After posting "Final Chapter of the Seibu 4000 series", I remembered that another type of the 4000 series is operated on the Seibu lines. That's the Seibu restaurant train, named "52 Seats of Happiness". I'm going to introduce to you this special train today.
52 Seats of Happiness was developed by Seibu Railway in 2016 celebrating their 100th anniversary. That's basically a sightseeing train like JR East's "Irodori" and "Resort Yamadori", but it also functions as a restaurant train. All seats are reserved and passengers can enjoy luxurious meals on the train. As its name suggests, the maximum capacity of the vehicle is only 52 passengers. 52 Seats of Happiness is operated between downtown Tokyo and Seibu-Chichibu on an irregular basis. It takes about two hours and a half each way. It's very slow because passengers need sufficient time for dining. It costs 100 USD per person on average with a meal. The vehicle for 52 Seats of Happiness is set 4009 of the EMU Seibu 4000 series. It's the 4-car train consisting of two passenger coaches, one kitchen car and one multi-purpose car. Technically, it's composed of two control trailers and two motorcars. Its specifications are rather old, because it's a renovated train originally built in 1989. For example, its electric control system is traditional rheostatic.
You may ask, "Have you ever been on 52 Seats of Happiness?" Unfortunately, not yet. It quickly fills up with reservations before I know... I'm always busy and... (so many excuses!).
