Type Heavy rail Termini Shin-Takatoku
Yaita Opened 1 March 1924 Owner Tobu Railway | Locale Tochigi Prefecture Stations 9 Closed 30 June 1959 | |
The Tōbu Yaita Line (東武矢板線, Tōbu Yaita-sen) was a 23.5 km railway line in Japan operated by Tobu Railway, which connected Shin-Takatoku on the Tōbu Kinugawa Line to Yaita on the Tōhoku Main Line in Tochigi Prefecture. The line opened on 1 March 1924, and closed on 30 June 1959.
Contents
Operations
In its final years, there were just five trains in each direction daily, with only three in each direction running over the entire length of the line. Trains were mixed passenger and freight services hauled by 4-4-0 steam locomotives built by Beyer, Peacock and Company in the UK, with passenger cars converted from former Tobu electric multiple units.
History
The line first opened on 1 March 1924 by the Shimotsuke Electric Railway (下野電気鉄道, Shimotsuke Denki Tetsudō), as a 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) narrow gauge branch line which extended 9.9 km from Takatoku Station (later Shin-Takatoku Station) to Tenchō Station (天頂駅). The line was re-gauged to 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) and extended from Tenchō to Yaita on the Tōhoku Main Line, with the 23.5 km line completed in October 1929.
On 1 May 1943, the line was bought by the Tobu Railway, becoming the Yaita Line.
The line closed on 30 June 1959.