Monday 11 November 2013

DeHa 2410: the Oldest Survivor on the Keio Line

DeHa 2410 of the EMU Keio 2400 series is exhibited in Keio Rail Land
 
The eldest exhibited train in Keio Rail Land is the EMU 2400 series (see the top photo). It is the Keio's first control car with 6 doors. A total of 10 units were manufactured in 1941 by Nippon Sharyo. Unit number DeHa 2410 is the only survivor of the 2400 series. The other units have already been scrapped.

The car length is 14.1m, which was classified as a medium-sized car on the line. The frontal mask is slightly convex, and has three large windows. A single rounded light is attached on the top of the front. The light green colored riveted body with window sills, window headers and external guttering downpipes tell us the long history of this train. You can see the large "K.T.R." logo, which stands for the ex-company name, Keio-Teito Railway on the side of the body (see the following picture).

DeHa 2410 was once planned to be scrapped in 1963, when the voltage of the Keio Line was raised from 650 to 1,500 volts. But, it survived, and continued to be operated on the track. It was, then, retired from the track in 1969, when Automatic Train Stop (ATS) system was introduced to the Keio Line.

DeHa 2410 was preserved in front of Tama-dobutsu-koen Station in 1969. Then it was moved to Keio Training Center near Hirayama-joshi-koen Station. In 2013, DeHa 2410 came back to Tama-dobutsu-koen Station again to be exhibited in Keio Rail Land.

DeHa 2410, eventually, found its final home.

 
Side view of DeHa 2410 of the EMU Keio 2400 series