Japan's 1937 gasoline-turned-diesel train car to be important cultural property

The train car KiHa 07 41 (KiHa 42055) is seen at the Kyushu Railway History Museum in Kitakyushu. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

A train car built in 1937 has been recommended for designation as one of the nation's important cultural properties.

Displayed at the Kyushu Railway History Museum in Kitakyushu, the 19-meter-long passenger train car bears lettering and numbers indicating it as unit 41 of the diesel-powered KiHa 07 series. The original unit number when it was powered by gasoline was KiHa 42055.

The body, interior design and mechanical transmission have been preserved as they were. The train car was evaluated as an important record of the technological development of diesel cars in Japan's railway history.

A passenger bus operated in the early Showa era is seen at the SCMAGLEV and Railway Park in Nagoya. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

In the wake of Friday's recommendation by the Council for Cultural Affairs, the train will soon be designated an important cultural property by the education, culture, sports, science and technology minister.

Regarding other properties that show the development of transportation, the council also recommended that a passenger bus from the early Showa era (1926-89) operated by the then railway ministry be designated as an important cultural property.

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