Kamaishi Line
Introduction The  is a  rural railway line in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Hanamaki Station in the city of Hanamaki with Kamaishi Station in the city of Kamaishi.
History Preserved Class 231 locomotive number 233The precursor to the line opened in 1915 as the , a  light railway extending 65.4 km from  to . The original plan was to link with Kamaishi Mine and Kamaishi Port, but at an altitude of 887m, the mountain pass at Sennintōge prevented immediate expansion eastward to Kamaishi. A ropeway conveyor was used to convey goods onward to Ōhashi, from where a 16 km 762mm (2'6") gauge mining railway (which operated between 1915 and 1965) provided the service to Kamaishi.The railway was nationalized in August 1936, and the line became the "Kamaishi Line". Motive power for the line was provided by six JNR Class 231 steam locomotives, built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in the USA, and numbered 231 to 236.Work started on upgrading and re-gauging the line, and the first section, the 31.2 km from Hanamaki to  was regauged to the standard Japanese track gauge of  and re-opened from September 1943.The mining railway between  and Kamaishi was also upgraded to  gauge by October 1944 to meet the urgent need for increased capacity to transport iron ore during the war period, and was named the . The entire 90.2 km line was finally completed between Hanamaki and Kamaishi in June 1950, opening to traffic on 10 October of that year.
Stations All stations are in Iwate Prefecture.NameDistance (km) Rapid ''Hamayuri'' Connections Location  花巻 0.0 ● Tōhoku Main Line Hanamaki  似内 3.5 ｜    新花巻 6.4 ● Tōhoku Shinkansen  小山田 8.3 ｜    土沢 12.7 ●   Tono  晴山 15.9 ｜    岩根橋 21.7 ｜    宮守 25.1 ●    柏木平 31.2 ｜    鱒沢 33.6 ▲    荒谷前 36.4 ｜    岩手二日町 39.3 ｜    綾織 41.1 ｜    遠野 46.0 ●    青笹 50.3 ｜    岩手上郷 53.8 ▲    平倉 56.6 ｜    足ヶ瀬 61.2 ｜    上有住 65.4 ｜   Sumita, Kesen District  陸中大橋 73.7 ｜   Kamaishi  洞泉 79.6 ｜    松倉 83.2 ▲    小佐野 86.5 ●    釜石 90.2 ● Sanriku Railway Rias Line===Closed stations===* , between Nitanai and Oyamada, 2.5 km east of Nitanai, opened 25 October 1913, closed 14 March 1985 when the nearby Shin-Hanamaki Station opened.
Rolling stock Route 283, August 2008KiHa 110 series DMU train at Morioka on a ''Hamayuri'' rapid service, March 2007Kamaishi Line services are operated using KiHa 110 series diesel trains.From 12 April 2014, a newly formed ''SL Ginga'' "Joyful Train" (excursion train) began operating on the line at weekends using the restored JNR Class C58 steam locomotive C58 239 together with a train of four modified former KiHa 141 series diesel cars purchased from JR Hokkaido (themselves rebuilt from earlier 50 series passenger coaches and made surplus to requirements following the electrification of the Sasshō Line). The diesel cars provide additional power to cope with the line's gradients. The coach design work was overseen by industrial designer Ken Okuyama.===Former rolling stock===Following the full opening of the line in 1950, passenger and freight services on the line were hauled by JNR Class D50 2-8-2 steam locomotives, necessary to negotiate the steep gradients on the line of up 25 ‰. A couple of JNR Class 8620 steam locomotives were also used for shunting at Kamaishi Station. JNR Class C58 2-6-2 steam locomotives were also used on both passenger and freight services running to and from the Yamada Line. Six JNR Class D51 2-8-2 steam locomotives were subsequently transferred to the line, displacing some of the earlier D50s, but steam haulage on the line was entirely replaced by diesel haulage from March 1967.File:JNR 8620 SteamLoco Triple header.jpg|Class 8620 steam locomotivesFile:Japanese-national-railways-C58-342-20121030.jpg|A preserved Class C58 steam locomotiveFile:JGR-D50SteamLocomotive.jpg|A Class D50 steam locomotiveFile:JNR-D51 745 in Jomo-kogen station.jpg|A preserved Class D51 steam locomotive
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