Passenger Train, Steam, Japan, Stage 1

History: The development of the Japanese railway network commenced shortly after the country opened its borders to formal international contact after a shogunate-imposed isolation of about 250 years, and was initiated (along with many other changes to Japanese society at the time) so that Japan could achieve rapid modernization.

Though rail transport had been known through limited foreign contact such as with Dutch traders in Dejima, Nagasaki, the impact of model railroads brought by foreigners such as Yevfimiy Putyatin and Matthew Calbraith Perry was huge. The British also demonstrated a steam locomotive in Nagasaki. Saga Domain, a Japanese feudal domain (han), made a working model and planned to construct a line. Bodies such as the Satsuma Domain and the Tokugawa shogunate reviewed railway construction from Edo to Kyoto via an inland route, but a line did not come to reality before the Meiji Restoration.

Railroad/Company: This set of items is comprised of more than one name. Please look at the component items for details on the specific roadnames and/or manufacturers.