[Bonus: Postcard included] RM Re-Library 21 Ueda Maruko Electric Railway

RM Re-Library is a series of reprints of two or three of the best volumes from the long history of RM LIBRARY , which has already published over 280 issues. The 21st volume in the series will be a reprint of "Ueda Maruko Electric Railway" (by Michikazu Miyata and Hisashi Morokawa) from RM Library volumes 73 and 74 .

Ueda Maruko Electric Railway is the name of the company that was formed when Maruko Railway and Ueda Electric Railway (formerly Ueda Onsen Electric Tramway) merged during the war. After the merger, the former Maruko Railway line became the Maruko Line of the company, connecting Oya on the Shinetsu Main Line to Maruko-cho. The first half of this book focuses on the vehicles and facilities of the line, which was abolished in 1969 .

The second half of this book focuses on the old Ueda Electric Railway lines, namely the Bessho Line, Sanada Soehi Line, and Nishi Maruko Line. The Bessho Line is still in operation today as the new Ueda Electric Railway Bessho Line, connecting Ueda on the Shinetsu Main Line to Bessho Onsen. The Sanada Soehi Line extended northeast from the same Ueda to Sanada and Soehi, and was abolished in 1972. The Nishi Maruko Line was a branch line connecting Shimonogo on the Bessho Line to Nishi Maruko, and was abolished in 1963 .

The four lines, each with a slightly different character, were home to attractive-looking trains and electric locomotives, and since there was almost no modernization that fans might consider unsophisticated, it is no exaggeration to say that in a sense, a utopia of local private railways was unfolding, like a model world.

This book reveals the complex history of the trains and also includes scenes of the facilities and areas along the line, providing a detailed portrayal of Ueda Maruko at its peak.