Dai Testsudo Haku 2010 Report

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Kapinozuka
Dai Testsudo Haku 2010 Report
Hello, Kapinozuka here.

I've visited the Great Railways Expo (Dai Tetsudo Haku) 2010 that was held in Tokyo/Shinagawa,
so I will be bringing you an overview of the expo.

After leaving the Shinagawa Station and climbing a hill for a few minutes, I saw this.



*Sign: Great Railway Expo Venu →

And the direction this sign was pointing towards......



...stood the Grand Prince Hotel – New Takawa.



Here is the floor map of the expo.
It looks simple enough, but the place was much larger than I had imagined.

Just after buying the entrance tickets and getting inside the hall, we immediately struck the shopping booth, and was held back for a while by the number of very attractive products lined up... but we shall get back to the subject and carry onto the hall.

Naotaka Hirota

The Railway Photographer, Naotaka Hirota is someone that everyone interested in Railways should know the name of.
He is THE Railway Photographer of Japan.



From steam locomotives to the latest bullet trains,
and of course taking a wide range of photos locally and internationally,
the many works of Mr. Hirota had been exhibited.



Oh yeah, there was a bouquet of flowers in his honor and celebration at the entrance too.
The works of Mr. Hirota capturing the "Movement" and "Stillness" of the railways are really worth a look.

History of Limited Express Trains

This was an area featuring the history of limited express trains of Japan.
There were many explanation panels, models, parts, and anything else related items on exhibit.
The models and resources were gathered from railway companies, museums, and items privately owned by individuals, so there were many precious items displayed.



There were a variety of limited express train models on display, from old to new.
And this image here, these models were actually made at O-Scale (1/45)!
Not to mention that they were displayed at full formation,
you really can't stop yourself coming to a halt and just appreciate them.



The Tokaido Shinkansen (bullet trains) of each generation was also displayed at HO-Scale.
They were all displayed at full formation too. Just overwhelming.

Takara Tomy

In the Takara Tomy area, there were many Plastic Railway Series items currently available gathered up!
There were trains running all over the place on the enormous layouts.
Just look at this, everything is all so overwhelmingly packed!



In the pic above, there are trains mainly from the Kyushu/Shikokyu area, such as the Shinkansen Tsubame, Relay Tsubame, Sonic, and Marine Liner etc.
The JR Kyushu has many trains with especially striking designs, don't you think?



In this image here, the trains running are centered around the electric trains of the Kanto region, such as the Kanto Shinkansen, Skyliner, Yamanote Line etc.
The Tokyo Tower, Fuji Television office building, and the airport etc.,
many representative structures of Kanto had been specially made and displayed too.



Being the exhibit space of the Takara Tomy, there were mostly Plastic Rail products, but they also had a bit of Tomix N-Scale layouts on display too.



Looking at the atmosphere of the structures, it seems like this is a 1980s style diorama.

For all you kids that came to the expo,
Let's move onto the N-Scale when you grow up!



The only item exhibited by Tomytec was the Rollsign Key Chain (Currently on sale!)
Overtaking Ms.Sabo, Maki-chan made her apperarance.
(Maki chan is the girl that appears in the 14th vol. of Ms.Sabo comic) *note that this is in Japanese



The Great Railway Diorama

At the Great Railways Diorama area, There was something of great supprize!
There were O-Scale and HO-Scale Layouts
exhibited by famous Railway Model groups.

∇ Rail Club Chiba

The HO scale trains were running in the crammed space.



Tsugaru, Resort Shirakami, Narita Express...
The trains that caught my eyes were mainly the limited express trains!
They just kept coming.



The number of trains that were standing by at the garage were... just breath taking!!
Seriously, these were all at HO-Scale!!

They weren't just the JR/JNR trains, there were also the limited express trains from private rails too.
They kept running on the main circuit in turn.

It just made me realize how much limited express trains there were in Japan.


∇ Japan No.0 Railway Club

The O-Scale trains were running magnificently.


Could it be the Series 151 "Kodama"?
I apologize for the photo being slightly off focus.


The French High-Speed Train "TGV" was also running at O-Scale.
It has such a strong presence!


On the side lines, the Keihin Express Type 2100 and JNR Electric Train Series 80 etc. were on stand by.
And these were all in full formation!

These trains that are so much larger than the N or HO Scale,
the O-Scale trains really are overwhelming!

Oh hey look, that's an odd trai......



The Cat Bus!!
It was sprinting at incredible speed!
Way too fast for the camera to capture properly, at any rate.



Doraemon!!

The main casts are on the time machine on the front.
On the second car, the Doraemons were having a ride.

Its interesting if you notice that the Cat Bus and Doraemon is subtly linked by the theme of cats.
Such humorous group they are.

Tetoro



It sounds similar to "Totoro", but that's unrelated.
They are the hand-powered trams,
And they run on what they call a mini SL rail
Although unfortunately, you have to be a child to ride it.

Now, this was running on a endless circular loop course, with multiple people riding at once, so unfortunately reverse operation were prohibited.

Work Experiencing of the Railways

At the work experience area, a series of trial experience trains were set up for the kids that are interested in the job linked to the railways, so that they could experience the work of the drivers and the conductor etc.
And of course, they were lending out mini uniforms too, so the parents will need to have their cameras ready!



This here is the Driver Experience Train.
Modeled after the Series 113 of the Yokosuka line.



And similarly, the Keikyu Type 1000!
Looking at the headlights and roll sign etc,
it seems like some parts used are actually the real train part.



Now, separated to the Work Experience Area,
there were also Driving Simulators set up as well.

Other than that, there were also a Chuggington booth,
as well as mini trains and restaurants etc.
so you could enjoy the event with your whole family!


The Summer Holidays Family Festival Dai Tetsudo Haku 2010
http://www.daitetsudohaku.jp/
*note: Linked to a Japanese site.


So anyway, this Great Railways Expo 2010 will be open til the 31st of August.
Why not have a visit if you have time?

By Kapinozuka, who bought Choshi Electric Railways damp rice crackers at the shopping booth.




Continued ....
- More! Dai Testsudo Haku 2010 Report
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