Interest
Real Steam Engine Gets Mugen Train Makeover
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
All this talk about Tanjirō and box-office smashing ticket sales is overlooking the real hero of Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train – the actual train. It's time to change that.
The titular train that appears in the Demon Slayer movie is, as any real fan will tell you, a JGR Class 8620 Mogul steam locomotive. Japan manufactured the style of train during the Taishō era and a total of 672 were built during that time. A fully functioning 8620 is now rare in Japan, with only two domestically-produced 8620 trains still preserved: the Kyoto Railway Museum's 8630 and the SL Hitoyoshi in Kumamoto. Of those two, only the SL Hitoyoshi is still fully-functioning and serving passengers.
The SL Hitoyoshi was briefly taken off the tracks this year due to the heavy rains in July, but it's back and ready for its close-up as the Mugen Train. The Kyushu Railway Company dubbed the train the "SL Kimetsu no Yaiba" and replaced its number plate with the kanji reading "Mugen" for its themed maiden trip from Kumamoto to Hakata on November 1. Approximately 700 onlookers crowded Kumamoto Station for a chance to look at the steam engine.
In addition to selling original goods on board, souvenirs will be given to passengers dressed in Taisho era style such as hakama and kimono. Tickets to ride the train went on sale last month and are required to board. Upcoming excursions are set for November 3, 15, 21, and 23.
Anime train collaborations are hardly a rarity–wrapping a train in anime characters is par for the course whether it's virtual or real-life, a shinkansen or typical passenger train.
Source: Kyodo News
