The is a luxury

excursion train An excursion train is a chartered train run for a special event or purpose. Examples are trains to major sporting event, trains run for railfans or tourists, and special trains operated by the railway company for employees and prominent custo ...

operated by

Kyushu Railway Company The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle (JR Kyushu), Beetle hydrofoil service across th ...

(JR Kyushu) in Japan since 2015. It comprises a two-car diesel-powered railcar heavily modified to parody the style, especially in its window treatment, of passenger cars supplied to Japan by the

J. G. Brill Company The J. G. Brill Company manufactured streetcars,Young, Andrew D. (1997). ''Veteran & Vintage Transit'', p. 101. St. Louis: Archway Publishing. interurban coaches, motor buses, trolleybuses and railroad cars in the United States for nearl ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

in 1908.

Overview

Details of the train, named the "Sweet Train", were first announced in 2014; it entered service on 8 August 2015. The name derives from the sweets (desserts) served on board; meals are designed and created in a Japanese–French style by chef Yoshihiro Narisawa, owner of the

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

restaurant in Tokyo.

Design

The train consists of two modified former KiHa 47 series diesel railcars. It invokes the style and ambience of the luxurious, 12-wheel

Brill Brill may refer to: Places * Brielle (sometimes "Den Briel"), a town in the western Netherlands * Brill, Buckinghamshire, a village in England * Brill, Cornwall, a small village to the west of Constantine, Cornwall, UK * Brill, Wisconsin, an un ...

passenger cars purchased by the

Kyushu Railway was a company that built and operated railways in Kyushu, one of four main islands of Japan. Most of its lines came under the control of Japanese Government Railways following nationalization in 1907, and many are now operated by Kyushu Railway ...

in 1908. The purchase occurred just before the railway company was nationalized under the

Railway Nationalization Act The was a law enacted by the Diet of Japan that brought many of Japan's private railway lines under national control. The 22nd Diet passed the bill on March 27, 1906 and Emperor Meiji signed on March 30, 1906. The promulgation of the act on the ...

and the cars were never put into service. The rebuilding project was overseen by industrial designer

Eiji Mitooka is a Japanese industrial designer, illustrator, and managing director of the industrial design company . He also works as a design consultant for Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). Biography Mitooka graduated from Okayama Technical High Sch ...

, using scale models of the original coaches built by the railway modeller

Nobutaro Hara The is a model railway museum in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan, which opened on 10 July 2012. Managed by Mitsui Fudosan, the museum houses the extensive collection of model trains built and amassed by the Japanese model railway enthusiast . The museu ...

. Car 1 (KiRoShi 47 9176) and Car 2 (KiRoShi 47 3505), formerly numbered KiHa 47 176 and 47 1505, were previously operated by

JR Shikoku The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four Prefectures of Japan, prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Jap ...

until withdrawn from service in 2011. Rebuilding work was carried out at JR Kyushu's Kokura General Rolling Stock Centre.

Operations

Between July of one year to March of the following year, the train runs a daily round trip from

Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is the second-largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. , the city had an estimated population of 230,873 in 102,670 households, and a population density of 540 per ...

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

, mostly on weekends. Between April and September, the train runs a daily round trip between and . It was intended for the development of tourism and the local economy.

Notes

References

External links