[Bonus: Postcard included] RM Re-Library 19 Unknown Commercial Passenger Cars - Heated Cars and Special Service Cars -

RM Re-Library is a reprint of two or three volumes of masterpieces from the long history of RM LIBRARY , which has already exceeded 280 issues. The 19th volume in the series is a combined edition of RM Library Volume 44 , "All about JNR heating cars" (by Seiichi Okada) and Volume 95 , "Special duty cars - children of the occupation, a short-lived history" (by Akira Fujii and Goro Fujita).

The need for heating cars arose with the progress of railway electrification. When hauling with a steam locomotive, steam heating was possible using the steam generated by the locomotive, but since electric locomotives do not have this heat source, they had no choice but to use heating cars equipped with boilers just for heating, which were only coupled to the trains during the winter. Their heyday was before the war, but after the war the large Manu 34 class appeared and continued to play an impressive role until around 1970. By that time, passenger trains were generally heated using steam generators ( SG ) on the locomotive or electric heating systems ( EG ).

On the other hand, the special-purpose cars are passenger cars that were created in 1949 by recommendation of the Civil Transportation Service ( CTS ) of the Allied Powers, for purposes such as domestic travel for the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers and foreign dignitaries. They were well-equipped for the time, and many of the cars were notable for having enclosed observation rooms, which were unprecedented in the Japanese National Railways. However, just three years later in 1952 , the Allied forces withdrew when the Japan-US Peace Treaty came into effect, and these special-purpose cars, having lost their main purpose, were restored to general commercial vehicles or converted into other business passenger cars. Because their period as special-purpose cars was so short, and because it was a time of post-war chaos, they have become something of a legend, known as a phantom passenger car.

This book focuses on two types of passenger cars that were not used by ordinary passengers and disappeared long ago. The heating car section provides an explanation of all the models that were in service, the evolution of train heating systems, and the actual operation of heating cars. The special-purpose car section traces the history and subsequent changes of all 16 cars, and includes valuable information such as a complete list of special-purpose car operations.