The Kosaka Line opened as the Hanaoka Mining Railway, a 762mm gauge steam line; in 1914 the line was bought by the Kosaka Railway and it was regauged to 1067mm in 1951. The line served the Kosaka Coal Mine, wich was closed in 1989.

In the same year, the company was re-organized and renamed “Kosaka Smelting and Refining” with the line transporting sulfuric acid to the Kosaka Foundry, were it was smelted and refined (hence the name of the company).

The service on the line was suspended in 2008, due to deterioration of the infrastructure (in 2004, a fully-loaded train even derailed, luckily, without damage or injuries) and due to the introduction of newer, more stringent regulations on sulphuric acid transportation, wich Kosaka was unable to cope with, the railway definitively and officially closed in 2009.

Passengers services (mostly for the plant workers) were also operated on the line with a few diesel railcars until 1994, when such services were discontinued due to little ridership, and were replaced with busses.

Trivia:

Due to the steep gradients between Kosaka and Shinegai, double and even triple-headed trains were very common.

Diesel Locomotives

Icons made by Curoka