Good-bye, the EMU Toei 10-000 Series

250F of the Toei 10-000 series arrives at Sakurajosui Station on the Keio Line

One popular group of trains is disappearing from the track in the Tokyo metropolitan area. That will soon become a memory to rail-fans. On August 12th, a 10-car train, set 25 of the EMU Toei (the Transportation Bureau of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government) 10-000 series, was retired from the Toei-Shinjuku and the Keio lines. As a result, only two sets of the 10-000 series remain on the track, but they will be also retired soon.

The EMU Toei 10-000 series was launched in 1971 for starting operations of the Toei-Shinjuku Line. So far, a total of 28 sets, 224 units have been built by Nippon Sharyo, Tokyu Sharyo, Kinki-Sharyo and so on. The outer design of the 10-000 series is the so-called "picture frame", which derived from the impression of its train "face".

There are several variations of the 10-000 series. Set 25 has the old design with corrugations on the side bodies and the round-shaped roof top ventilators. Fortunately, I could take pictures of set 25 only two days before its retirement. Much to my joy, special "Final Run" stickers were displayed on their bodies. Thank you for the final present.

After the retirement of set 25, two sets, namely set 27 and 28 are still narrowly operated on the Toei-Shinjuku Line and the Keio Line. I am going to report their last stage of operation in my next post, since those two sets of trains have a different design from that of set 25.

To be continued...

"Final Run" sticker of the EMU Toei 10-000 series 

Preserved Streetcar in the Shitamachi Area

Streetcar number 7506 of the 7500 series is preserved at ex-Ikenohata-shichikencho Stop

Shitamchi is the old town in Tokyo. It was formed during the Edo Period (1603 - 1868) in the downtown area, which was located east of Edo Castle (present Imperial Palace). Generally speaking, the people in the Shitamachi area are folksier than those of the other areas in Tokyo, and cherish their own tradition. Shitamachi was a town of the merchants. You can glimpse how the people in Shitamashi used to live, if you visit Shitamachi Museum near Nippori Station on the JR lines. This museum used to be a liquor shop until the Taisho Period (1912 - 1926).

For rail-fans, one of the must-see spots in the Shitamachi area is the ex-Ikenohata-shichikencho Stop, where an old streetcar, number 7506 of the Toei 7500 series is preserved. The 7500 series was launched in 1962 to replace the decrepit 8000 series. A total of 20 units had been manufactured by Nippon Sharyo and Niigata Tekko. It originally had a rounded body and a bow electric collector on the roof. The 7506 was, then, renovated into the more square-shaped body with a pantograph and two air conditioners on the roof in 1984. The new body is cream colored with light green stripes. The 7506 had two 60 kW direct current motors. After 46 years operation, the 7506 was retired from the track, and preserved at ex-Ikenohata-shichikencho Stop in the Shitamachi area.

The old streetcar and the traditional merchant's house... there are a lot of interesting spots in the Shitamachi area of Tokyo.

Shitamachi Museum

EMU 1000 Series for the 1,000th Post: Part 2

EMU Hankyu 1000 series arrives at Shukugawa Station on the Kobe-Main Line

Thank you for visiting my trainspotting website. This is the 1,001st post in my blog. Following my last post, I am going to show you the other train with the number "1000" in its name to commemorate over 1,000 posts.

Hankyu is one of the major private railway companies in the Kansai (Kobe, Osaka and Kyoto) area. It carries an average of two million passengers per day. The track gauge is 1,435 mm and the electric system is 1,500 V DC overhead. All the trains on the Hankyu line have been keeping up a tradition for a long time, which is known as the "Hankyu maroon" trains. This tradition refers to the color, which is like a chocolate or a dark brown shell of a sweet chestnut, and it is very popular among passengers for its elegance.

