Illustrations of ‘Unseen’ Japanese Maintenance Trains that Only Work at Night (www.spoon-tamago.com)
from tedu@azorius.net to techpics@azorius.net on 13 Aug 2023 20:57
https://azorius.net/g/techpics/p/j9k4GkZ84WJtTg4Q2j-Illustrations-of-Unseen-Japanese-Maintenance-Tra

Japanese trains are renowned for their punctuality, comfort and overall reliability. But part of what makes them so reliable is an “unseen” workforce of overnight trains. These trains will be unfamiliar to the everyday rider because they only show themselves after regular service has ended for the day. Working through the wee hours of night and early morning, they perform maintenance work on tracks and electrical wires that ensures a smooth and uninterrupted ride during the day.

In a series of stunningly realistic illustrations, 74-year old artist Masami Onishi has recreated these trains in accurate detail. And if these illustrations seem nostalgic of familiar in any way, it’s probably because you’ve come across Japanese toy maker Tamiya’s vintage toy boxes. At the age of 21, Onishi began working for Japanese toy-maker Tamiya and became the company’s first in-house illustrator. For over 10 years he was responsible for creating all the illustrations of the toys on their boxes before becoming a freelance artist in 1978.

The illustrations of trains seen here are part of Project Toei, an initiative from the The Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation to highlight various aspects of the city’s incredible infrastructure.

#techpics #trains