A Giant Living Organism

As I delve deeper into the 'Tantetsuko' (the story of the modern industrial revolution involving coal mines, steel, the railways that transported them, and the ports that connected them to the world), I am reminded once again of how groundbreaking the development of railway infrastructure was at the time.
I am not a 'train enthusiast,' but perhaps it is in my DNA, as my grandfather was a stationmaster at stations like Yonago and Hoki-Daisen in Tottori, but I love traveling by train.
That is why I also love steam locomotives.

The other day, I went to a 'Michi-no-Eki' (roadside station) in Abira Town, Hokkaido (Oiwake), and was surprised.
Inside the roadside station grounds, there sits a D51—yes, a 'Degoichi'—right there in all its glory.
I am overwhelmed by the sheer size of the steam locomotive when seen up close, and its presence as an object—a massive, jet-black lump of iron. Despite being an industrial product, there is a strange warmth to it, visible in the parts that were 'assembled by human hands,' and it almost feels like a giant animal.

Back when Utashinai City flourished as a coal mining town, the coal that was mined must have been transported by steam locomotives as well. I have heard from elders that the snow along the tracks used to be pitch black from the soot. I also heard that the place name 'Yakeyama' (Burning Mountain) came about because sparks from train chimneys would set the trees on fire, causing forest fires.

From the Utashinai Line, through Sunagawa Station and Iwamizawa Station, to Otaru, or perhaps to Muroran...
'Coal' was transported by 'iron' and reached the 'port'.
On the gentle downhill slope from Oiwake to Muroran, a single D51 is said to have transported as much as 2,700 tons of coal.
The freight cars loaded with coal reportedly stretched for 600 meters. There must be many people who still remember the sight of those freight cars continuing on endlessly, no matter how long you watched them.
The long journey of Utashinai coal, which was transported from Muroran Port by ship to Honshu.

The steam locomotive, a symbol of modernization, is now becoming a nostalgic object that retains the tactile feel of 'handiwork' from a bygone era.
When you think about it, SLs can run without electricity, can't they? They are capable of moving 2,700 tons of cargo without any electricity.
Perhaps we have lost something great. I find myself thinking about that.

Utashinai City Community Revitalization Cooperation Squad, Yoko Ishii