Join the discussion on the following article:
Japanese, British railways museums to form alliance
What a fascinating idea. Despite the diverse cultures of Britain and Japan railroad technology is the same in both countries. This sharing will emphasize both what cultures have in common and how they are different. More countries should do this.
These two countries could write a book on the how-to of railway preservation.
Great idea with lots of potential opportunities and benefits. I hope other museums might consider alliances such as this.
Steve Mitchell, Yard Goat Images
This is good news. I have been fortunate to go to both museums. Living in the UK, one is only 2 hours away on the train.The Museum in Omiya is a 20 minute ride on the Shinkansen North out of Tokyo followed by a short ride on a rather odd local comuter train.
The museum in Omiya also houses locomotive No. 1 which was british built. It is a fantastic museum and I have never seen it without people queuing up to go inside. It has minature trains that children and even bigger children can drive on a fully signalled track. The Museum in York has a driving car unit from an 0 series Shinkansen further emphasising the link between the two museums.
I had no idea about these historic links. So, is Japan’s left-hand running due to British influence? Or is it just a coincidence?