Tsugaru Forest Railway

Tsugaru Forest Railway
Tsugaru Forest Railway starting point, Aomori lumberyard
Overview
Native name津軽森林鉄道
StatusDefunct
LocaleAomori Prefecture, Japan
Service
TypeForest railway
Operator(s)Forestry Agency (and predecessors)
History
Opened1908
Closed1960s–1970s
Technical
Track gaugeNarrow gauge, 762mm (2ft, 6in)

Tsugaru Forest Railway Tsugaru Shinrin Tetsudō (Japanese: 津軽森林鉄道) was a network of narrow-gauge forest railways in the Tsugaru region of Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The Tsugaru Forest Railway is recognized as Japan’s first formal, state-administered forest railway, distinguishing it from earlier private or ad hoc logging tramways. This forest railway was constructed primarily to transport timber from mountainous forest areas to processing and distribution points and was one of Japan’s earliest and longest government-operated forest railway systems.