Long Time No See! Odakyu Romance Car VSE

EMU Odakyu 50000 series, "VSE", travels on the local train's track

I live close to the Odakyu line, and take it almost every day. Even I seldom see two kinds of Odakyu trains with that in mind. One is KuYa 31, which is the inspection car. The other one is the EMU 50000 series, whose nickname is Romance Car "VSE". Odakyu doesn't release timetables of these trains, so whether I can meet them or not depends on my luck.

I recently came across VSE at Chitose-Funabashi station by chance. VSE is one of Odakyu's limited express trains (Romance Cars). It was commissioned in 2005, and achieved a high level of popularity among tourists to Hakone, a popular mountain resort. Its cockpit is upstairs, so that passengers can enjoy a front view through the wide front windows. VSE was terminated in its regular service on March 11th last year. It's currently operated only as a chartered or special train.

VSE suddenly approached me, so I was very surprised. Taking out my camera hastily, I shot it immediately before it passed in front of me. Good job! Only one thing was that VSE traveled on the local train's track, not on the express trains' track. The section around Chitose-Funabashi station is a double-double track. The westbound trains travel on one of these tracks. For taking pictures, travelling on the express train's track was better, because the whole train could be contained properly within an image. Did I have an enviable problem?

Long time no see VSE! I'm relieved you look fine.

EMU Odakyu 50000 series, "VSE", passes through Chitose-Funabashi station

Official website, "Thanks VSE" (in Japanese):

https://www.odakyu.jp/thanks/vse/

Precious Train and Bird on the Tobu Line

EMU Tobu 500 series, "Revaty", travels on the Tobu line backed by Tokyo Skytree

It's late-February already. How quickly time flies! Spring is just around the corner. I recently visited an urban area for strolling. My destination was Sumida Ward. It's famous for Tokyo Skytree and its related sightseeing spots. Tokyo Skytree is a TV and radio broadcasting tower located on the Tobu line. At 634 meters high, the Skytree is known as the world's tallest freestanding broadcasting tower. I have already been to the observation deck, so, I enjoyed walking about the surrounding area this time.

When I was walking along Kita-Jikken River near the Skytree, Tobu's precious train, EMU 500 series, "Revaty", was approaching on schedule. "Revaty" is a limited express train connecting Tokyo Metropolis and the Nikko sightseeing area in Tochigi Prefecture. "Revaty" is a coined word, synthesized from "variety" and "liberty". This train is basically composed of 3 cars, and easy to couple and decouple each trainset. As a result, Tobu can make "variable" train operations "liberally".

After taking a photo of Revaty backed by Tokyo Skytree, I stopped by at a park nearby. A bird with blue and orange-colored plumage then approached me. That was a kingfisher. I was surprised that the precious wild bird inhabits in an urban area like this. I didn't have a telephoto lens at that time, but managed to take the kingfisher picture by a standard lens. Bird shooting was completely different from that of trains, which are operated in accordance with timetables. I definitely prefer shooting trains to shooting birds.

A kingfisher perches on a tree in a park near Tobu Skytree station

Official information about the Tobu limited express train "Revaty":

https://www.tobu.co.jp/en/express_info/express/revaty.html

EMU ex-1600 Series Celebrating the 1600th Post

Set D02 of the EMU Yoro Railway 600 (ex-Kintetsu 1600)series (October, 2016)

Thank you for visiting Tokyo Railway Labyrinth. This is the 1600th post since 2011. I hope that readers all over the world will continue enjoying Japanese railways and their related topics in this blog. In commemoration of the "1600th" post, I'm going to show you a train on the Yoro Railway with the number "1600" in its name.

Before that, I'd like to introduce Yoro Railway a little bit. It's a local railway company about 400 kilometers west of Tokyo. Connecting Kuwana and Ibi, its route length is 57.5 kilometers. The track is single and electrified. The route was spun off from Kintetsu in 2007. Different from the most Kintetsu lines, the gauge size of Yoro Railway is 1,067 millimeters.

Now, let's get down to the main topic. The EMU 600 series is a major fleet of Yoro Railway. You may say to me, "Wait! This is the 1600th post, so, the vehicle number should be "1600" not "600", shouldn't it?" In a sense, you're right. In reality, the former name of the EMU "600" series was the EMU Kintetsu "1600" series. It was renamed in 1992, when these cars were moved from the other Kintetsu lines. These cars are called "Senroku" among rail-fans. Senroku was a nickname of the Kintetsu 1600 series. It means "thousand (sen) and six hundreds (roku)" in Japanese. I like the ring of this word.

I hope that you will understand the history of the EMU ex-1600 series celebrating the 1600th post. Does that sound good?

