The is a replica of a

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 almos ...

two-car deluxe coach operated as an

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 customer ...

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 and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait ...

(JR Kyushu) in Japan since August 2015.

Overview

Details of the planned excursion train, provisionally called the "Sweets Train", were first announced in January 2014. The train entered service on 8 August 2015. The name "Sweets Train" derives from the sweets served on board. They are designed and created in a Japanese-French style by Chef Yoshihiro Narisawa, who owns an eponymous restaurant (NARISAWA) in Tokyo.

Design

The train is formed of two modified former

KiHa 47 The is a diesel multiple unit (DMU) train type introduced by Japanese National Railways (JNR) in 1977 and operated by all Japan Railways Group companies on suburban and rural services in Japan. Since 2017, the train type has seen use by other ...

diesel cars, renumbered KiRoShi 47 9176 (car 1) and KiRoShi 47 3505 (car 2), and is intended to replicate the design and ambience of the luxury

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 ...

coaches 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 company was nationalized under the

Railway Nationalization Act The brought many of Japan's private railway lines under national control. The 22nd Diet of Japan passed the bill on March 27, 1906 and Emperor Meiji signed on March 30, 1906. The promulgation of the act on the Official Gazette occurred the next d ...

) 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.

Operations

Between April and September, the train runs a daily round trip between and , and is intended for the revival of tourism and the local economy. The train runs a daily round trip from

Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...

between July of one year to March of the following year, mostly on weekends.

Individual car details

Car 1 (KiRoShi 47 9176)

This car was formerly numbered KiHa 47 176, and was 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 on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has it ...

until it was withdrawn from service on 30 April 2011. Rebuilding work was carried out at JR Kyushu's Kokura General Rolling Stock Centre, and included removal of the original toilet.

Car 2 (KiRoShi 47 3505)

This car was formerly numbered KiHa 47 1505, and was previously operated by JR Shikoku until it was withdrawn from service on 30 April 2011. Rebuilding work was carried out at JR Kyushu's Kokura General Rolling Stock Centre, and included addition of a new toilet.

References

External links

* {{JR Kyushu trains Kyushu Railway Company Named passenger trains of Japan Railway services introduced in 2015 2015 establishments in Japan J. G. Brill Company