Jomo Electric Railway Ogo Station Relay Tower

Ogo Station Relay Tower: A Living Witness to Early Showa Railway Electrification

Tucked within the grounds of Ogo Station on the Jomo Electric Railway line in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, stands a modest yet historically significant steel structure — the Ogo Station Relay Tower (大胡駅中継鉄塔). Built in 1928, this gate-shaped tower is one of four steel towers at the station that together form a remarkable ensemble of early Showa-era railway electrical infrastructure. Designated as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in 2007, the relay tower offers a rare, tangible connection to the dawn of electric railway technology in rural Japan.

What Is the Ogo Station Relay Tower?

The relay tower is a gate-shaped steel structure (門形鉄塔) standing 6.1 meters tall with a span of 4.9 meters between its legs. It was constructed using equal-angle steel members assembled in a Warren truss pattern with bolted connections. Long-stem insulators are mounted at three points each on the upper and lower beams, serving the essential function of relaying bus lines and branching connections to the adjacent lightning protection tower.

The tower is positioned perpendicular to the lightning tower (避雷鉄塔) and works as part of an integrated electrical distribution system that receives high-voltage alternating current from the power company, converts it to 1,500-volt direct current at the substation, and delivers it to the overhead wires that power the trains.

Why Was It Designated as a Cultural Property?

The relay tower was registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property on July 31, 2007, alongside the station building, train shed, substation, and three other steel towers — the receiving tower, lightning tower, and anchor tower. Together, these structures represent an exceptionally well-preserved collection of original railway electrical facilities dating back to the opening of the Jomo Electric Railway in 1928.

What makes the Ogo Station complex especially valuable is that the entire power supply chain — from receiving external electricity to converting and distributing it to the trains — survives in its original form, still functioning nearly a century after construction. The relay tower, with its distinctive Warren truss design and original insulator hardware, is an irreplaceable physical record of early Showa-period electrical engineering and industrial construction techniques.

The Ogo Station Heritage Complex

The relay tower is best understood as part of the broader Ogo Station heritage complex, which includes seven registered cultural properties in total:

• Station Building (駅舎): A wooden structure dating from 1928, retaining its original layout with waiting room, ticket office, and staff quarters.
• Train Shed (電車庫): A wooden, board-clad building with a truss roof structure that still houses historic rolling stock, including the beloved DeHa 101 and 104 electric cars and the DeKi 3021 electric locomotive.
• Substation (変電所): A reinforced concrete building — reportedly the only such structure in the former Seta District when it was built — that converts 60,000-volt AC power to 1,500-volt DC for the railway.
• Receiving Tower (受電鉄塔): A chair-shaped tower 8.5 meters tall, formed by connecting two gate-shaped towers, receiving high-voltage power from the electric company.
• Lightning Tower (避雷鉄塔): A 5.0-meter gate tower supporting branch lines to the lightning arresters.
• Relay Tower (中継鉄塔): The subject of this article, at 6.1 meters tall, relaying bus lines and lightning tower connections.
• Anchor Tower (引留鉄塔): Supporting the termination of overhead power lines.

This comprehensive collection has also been recognized as a Gunma Prefecture Modern Heritage Site and received the Japan Society of Civil Engineers Heritage Award in 2007.

Highlights and What to See

For railway enthusiasts and industrial heritage lovers, the Ogo Station complex offers a wealth of highlights. The relay tower itself showcases the elegant simplicity of early steel construction — the clean geometric lines of the Warren truss pattern, the ceramic long-stem insulators that have survived decades of service, and the carefully bolted connections that reflect the precision of 1920s engineering.

The adjacent Ogo Train Depot is open for guided visits and houses rare historic rolling stock. The DeHa 101, originally built in the early Showa period, still makes special runs on the line, offering visitors the extraordinary experience of riding a nearly century-old electric train through the Gunma countryside with views of Mount Akagi. The Jomo Electric Railway holds appreciation events at the depot typically in January, April, and around Railway Day in October, providing excellent opportunities to see the facilities up close.

The entire station area retains a nostalgic atmosphere that transports visitors back to the early days of Japanese regional railways. The wooden station building, the industrial concrete substation, and the steel towers standing together create a remarkably complete picture of how a rural Japanese railway station operated at the dawn of the electric age.

The Jomo Electric Railway: A Brief History

The Jomo Electric Railway was established in the 1920s to connect Maebashi and Kiryu via the southern foothills of Mount Akagi, a region that had been largely bypassed by the national railway network. The line opened on November 10, 1928, running 25.4 kilometers between Chuo-Maebashi and Nishi-Kiryu stations. Ogo Station, situated roughly at the midpoint of the line, was designated as the main vehicle maintenance base and the location of the line's primary power substation.

The railway was originally planned with ambitious extensions to Honjo and beyond, but financial difficulties prevented these expansions. Despite the challenges, the Jomo Electric Railway has operated continuously for nearly a century and remains an important part of daily life for communities along the southern slopes of Mount Akagi. Today, Ogo Station serves as the gateway to the Akagi area and continues to function as the railway's sole vehicle depot.

Nearby Attractions

A visit to the Ogo Station relay tower can be combined with other interesting destinations in the area. The Michi-no-Eki Green Flower Ranch Ogo, a popular roadside station located nearby, features a striking 22-meter Dutch-style windmill, a petting zoo with ponies and sheep, local produce markets, and barbecue facilities set against the panoramic backdrop of Mount Akagi. Ogo Castle Ruins, a hilltop fortification from the Sengoku period, offers pleasant walking trails and views over the surrounding countryside.

For those wishing to explore further along the Jomo Line, the western terminus at Nishi-Kiryu Station features another registered cultural property — a charming early Showa Western-style station building with distinctive mortar relief decorations. The Akagi Onsen hot spring area is also accessible from Ogo Station by taxi or shuttle, offering a relaxing complement to a day of heritage exploration.