The figure stood alone on the platform of Shimbashi station

Figure standing alone on platform — Platform of Shimbashi Station

I was waiting for a train at Shimbashi station. When I looked at another platform, there was a person waiting for a train there, too. The train must have just left. There was only one figure on the platform. Beyond the figure, there was a square, the SL Square. Shimbashi is considered to be the birthplace of Japan's railroads, and the steam locomotive "C11 class," installed in 1972 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the opening of the railroad, is on display.

The first year that Japanese railroads were in operation was 1872, when they started running from Shimbashi to Yokohama (today's Sakuragicho Station). However, the Shimbashi station where the line started was not the Shimbashi station on the Yamanote Line that exists today. It was the old Shimbashi station located at Shiodome Sio-site that actually started running. The original Shimbashi Station was used exclusively for freight in 1914, and the station itself was discontinued in 1986. The station was then called Karasumori Station, and has since taken on the name Shimbashi Station.

Knowing this history, I am a bit bewildered every time I hear that Shimbashi is the birthplace of the railroad. However, the C11 locomotive on display is a steam locomotive of a type that has never actually run in this area, so the location and the body of the locomotive are different from the actual locomotive, which only adds to my bewilderment.

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