- Kyūshū Railway
Infobox rail
railroad_name = Kyūshū Railway
logo_filename =
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system_
map_caption =
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image_caption = Class 4 (No. 11) made by Krauss in Germany
locale =Kyūshū ,Japan
start_year = 1889
end_year = 1907
predecessor_line =
successor_line = JR Kyushu
gauge = RailGauge|cape
length = 442.8 miles (1907)
hq_city = Moji, Fukuoka
website =nihongo|Kyūshū Railway|九州鉄道|Kyūshū Tetsudō was a company that built and operatedrailway s inKyūshū , one of four main islands ofJapan . Most of its lines are now operated byKyushu Railway Company following the nationalization in 1907 and the privatization in 1987.Outline
The company was incorporated on
August 15 ,1888 inFukuoka, Fukuoka .The first convert|22|mi|km of the railway, betweenHakata Station in Fukuoka and Chitosegawa temporary station in Asahi, Saga (nearKurume, Fukuoka ), opened onDecember 11 ,1889 as the first railway in Kyūshū. [cite web|url=http://www.k-rhm.jp/history.html|title=九州鉄道記念館 九州鉄道の歴史|author=Kyushu Railway History Museum|accessdate=2008-07-26]The company expanded the railway by means of both construction and acquisition of other companies. As of 1907, it operated convert|442.8|mi|km of railways in Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Ōita and Saga prefectures in northern Kyūshū.
On
July 1 ,1907 , the entire operation of the company was purchased by the government of Japan under theRailway Nationalization Act . Consequently the company was dissolved.List of lines
Rolling stock
A special coach made by German car manufacturer van der Zypen & Charlier was imported by Kyūshū Railway for VIP use in 1891. The coach was improved and designated as the imperial coach in 1902 for use by
Emperor Meiji when he visited an army drill in Kumamoto Prefecture. After the nationalization, the coach was called the imperial coach No. 2 but was not used again by the emperor. It was designated a nihongo|railway heritage|鉄道記念物|tetsudō kinenbutsu in 1963 and is now in exhibition at Railway Museum in Saitama. [cite web|url=http://www.railway-museum.jp/exhibition/169.html|title=鉄道博物館 展示資料紹介[初代2号御料車] |author=East Japan Railway Culture Foundation|accessdate=2008-07-26]Kyushu Railway History Museum
The [http://www.k-rhm.jp/ Kyushu Railway History Museum] was established near Mojikō Station in
Kitakyūshū in 2003. The red-brick main building of the museum is the former headquarters of Kyūshū Railway.References
*teishajo
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
