#Anime on Rails: Rail Romanesque Episode 9

Welcome back to another installment of Anime on Rails, where we’ve entirely given up on getting these articles out within a week of the episode releasing. In this episode, we meet the first member of the Electric Railways duo and the “Mom” type character, Kakaa!

Dressed in a brown long-sleeve dress, a white blouse, and a brown and grey conductor’s hat, Kakaa is the Raillord for the Deha 101 electric railcar. She’s got a gentle, friendly personality and is the one who helps Suika familiarize herself with the town over the course of the show.  

The Deha 101 was an Electrical Multiple Unit (EMU) operated by the Chōshi Electric Railway.  Originally called the “BoDeha 101,” the car was built in 1939 as a wood and steel frame mounted on the bogies of the old Shimotsuke Electric Railway’s Deha 103. The “Bo” in the name designated it as a bogie car. A bogie is the frame that the wheels of a train are attached to. They allow trains to go around curves more easily and are used in almost every modern train car.

In 1950, the BoDeha 101 was renamed the Deha 101, and, two years later, was rebuilt with a new wood and steel body with air-operated sliding doors.  

Chōshi’s Deha 101 has a few more claims to fame than the average train, being both a royal transport and a television star. In 1939, a few months after starting service, Deha 101 transported Princess Shigeko to and from present-day Inuboh Station for a school outing. In 1985, the car was used substantially in the NHK historical drama Miotsukushi.

Contrary to her statement in the show, Kakaa is not “the only one who’s been around since the time when Jōshuu Electric Railway was founded.”  Ignoring the fact that the Jōshuu Electric Railway isn’t real, Chōshi Railway’s Deha 101 isn’t around anymore. In 1999, after several years of use as a storeroom, Deha 101 was taken out of service and dumped at Kasagami-Kurohae Station. In 2009, it was cut up into twenty-seven pieces and scrapped. Only the wheel sets were preserved, with one set kept at the Tobu Railway Museum. But for those who still want to see a full Deha 100 class in all its glory, there is a ray of hope! The Jomo Electric Railway in Gunma Prefecture has its own Deha 101, which is used for special events and charters.