Set D01 of the EMU Yoro Railway 600  (ex-Kintetsu 1600) series (October, 2016)

Unit 123: Brother of the Nameless Tramcar

Tramcar unit 123 of the Sendai City Tram 100 series

After uploading my post about "the nameless tramcar" in Seibu-en Amusement Park, I remembered that his "brother" survives in Sendai City.

Unit 123 of the Sendai City Tram MoHa 100 series is one of the precious exhibits in Sendai Tram Museum. He is a little brother of the nameless tramcar in Seibu-en Amusement Park. It was built in 1952 by Niigata Tekko-sho. The MoHa 100 series is a middle-sized (11.9-meter-long) double-axle bogie car, and accommodates up to 88 passengers. It has two 38 kW direct current series motors, and its rated speed is 21 kilometers per hour. The traditional nose-suspension drive system is adopted. Unit 123 was specifically active in the post-WWII reconstruction period. I specifically like the front windows, which are asymmetrical. Unit 123 and the nameless tramcar in Seibu-en Amusement Park... they really look alike, don't they?

Incidentally, unit 123 had a total of 23 brothers. After the abolition of Sendai City Tram in 1976, 5 of them were transferred to Nagasaki Electric Tramway on Kyushu Island to spend their second life. Although they already had been retired from the track in Nagasaki as well, all of them are surviving as exhibits in a park, museums and a kindergarten to spend their third life. As you know, unit 117 is displayed in Seibu-en Amusement Park as the nameless tramcar. Unit 124 is preserved in a kindergarten of Nagasaki Prefecture. More surprisingly, unit 121 is exhibited in Sydney Tramway Museum, Australia under the name of "Nagasaki 1054". That's awesome!

Side view of unit 123

Official website, the Sydney Tramway Museum:

https://www.sydneytramwaymuseum.com.au/about/the-trams-of-the-sydney-tramway-museum/

Official picture of "Nagasaki 1054":

https://www.sydneytramwaymuseum.com.au/tramway/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/IMG_1694-scaled.jpeg

Imaginary Town in the Showa Period

Unit 1051 of the tramcar ex-Nagasaki Electric Tramway 1050 series

After enjoying the Seibu-Yamaguchi line, I got off at Seibu-en-yuenchi (Seibu-en Amusement Park) station on the line. I suddenly encountered a retro town in front of the station. What was that?

The answer is an attraction in the amusement park. It's an imaginary town that makes visitors feel like they're traveling into the Showa period. Showa is one of the titles of the Japanese calendar system. It refers to the period between 1926 and 1989, when Emperor Hirohito was on the throne. I found a nostalgic tramcar in front of the imaginary town. What was that?

The answer is the electric car, unit 1051 of the ex-Nagasaki Electric Tramway 1050 series. It was originally commissioned in 1952 as unit 117 of the Sendai City Tram MoHa 80 series (later called the MoHa 100 series). After the abolition of Sendai City Tram in 1976, it was transferred to Nagasaki Electric Tramway, and renamed as unit 1051. It was eventually retired from the track in 2019, and moved to Seibu-en Amusement Park in 2021 as an attraction.

I was a little disappointed that unit 1051 had its body colors changed. There wasn't the name of the operator and the unit number on the body. There was also no description about the history of this tramcar. The destination and the name of the tram stop are all fictional... but it can't be helped. This is the imaginary town that makes visitors feel the nostalgic atmosphere of the Showa period. The nameless tramcar is better than nothing.

Retro town that makes visitors the nostalgic atmosphere of the Showa period

The Seibu-Yamaguchi Line: Update

Set V3 of the EMU Seibu 8500 series travels on the Yamaguchi line 

I visited the Seibu-Yamaguchi line for the first time in nine years. What's new with this lovely transit?

Let me review the Seibu Yamaguchi line. It's a rubber-tyred automated guideway transit (AGT) system in the northern part of the Tokyo metropolitan area. The route was originally opened in 1950 as an attraction railway in an amusement park. It was then changed to the AGT line in 1985 under the Railway Business ACT. The route runs through Seibu Group's amusement facilities such as Seibu Dome (Seibu indoor baseball field) and Seibu-en Amusement Park. The total route length is 2.8 kilometers. The EMU 8500 series is the only model of trains operated on the line. It was commissioned in 1985, when the AGT line was opened. 3 sets (set V1, V2 and V3) in total were built by Niigata Tekko. The maximum operating speed is 50 kilometers per hour.

Let's head to the main topic. I found that the names of the stations had been changed. For example, Seibu-yuenchi (Seibu Amusement Park) station was renamed as Tama-ko (Lake Tama) to prevent confusion with the actual entrance location of the amusement park. I also found that the body colors of two trains had been changed. Set V2 had been changed from white to dark green; while set V3 had been modified to three tones of gray, beige and dark brown.

I couldn't find big news, but it's OK. The Yamaguchi line is working well, so I don't want it to change.

