The Money Train

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Kapinozuka
The Money Train
Hello, Kapinozuka here.
Let’s step into the deep world of the Railways today.

There have been various new preorder items that we have opened reservations for this week.
There are many railway cars in Japan, and they all have their uses.

However!

There was a car that was not to be spoken of, one that even if you saw them, was to pretend you didn’t. In a way, you could say it was a taboo of the trade.


And this is it.


Mani30

The Mani 30.


Yes, some of you may be thinking they just shoved random codes together again.

This car is registered as a passenger car (freight car) of JNR/JR,

but it belongs to The Bank of Japan.

Well, if a bank is to deliver something, it got to be THAT, right?

That’s right! it’s a Cash Transportation Train.


This Mani 30 weren’t written down on the time table at all so they just randomly appeared, connected to the express trains or freight trains etc. to be taken to their destination.

Gosh, they are like Ninjas, aren’t they?

Even if you coincidentally saw it at a station, you were not allowed to post on the net or even speak things like "it passed X station on the Y line at Z O’clock" etc.

Even if you happened to be photographing trains and managed to get a shot of it, and decide to submit it to railway magazine companies, it wouldn’t be put on their magazine.
And for instance, even if they did, they would be reported by the JNR and would be scolded by the Bank of Japan.

Now, if you were to peek into the window while the train is parked, or even take a photo of it, you will be taken for questioning, and wouldn’t be surprising to be arres...


So even if you saw it, you would pretend you didn’t.
Such car doesn’t exist, that’s just a figment of your imagination.
Basically, it was common sense for the railway fans of Japan that Mani 30 was something that must not be mentioned.


Whaaaaaaat!?

Is it alright to discuss such topic on the Hobby Search Blog!?

Has Kapinozuka overworked too much that he’s gone insane!?



......its alright!

And that is because the transportation of money by Mani 30, well by trains in general, has been stopped in year 2003.

The 6 cars of Mani30 that were said to have existed, have all been disposed,
and only the Mani30-2012 is preserved at the Otaru Transportation Museum in Hokkaido.

So there is no problem mentioning the Mani 30 since after the year 2003.


In 2006, The Mani30 had been made in N-Scale by Micro Ace.

• J.N.R. Mani30 + Koki1800 Refrigeration Container (7-Cat Set)
• Mani30+Koki57000 Cool Container (6-Car Set)

The unexpected combination with the freight containers!
But there is a reason for this.

When it is connected to a passenger car or the luggage car, they look similar so most people wouldn’t recognize it as a cash transportation car, but it looks odd connected to freight trains, as it clearly looks different.

However, the JNR stopped the use of luggage cars with the spread of home delivery services. And with the decrease of demand for express trains by passenger cars, their numbers also decreased.

So the trains that could connect to the Mani 30 left were the limited amount of express passenger trains, that and the freight cars...
And with the JNR splitting and becoming privatized, the registration of Mani 30 had been passed onto the JR Freight, so as a result, they had to quietly connect it to the freight trains.

So with that reasoning, Micro Ace had released it as a set with the freight cars.

Mani30

Have a look. If it’s just the face, it looks very similar to the series 50 passenger cars.
At a glance, it’s appearance is like that of the series 50 luggage car, "Mani 50".
However, don’t you think it lacks windows a little too much?

Mani30

And the other side.
There is no window, nor even a passage door, it’s completely blank!
This could be to prevent intruders from breaking in from cars beside it, such as locomotives.

Let me clarify each part.

Details of Mani30

The luggage room is the part with the large door without windows.
There is writing on the side that says "Luggage" (in Japanese), you could guess this is where stuff is stored, but cash were actually stored here.

The rooftop also seems a little strange too.
There are the railway radio antennae at the front and back.
There normally aren’t antennae on passenger cars or luggage cars.
Plus, there is also a loop antenna next to the ventilator, did you notice it?
I can’t tell whether it is used for the handsets of guards, or for backup purposes etc.

The room in the center is for the guards waits at stand by.
Apparently there were the same reclining seats as that of bullet trains back then, as well as berth the same as the Blue trains installed too.
There were also toilet, sink, and a small kitchen, so apparently they could do simple cooking.
There was even air conditioner equipped too (on the other hand, the conductors room didn’t...).
Then again, the guards will basically be stuck in this room until the train arrives at its destination once it departs, so they required some level of living space.

By the way, there were surveillance cameras on both luggage rooms and the conductors room, and were monitored the whole time.
The luggage room and the conductors room aren’t connected, but I somehow don’t think it would be fun being the conductor of such train.



So this Mani 30, a luggage car full of mystery,
had been productized by a company other than Micro Ace as well.

J.N.R. Mani30 No.2007 to 2012 (Unassembled Kit)
 This is a car kit by Bona Fide Product in N-Scale.
 To complete this, you will need to acquire parts that are sold separately,
 as well as assemble and paint the kit.

J.N.R. Type Mani30 Luggage Van (Completed)
 The 16th Scale (1/80 HO-Scale) completed product by Endo.
 The car body is brass, and the bogie is made of diecast.


And the previous generation Mani 30 is also scheduled for release by World Craft!
(The previous generation Mani 30 are the nos.2001~2006.)

J.N.R. Mani30 (Early Model) The Cash Transportation Train
[Limited Edition] J.N.R. Mani30 (Early Type) The Cash Transportation Train (Pre-colored Completed Model)
 Unlike the second generation Mani 30 introduced earlier,
 the early generation Mani 30 resembled the appearance of the old passenger cars,
 yet the fact that it has the luggage car with no windows and the bare face
 without windows etc. are basically the same.
 You have the option between the unassembled kit and the completed model,
 so you can pick the one of your choice.

Plus, there appearance of the Early Gen. Mani 30 of the time it debuted, back in the period it was called the "Mani 34", is also to be released by World Craft too.

J.N.R. Mani34 The Cash Transport Train (Unassembled Kit)
[Limited Edition] J.N.R. Mani34 The Cash Transportation Train (Pre-colored Completed Model)
 The Mani 34 was the first generation cash transport train.
 During the revival of Japan after the Pacific War,
 the amount of bank note in circulation had increased,
 so the Bank of Japan had a car for transporting them to
 be order made by a railway company.

 It is similar to Type Oha 35, but the characteristic equipment are seen.
 You can choose between the completed model and
 the unassembled model for this as well.

The pre-colored completed model is a "Limited Edition Item", and is limited production.
So they will only produce the amount to match the orders, so you can think of it as an order made product.




So that was the Cash Transportation Train that has met an end to its use here in Japan.
With this item, you might be able to gain a deeper appreciation for the world of the railway models.
And if you take it to train model groups, it might be good to let it run in secret, so that nobody would notice it.

And that will be it for the introduction of the world that one may think is infinitely deep.


By Kapinozuka (there was a movie called the "Money Train"...)

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