Watarase Keikoku Railway Godo Station Hazardous Goods Store

A Brick Store for Lamp Oil

The Watarase Keikoku Railway Godo Station Hazardous Goods Store (わたらせ渓谷鐵道神戸駅危険品庫) is a single-storey brick store for hazardous goods built in 1912 at Godo, Azuma-cho, Midori City, Gunma Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on November 2, 2009 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records a single-storey brick building with a slate roof and a building area of 3.3 square metres, registration number 10-0284.

The Ashio Copper Railway

According to Watarase Keikoku Railway, the Ashio copper mine, bought by Furukawa Ichibei in 1877, grew to produce half of Japan's copper, more than horses and a horse tramway could carry, so a railway was built from Kiryu to Ashio. The Ashio Railway opened to Omama in 1911, reached Ashio in December 1912 and was completed to Ashio Honzan in 1914. Nationalised in 1918 as the Ashio Line, it has been run by Watarase Keikoku Railway since 1989.

According to Watarase Keikoku Railway, Godo Station was named Godo with different characters in the Ashio Railway and national railway eras, to avoid confusion with Kobe Station in Hyogo, which is written the same way; it took the local place name when Watarase Keikoku Railway began operating in 1989. The Watarase Keikoku Railway Godo Station Hazardous Goods Store stands at the middle of the down platform (Agency for Cultural Affairs).

Value as a Registered Cultural Property

The Watarase Keikoku Railway Godo Station Hazardous Goods Store was registered as a structure contributing to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that it stands out among the mostly timber station buildings.

What to Look For

The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes a brick building 1.8 metres square with a lean-to roof of corrugated slate; the door faces the main line under a segmental arch, the front is laid in English bond and the sides and back in stretcher bond.

Watarase Keikoku Railway's pamphlet explains that the Watarase Keikoku Railway Godo Station Hazardous Goods Store was built of brick to keep flammable lamp oil safely. Every station once had one, but most were demolished after steam gave way to diesel; only those at Ashio, Aioi and Godo remain.

Visiting

The exterior of the Watarase Keikoku Railway Godo Station Hazardous Goods Store can be seen when using Godo Station. Watarase Keikoku Railway notes that all of its registered structures can be seen from the train.

Do not enter the tracks; view it from the train, the station or nearby roads. It is located at 878-2 Godo, Azuma-cho, Midori City, Gunma Prefecture, and other lots. Of the line's 38 registered structures, the 26 in Gunma and 11 in Tochigi are gathered on the group pages Watarase Keikoku Railway (Gunma Section) and Watarase Keikoku Railway (Tochigi Section).