Tōbu Yaita Line

The Tōbu Yaita Line was a 23.5 km railway line in Japan operated by Tobu Railway, which connected on the Tōbu Kinugawa Line to on the Tōhoku Main Line in Tochigi Prefecture. The line opened on 1 March 1924, and closed on 30 June 1959.

Operations

In its final years, there were just five trains in each direction daily, with only three in each direction running over the entire length of the line. Trains were mixed passenger and freight services hauled by 4-4-0 steam locomotives built by Beyer, Peacock & Company in England, with passenger cars converted from former Tobu electric multiple units.

The line first opened on 1 March 1924 by the Shimotsuke Electric Railway, as a narrow gauge branch line which extended 9.9 km from Takatoku Station to Tenchō Station. The line was re-gauged to and extended from Tenchō to Yaita on the Tōhoku Main Line, with the 23.5 km line completed in October 1929.
On 1 May 1943, the line was bought by the Tobu Railway, becoming the Yaita Line.
The line closed on 30 June 1959.