On June 27 and 28, in a joint operation with JR East, Yagan Railway, and Aizu Railway, Tobu Railway operated their C11 steam locomotive from Shimo-Imaichi in Nikko, to Aizu Wakamatsu and back. It was operated as the SL Taiju Tsuchizu, headlined by Tobu C11-325, a Yo8000 caboose, 3 passenger cars, and Tobu DE10-1109. With the exception of a few tests runs over select days in June 2026 in preparation, this was the first time a steam engine has operated north of Aizu-Taijimi to Aizu Wakamatsu in 52 years.
Obviously, this steam excursion pales in comparison to the Big Boy tour in the US. However, for the Japanese tetsudo, this was a pretty big deal, and man did the crowds reflect that. One of the most sought after vantagepoints for this train was the curved bridge near Yosonkoen Station. Here an overlook about the size of a small city bus was cleared weeks ago to allow a clear vantage point for the incoming special.
Having scouted this vantage point a week in advance on an unrelated visit, getting here early was required. I arrived the day of, about 6.5 hours ahead of time to claim my spot, but by then, around 25-30 or so railfans have already set up cameras and tripods. Damn, I was late! I claimed the scraps and waited...and waited...and waited. The number grew in size to north of 100 railfans by the time the train came through. It was, let's say, interesting being in a crowd like that. Still, at around 1500, the steam engine and train came into view, whistling over the bridge with waiving passengers and crew returning greetings.
Was it worth it? Current me says, not really (it was a long day), but I'm sure in about 50 years when I look back, and this rail line is abandoned because of Japan's shrinking population, and the steam engine is a museum piece in some park in Nikko, I'll say yeah, it was.
Aizu Railway
Tobu C11-325 (SL Taiju Tsuchizu)
Shimogo, Fukushima Pref., Japan
