HOKKAIDO - The whistle of a steam locomotive still echoes through the mountains of Engaru in northeastern Hokkaido, where the historic Amemiya No. 21 continues to run through a region once sustained by forestry.
More than 90% of Engaru is covered by forest, and the Maruseppu district prospered through the timber industry. Steam locomotives once hauled felled trees along a network of forest railways, and one of those engines remains in operation today.
Amemiya No. 21 runs at Maruseppu Forest Park Ikoi-no-Mori, completing a roughly 2-kilometer circuit around the park in about 10 minutes.
The locomotive was manufactured in Tokyo in 1928 by Amemiya Seisakusho. It was introduced on the Murii-Kamimaruseppu Forest Railway, which at its peak extended for 84 kilometers, and transported felled timber to an area near a Japanese National Railways station.
At a time when people traveled mainly on horseback or on foot, the forest railway also served as an important means of transportation for local residents.
From the late 1950s, steam locomotives were gradually replaced by more fuel-efficient diesel engines. Timber transportation also shifted from railways to trucks, bringing the forest railway's role to an end.
After the railway was abolished, Amemiya No. 21 itself faced an uncertain future. Plans were made at different times to scrap the locomotive or transfer it to a forestry facility in Gunma Prefecture, but local residents repeatedly campaigned to keep it in the town.
Noboru Kawaguchi, 87, who took part in the preservation effort, recalled that large numbers of signatures were collected almost immediately.
Kawaguchi rode the forest railway only once as a boy. "It shook so badly that I thought I was going to be thrown off. I remember thinking I would never ride it again," he said with a laugh. But he added, "Amemiya No. 21 is the history of the town itself."
The locomotive survived largely because of the determination of local residents. The present track was completed in 1982, allowing Amemiya No. 21 to sound its whistle once again, this time carrying passengers rather than timber.
The engineers who operate the locomotive today are Engaru town employees. Tomohito Ueto, 55, regularly feeds coal into its firebox to keep the engine running.
"It is a treasure of the town that people in the past worked to preserve," Ueto said. "We want to continue operating it with care so that its fire never goes out."
Maruseppu attracts visitors from across Japan as the country's only place where a working steam locomotive that once served on a forest railway remains in operation.
Passengers can board the coaches and experience the smell of smoke, the sound of the whistle and the rattling vibration of the train as it travels through the forest.
The power of a steam locomotive cannot be fully appreciated when it is simply stored inside a shed. By continuing to run, Amemiya No. 21 keeps the history of the region alive and allows one of Engaru's most treasured pieces of heritage to continue shining.
Source: 産経ニュース