Set V2 of the EMU Seibu 8500 series arrives at Seibu-en-Yuenchi station

The Yamagata Shinkansen: Update

EMU JR East E3-1000 series looks "angry"

On January 26th, JR East Tohoku Headquarters made a press release announcing that a new model, the EMU E8 series, will be soon commissioned on the Yamagata shinkansen. The introduction of the new model onto Yamagata shinkansen was for the first time in 24 years. The E8 series is planned to set the maximum speed of 300 kilometers per hour after one-year test runs.

Let me quickly review Yamagata shinkansen. It's a branch line of Tohoku shinkansen, and a kind of the mini-shinkansens. The route was originally constructed as a conventional line with narrow gauge (1067 millimeters); however, the gauge was changed to the shinkansen size (1435 millimeters) later. The shinkansen trains can enter the mini-shinkansen directly from standard shinkansen lines. The only difference between full and mini shinkansens is the size of the train bodies. The length of a full-sized shinkansen body is 25 meters. In contrast, the length of the mini-shinkansen is 20 meters.

Taking this opportunity, I'm showing the pictures of the existing Yamagata shinkansen trains, the EMU E3 series. Dou you know that there're two kinds of the E3 series? One is the E3-1000 series launched in 1999. The other is the E3-2000 series launched in 2008. Can you see the difference at a glance? The answer is their front lights. The E3-1000 series has "slanted eyes", which look angry. In contrast, the E3-2000 series looks smiling. As a trainspotter, it's fun for me to perceive the fine difference between the E3-1000 and E3-2000 series trains.

EMU JR East E3-2000 series looks "smiling"

Official information about the EMU JR East E8 series (in Japanese):

https://www.jreast.co.jp/press/2022/sendai/20230126_s01.pdf

Fishing Port in Funabashi City

EMU JR East E233-5000 series travels on the Keiyo line

After visiting Numazu City in Shizuoka Prefecture, I remembered a similar city near Tokyo Metropolis.

Funabashi is the second most populated city in Chiba Prefecture, which is about 25 kilometers east of Tokyo. As of January, 2023, the population is about 647,000. Many residents go to offices and schools in Tokyo Metropolis. At first glance, Funabashi is just an ordinary commuter city, but that's not all. Funabashi has a fishing port on the coast of Tokyo Bay. Funabashi fishery started in the early 17th century as a supply source of seafoods to Tokugawa Shogunate, which was established in Edo (present Tokyo) in 1603. A majority of the Tokyo Bay coastal area has changed to reclaimed land, but the offshore Funabashi area is still kept as a rich fishing ground. Suzuki (Japanese sea bass) is a well-known local fish. Seaweed farming is also famous among people. Visitors can enjoy fresh seafood there.

To get to Funabashi City, JR East Keiyo line is convenient. The Keiyo line was constructed on the reclaimed land in the Tokyo Bay area, and opened in 1990. Connecting Tokyo and Soga, the total operating length is 43 kilometers. It takes 30 minutes from the underground platform of Tokyo station to Minami-Funabashi, the nearest station to the fishing port. A red colored 10-car train, the EMU JR East E233-5000 series, is the major fleet on the line. It was commissioned in 2010 to replace the old models such as the 201, 205-5000 and the 209-500 series.

Funabashi Fishing Port

Winter Short Trip to Shizuoka Prefecture

Set 2 of the EMU Izu-Hakone 7000 series travels on the Sunzu line

It's the coldest season of the year in Japan. The daytime maximum temperature is lower than 10 degrees Celsius, but it's clear every day in the regions here on the Pacific Ocean. I recently traveled in the eastern part of Shizuoka Prefecture with my family. We headed to Numazu City, which is famous for its fishing port. Visitors can enjoy Japanese cuisine made with fresh seafood there. First of all, let's take a meal.

We then visited a landmark of the port named "View-O". It's a gigantic water gate to protect the city from tsunamis. At 40 meters wide, 9.3 meters tall and weighing 406 tons, View-O is one of the largest water gates in Japan. It will be automatically shut within five minutes of a large earthquake occurring. Visitors can enjoy a 360-degree view at the top of the gate.

I can't be written off here as this is a railway blog. On our way home, I stopped by Mishima City alone to take train pictures of the EMU Izu-Hakone Railway 7000 series. It's a direct current commuter train on the Sunzu line. A total of 2 sets (6 cars) were built by Tokyu Sharyo in 1991 and 1992. The 7000 series has 20-meter-long stainless-steel bodies. The electric control system is rheostatic with a dynamic brake. I'm very fond of the 7000 series, as it has reversible cross seats (forward looking cross seats). Sitting in the comfortable seat, I could fully enjoy the atmosphere of the holiday tour.

Water gate of Numazu Port, "View-O"