Otaru City Museum Electric Locomotive "ED76 Type 509" displays Facility

This is an displays facility that tells the story of the great achievement of the electric locomotive "ED76 No. 509," which pushed through Hokkaido's heavy snowfall to bring goods and people into operation.
The electric locomotive ED76, which was active in the early days of the electrification of the Hokkaido National Railways, had to be dismantled for removal and disposal because polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are of concern for their environmental impact, were used in the vehicle parts. As dismantling was planned, in order to leave this valuable cultural heritage for future generations, it was decided to preserve the head part and create displays facility.
Similar head displays are also held at railway museums around the country, but this facility aims to allow visitors to experience the "power" of the vehicle, which cannot be fully conveyed by the head alone, by recreating the lost fuselage at full size on outdoor-use graphic panels. The shape, color, and size of the ED76 convey to visitors the great achievement and value that the vehicle brought to Hokkaido.

The challenge was to develop displays facilities that would convey the historical value of the electric locomotive "ED76 No. 509," of which only the front section has been preserved, to future generations.

We designed and constructed an exhibition facility that reproduces the dismantled fuselage except for the front section on a full-scale graphic panel, powerfully conveying to visitors the historical value of the "ED76 No. 509," which supported the movement of goods and construction in Hokkaido, a region prone to heavy displays.