Description

During the Showa era, when railway transportation played a leading role in logistics, cargo transportation on railways was carried out by cargo cars connected to passenger trains, but as the volume of transportation increased, dedicated cargo trains were operated. As a result, express cargo trains were also operated on trunk lines such as the Tokaido/Sanyo Main Line and the Tohoku Main Line.
A considerable number of cargo passenger cars that were remodeled from old passenger cars were arranged, and a wide variety of cargo trains composed of steel mail cars, pallet passenger cars, and mail passenger cars were seen.
In 1968, pallet transport began with a new pallet truck that appeared as a trump card for the modernization of cargo transport.
At first glance, the pallet car looks like a freight car, but it was also incorporated into freight trains and express trains and was active all over the country.

Suyu 44 is a pallet handling mail car that appeared in Showa 46 (1971) and is a privately owned passenger car owned by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. Only the roof and end surface are blue, and 24 pallets can be stored in the pressed aluminum body. Due to the abolition of railroad mail transportation in 1986, all cars were scrapped the following year.