The EMU 1000 series is no exception. It also has maroon colored bodies made of aluminum alloy. The 1000 series was launched in 2013. It is a commuter train for the Kobe Main Line and the Takarazuka Line. So far, a total of 12 sets, 96 units, have been built by Hitachi. One set is composed of four motor cars and four trailers. The electric control system is IGBT-VVVF inverter (variable frequency drive) provided by Toshiba.

The concept of the 1000 series is "silent and highly energy efficient". In fact, the noise in the interior of motor cars has been decreased by 4 dB. The energy consumption has also been reduced by 50% compared with existing models.

EMU Hankyu 1000 series stands at Shukugawa Station on the Kobe-Main Line

Official information about the EMU Hankyu 1000 series (in Japanese):

http://www.hankyu.co.jp/hankyu1000/

EMU 1000 Series for the 1,000th Post

EMU Shizutetsu 1000 series travels on the Shizuoka-Shimizu Line

This is the 1,000th post in my trainspotting blog. It has been about six and a half years since I started writing. I know that many rail-fans have visited this site and sent comments to me, and I'm sorry if it has taken me a long time to respond or not respond to you, I have been very busy with my work.

In commemoration of the "1,000th" post, I am going to show the "1000" series electric car today. In Japan, many operators have "1000 series" trains, because this number is quite convenient. They are the Chiba Urban Monorail, Enoden, Fujikyu, Hakone-Tozan, Izu-Hakone, Keikyu, Keio, Odakyu, Tama Monorail, Tokyo Metro, Tokyo Monorail, Tokyu, Tsukuba Express, Yamaman, and the Yokohama New Transit in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Operators outside of Tokyo also have 1000 series trains such as Hanshin, JR Shikoku, Kobe Municipal Subway, Nagoya Rinkai Kosoku, and the Sendai Subway.

The 1000 series train on the Shizuoka Railway (Shizutetsu) may not be well known because Shizutetsu is a local private railway company in Shizuoka City, about 80 km west of Tokyo. Connecting Shin-Shizuoka and Shin-Shimizu, its operating length is only 11 km. The whole route is electrified double track.

The EMU Shizutetsu 1000 series is a stainless-steel commuter train launched in 1973. A total of 12 sets, 24 units, have been built so far by Tokyu Sharyo. Currently, the 1000 series are being replaced by the new model, the EMU A3000 series. According to the company, all the 1000 series will be retired by 2024.

EMU Shizutetsu 1000 series arrives at Shin-Shimizu Station

Yoro D04: Revival Colored Train

Set D04, "Senroku" of the EMU Yoro 600 series stands at Nishi-Oogaki Station 

As I posted before, Yoro Railway is a local private company in Mie and Gifu prefectures, about 390 km west of Tokyo. Yoro Railway was spun off from Kintetsu in 2007, but still belongs to the Kintetsu Group. Connecting Kuwana on the Kintetsu Line and Ibi Terminal, its route length is 57.5 km. The track is single and electrified. Its electric system is 1,500 V DC overhead. Different from the Kintetsu lines, its gauge size is 1,067 mm.

Most of the trains on the Yoro Railway have maroon colored bodies, but there are several exceptions. For instance, set D04 of the EMU 600 series has beige colored bodies with a blue colored stripe. This unique color design is a revival taken from that of Kintetsu's commuter trains in the late 1950's. Set D04 is also an ex-Kintetsu train. Its former name was the EMU 1600 series, called "Senroku" among rail-fans. I like the ring of this word. Senroku was a nickname of the Kintetsu 1600 series. It means thousand (sen) and six (roku) in Japanese.

In the meantime, let me explain about the specification of set D04 using the rest of the blog space. Set D04 was built by Kinki Sharyo. It is composed of two 20 meter-long cars (car number Mo 604 and Ku 504). Mo 604 is a motor car; while Ku 504 is a trailer. Their bogies and security equipment were recently changed from the original ones.

The D04 is my favorite on the Yoro Railway.

Set D01, standard color (left) and Set D04, revival color (right) of the EMU 600 series