Tuesday 23 April 2024

Serving Quadruple Purposes at One Railway Crossing

Container train pulled by the electric locomotive Class JR Freight EH500, "Kintaro" 

This is the sequel of my trip to Fukushima City last month. I would like to show you my favorite spot in the city.

Yashikishita Railway Crossing is a famous train viewing spot among rail-fans. We can observe four kinds of trains there. I didn't look up the train schedule on purpose, and waited for trains with excitement. Ten minutes later, a red-colored locomotive jumped into my eyes. That was JR Freight's electric locomotive Class EH 500. Cool! The EH500, also known as Kintaro, was launched in 1997. It's an AC (20,000V, 50 and 60Hz) - DC (1,500V) triple mode locomotive. Being coupled in two units, the UIC indication of a wheel arrangement is (Bo-Bo)+(Bo-Bo). It has eight 565kW induction motors with a variable frequency drive control system. Pulling cargo container wagons, its maximum speed is 110 kilometers per hour. Five minutes later, a green colored train approached me. That was JR East's EMU 701 series. Dazzling! The 701 series is a standard commuter train in the Tohoku area. It was commissioned in 1993. Different from the trains in Tokyo, the 701 series is an AC train. The coloring of the 701 series varies by areas. In the Fukushima area, it has green, red and white-colored stripes.

I'm running short of space in this post. You may ask, "What are the two other trains passing through this railway crossing?" Please don't worry! I've already introduced them in my previous posts. They're the Fukushima Kotsu and the Abukuma Express trains.

EMU JR East 701 series approaches Yashikishita Railway Crossing