[Bonus: Special postcard included] RM Re-Library 11 Ibaraki's local private railways that survived into the 21st century - Hitachi Electric Railway and Kashima Railway

"RM Re-Library" is a reprint of two or three volumes of past masterpieces from "RM LIBRARY", which has a long history of over 270 issues. The 11th volume of the series is a combined edition of two books with different themes, following the previous 10th volume.

The book is titled "Ibaraki's Local Private Railways that Survived into the 21st Century," and focuses on two relatively well-known railway companies, Hitachi Electric Railway and Kashima Railway. It first appeared in Volume 64 (by Sadao Shirato) and Volume 106 (by Sadao Shirato and Koichi Nakagawa) of the RM Library.

Hitachi Electric Railway originated as the Johoku Electric Railway, and opened the Omigawa to Johoku-Ota section before the war. It was electrified from the start, and two-axle pole cars were in use at first. After the war, the Omigawa to Ayukawa section was opened, and during the post-war reconstruction period, the line was known for running its famous four-car trains during rush hour, carrying factory commuters. The trains were a diverse and unique collection of trains, and the more you learn about them, the more interesting the railway becomes. In its final years, the trains were modernized by standardizing on the former Teito Rapid Transit 2000 series, but it was closed in March 2004.
Kashima Railway originated as the Kashima Sangu Railway, which aimed to transport visitors to Kashima Shrine in conjunction with the water transport of Lake Kasumigaura. However, in reality, the route was never put to practical use, and the railway was primarily dedicated to local transport along the line. During the war, it merged with the Tatsuzaki Railway (now the Kanto Railway Ryugasaki Line), and in 1965 merged with Kanto Railway to form the company's Hokota Line, before being separated again in 1979 to become the Kashima Railway. It was abolished in March 2007, but it is noteworthy that it had a wide variety of rolling stock, with modified Kiha 07 cars in use until the very end.
This book provides a thorough explanation of the history, facilities, and rolling stock of these two unique railways, using a wealth of primary sources. This is the definitive edition.