Railroad enthusiasts across Japan are pooling resources, making financial contributions via the internet to preserve abandoned rail facilities and support financially struggling local railways.
Some of these sites have turned into tourist destinations where railway buffs gather for exchange events, with locals hoping the trend will help revitalize regional economies.
A human-powered railway turntable can still be found in the town of Shibetsu at the former Nemuroshibetsu terminal station of Hokkaido Railway Co.'s Shibetsu Line, which was scrapped in 1989, and a C11-type steam locomotive is on display near a community center several hundred meters away from the site. Both the railway turntable and the steam engine showed signs of decay due to aging. Last year a local construction company and others launched a society to preserve the turntable, aimed at creating new tourist attractions that include the device and rolling stock.