Jomo Electric Railway Aratogawa Bridge

About the Jomo Electric Railway Aratogawa Bridge

The Jomo Electric Railway Aratogawa Bridge (上毛電気鉄道荒砥川橋梁) is the steel railway bridge of 1928, using plate girders made in 1903, at Ogo Station on the Jomo Electric Railway in Maebashi City, Gunma Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on July 31, 2007.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records it as a four-span steel girder bridge 47 metres long, with three concrete piers and two abutments; registration number 10-0240, owned by the Jomo Electric Railway Co., Ltd. Eight structures at Ogo, the station building, depot, substation, four towers and the Aratogawa Bridge, were all registered on the same day (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Why It Was Registered

The Jomo Electric Railway Aratogawa Bridge was registered as a structure that contributes to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs values it as a rare working bridge using imported Meiji-era plate girders.

What to Look For

The Aratogawa Bridge carries the single track over the Arato River, which flows north to south east of Ogo Station. It consists of three 40-foot plate girders made in 1903 and one 20-foot girder of 1928, all deck type. The piers and abutments were built in 1947 with river improvement works (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

According to the Jomo Electric Railway, girders, piers and abutments were all swept away by Typhoon Kathleen in 1947, and the bridge was rebuilt in a month and a half. The span on the Maebashi side reuses an original girder, while the other three, made in Britain, came from the former national railways. The bridge is 47.3 metres long.

Visiting the Jomo Electric Railway Aratogawa Bridge

Ogo is a working station on the Jomo Electric Railway, so the station building can be seen when using the line. Tours of the Ogo train depot are by advance reservation only, lasting about 30 minutes between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. The fee is 500 yen for adults, 400 yen for junior and senior high school students and 300 yen for primary pupils, paid by buying an old-style card platform ticket. Book by telephone or email by 3:00 p.m. on a weekday three days before (Jomo Electric Railway).

The substation and towers are operational equipment, so view them from outside. Enquiries go to the Jomo Electric Railway general affairs department (027-231-3597, weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.).