New Japanese Hardware

[kiha40]

Hello guys,

I just thought I'd put this out for general consumption: http://www.kotsu.co.jp/magazine/train/n ... index.html . You can see new Japanese stuff (primarily EMUs) on a monthly basis. At the bottom of the page you can make out the links to previous months. If anyone's dying to know what something says, post in this thread and I can give it a shot. No guarantees though, heheh!

[Komachi]

Yeah, my Japanese ain't what it used to be...

Although, in regards to your posting, I think I'll add an enthusiastic, "YATTA!!!! NIHON NO DENSHA NO SHASHIN DESU!!!!!!!!" ("HURRAY!!!! PICTURES OF JAPANESE TRAINS!!!!!!!!")


Just to note to those unfamiliar with Japanese, those links at the bottom are basically the year and months and the word "news" after it.


Now, for my comments and observations...


That Class 189 trainset (third set of photos down, aslo featured (second set) in the March, 2006 news bulliten) (the white train with orange and red stripes) mimics the styling of the trains from the 60's (I'd post a link to a picture of one of the older trainsets, but it appears that the links to one of my sources no longer work, will do some digging and see if I can find some for you guys). Intersting how the Japanese have a way to work "sentimentality" into the "new" (like if EMD made a modern version of the E or F series locomotives). Although, another series type, the 485 (shown in the second article in the July, 2005 issue) has the word "Renewal" next to it. I can't tell if that's the name of the train, if they're rehabing the older trains for longer service life, or if they're new trains that have similar styling to the older trains.

There's something in the January 2006 report about the class 201 EMUs (primarily used around Tokyo on the various JR commuter lines). I've been reading here and there that JR is trying to reduce it's electricty consumption and has been phasing in newer, more energy efficent equipment, as about 73% of it's energy consumption is from their trains. From what I understand, the 201s have been retired (as they are 30-50 years old) and can only assume the blurb was in regards to that.

Something interesting, in the October 2005 report, was the car with the seats adorned with "Anpanman" (a Japanese childrens' animated character) and pink interior paint (last set of photos at the bottom of the report). Somehow I don't think Amtrak would be willing to go to such extremes for children and families by decorating the interiors of cars with either Disney or Warner Brothers "themes."

There are a few blurbs here and there of the new Tohoku Shinkansen (such as pictured in the second news brief for April, 2006), but I'm not sure if I really like the "platypus" noses they've put on these trains. They're aerodynamic, and are supposed to drastically reduce the "tunnel boom" effect when the trains enter and exit tunnels... but they just don't have the "charm" of the old Zero Class "bullet noses." If you go to Dave Fossett's "Byun Byun Shinkansen" page, and go to the info. about prototype shinkansen ( http://www.h2.dion.ne.jp/~dajf/byunbyun/ptypes.htm ), he has a blurb about the Series E954 trains that will become the new Tohoku Shinkansen trainsets, starting in about 2013.

There's also a few mentions, as in the Novenber 2005 report, of the new container EMUs that I talked about in the "Self Propelled Railcar" Forum ( http://railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7017 ) in a few of the news briefs. An interesting concept to say the least.


A nice find. I'm definately putting it in my "favorites."

Kiha40, kono moderator wa ureshii ni neteimasu! Domo arigato gozaimasu! ("Kiha40, this moderator has become very happy! Thank you, very much!")

[kiha40]

Komachi,

Between the 'renewal' efforts of the various JR companies and the basic similarity in the appearances of the 189 series http://tinyurl.com/eo5la and the 485 series http://tinyurl.com/gen7e , it's a bit confusing. If you scroll to the bottom of the 485 page there, you can see some that have nicely updated fronts. This is the revision that derailed in December of last year somewhere up north (I think it was the day before Christmas) due to high winds. And, as you can see, the 381 series also looks the same http://tinyurl.com/kov8n . How the 189 and 485 differ I don't know, but compared to those two, the 381's trucks have a longer wheelbase and smaller diameter wheels (at least it looks that way).

JR East, as rich as they are from the Tokyo area commuter lines, is always buying new gear, it seems. As far as the 201s are concerned (the orange beasts of the Chuo Line between Tokyo and Takao/Oku-tama/Ome[?]), they're being phased out for the E233 http://tielu.at.webry.info/200510/article_5.html . Those will go into service starting in December. The manufacturers better step it up--I don't think I've seen a picture of a real one yet (although if you look around the net, you can find a mock-up photo based on the new, in service, very similar E531 http://tinyurl.com/jt7e5 used on the Joban Line).

As a side note, JR East is also phasing out, entirely in the Tokyo area, I think, the venerable, ubiquitous 113/115 series http://tinyurl.com/hr5xp . They'll be replaced by more of those tremendously uninteresting, non-descript looking things they're already using on the Yamanote and elsewhere (E231, I think).

Here in Kansai, less wealthy JR West is replacing old 201s used for local service on the Tokaido Mainline between Kyoto and Nishi-Akashi with the new 321 http://tinyurl.com/hg6v4 series. Although, I don't think those 201s are getting scrapped; they're joining ancient 103s http://tinyurl.com/jo27m on the Osaka Loop, and possibly on the Kansai Mainline local service between JR Namba and Oji (maybe as far as Nara) as well as on the Nara Line local service between Kyoto and Joyo/Nara. This guy is hardcore about the 103: http://www.angel.ne.jp/~103hp/index.htm .