Takachiho TR-300 series

The Takachiho TR-300 series is a suburban sightseeing diesel multiple unit operated by the Takachiho Railway from July 1991 to March 2003.
==History==
The Takachiho Railway was opened in 1989 initially with seven cars; five TR-100 series cars for general use and two TR-200 series cars for sightseeing. With more people plying the line the amount of sightseers increased so a dedicated train for sightseeing was designed; this resulted in the TR-300 series cars, of which two cars were produced by Niigata Tekkō.
The cars were used by the Takachiho Railway until March 2003, when they were replaced by the TR-400 series cars intended for the same purpose; their last run occured on 14 March 2003. The cars were struck from the roster in September 2003, with ownership transferred to Kagura Shuzo, a brewery based in Kyushu. Both cars are currently statically preserved back to back at an unfinished portion of the Takachiho Line near the headquarters of Kagura Shuzo; the cars were originally painted red but were repainted blue in 2018.
==Design==
The TR-300 series feature a streamlined design based on the Akita Nairiku Jūkan AN-8900 series cars. The cars feature a raked front end with a large windshield allowing passengers to see the tracks ahead. Each car has one cab end and can run independently of each other, which is how they often ran. No toilets are present onboard the cars. The cars feature a VCR system, television sets and a LaserDisc karaoke system.
The cars when built were originally painted in Takachiho's corporate colors of lavender, pink and hot pink. In preservation both cars were initially painted red, and then repainted sky blue in 2018; both cars never ran with these paintschemes while in service on the Takachiho Railway.
==Specifications==
Construction is of steel. The trains use DMF13HS prime movers producing 250 PS (247 hp).
Category:Diesel trainsets
Category:Takachiho trains
Category:Niigata Tekkō locomotives