 DSC01282 DSC01283

Lots of overgrown old infrastructure mixed with beautiful houses. Everything is also so green!

DSC01291 DSC01294 DSC01295

I seem to have been mistaken. I promised the maple-green service as the next northbound, but it turns out that there's more than one beige two-car EMU operating! Hah. Ok, it must be the next one?

DSC01299

Nope, the next service was a monkey. No wonder the trains have been stopping and hitting their horns!

DSC01306

DSC01305 DSC01309 DSC01311

Ah, OK, the green isn't such a bad match when it's buried in forest scenery. The driver had to pull right up to wait for the monkey to get out of the way. I wanted to catch this service southbound and had now seen all the liveries, so I proceeded back to the station. There is honestly something interesting to look at wherever you turn your head.

DSC01313 DSC01315 DSC01298

After a bit of dawdling, maple-green arrived to take me back to Demachiyanagi.

DSC01332 DSC01334 DSC01337

DSC01340

DSC01344 DSC01350 DSC01359

There was one more EMU to see on this line and I'd flukely timed it perfectly to meet it at the terminus.

Demachiyanagi Station

I'd seen drawings and then photos of this EMU, but had no idea what it really looked like. I was a little worried. Most reviewers had reported it to resemble the magic mirror from snow white, or just some other kind of ghastly portal to another universe. I think I have to agree with them... but then again, in reality it's a stunning design!

DSC01365 DSC01367 DSC01370

DSC01374

It was timed to head up to Hiei right as I arrived, so I didn't get to check it out further.

DSC01379

From here it was a quick trip to Katsura for the usual delights...

Filed under: JPN 1 Comment