Nankai 50000 series DARTH VADER

[kvp]

 

Light rail generally had shorter individual car lengths and narrower loading gauge. These light rail vehicles tend not to have the capacity of the larger rail vehicles.

I think you just found a good definition.

 

Is Kumamoto Denki Tetsudo light rail, 2 car consists?

Is Keihan Sakamoto-Ishiyama Line light rail, 2 car consists?

Is Kiha 220 light rail, they run as 1 and 2 car consists only?

Is Toei Arakawa Line light rail, 1 car consist?

Good questions. Imho:

-Kumamoto : heavy rail, urban equipment, country branchline capacity

-Keihan Sakamoto-Ishiyama: yes, typical light rail

-Kiha 220: heavy rail, country branchline cars

-Toei Arakawa: tram (or rather streetcar) operation

and

-Tokyu Setagaya: tram (but on the light rail side)

-Fukui Railway: tram (with light rail capacity, even though their new trains are just 3 section low floor trams)

[katoftw]

I already knew the answers to my question.  I picked them to prove a point between light and heavy rail.  But you cam up with the same answers as I would have.

 

I had to google Fukui Railway.  Wasn't sure of it.  But then relized that you use it to access the Dinosaur Museum close by Katsuyama.  Echizen Railway and Fukui Railway I'll have to do some research on.

[ToniBabelony]

Why not name thinhs as the company or the local law consider things to be? It's really not a matter of opinion, but a matter of legal correctness.

[katoftw]

I think most of us are down with that notion Toni.

[Densha]

Definition and origin of the term light rail

 

"Light rail" is basically a marketing term invented in Europe in the 90s. During the 90s and (mainly early) 2000s it was used to define light trains that were used on local lines to save fuel costs on lines with few passengers. This train for example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alstom_Coradia_LINT Or here is a project in the US using the same sort of trains: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprinter_%28light_rail%29 These vehicles are pretty much heavy rail, but they are light rail.

 

During the 2000s the term "light rail" was mainly used for (sub)urban tram/semi-metro projects such as the RegioTram Kassel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kassel_RegioTram); a vehicle inbetween a tram and a train running on traditional tram lines in Kassel and on heavy rail lines between heavy freight trains and ICE high speed trains when leaving the city. During the late 2000s the term "light rail" was most often used around the world to define tram lines running on lanes separated from road traffic with either low floor or high floor vehicles.

 

Nowadays the term "light rail" became pretty much old-fashioned in Europe and it is not used much anymore. Due to safety regulations heavy rail trains became heavy again, vehicles running on both tram and heavy rail lines are now called "tram-trains" and light rail trams, well they are simply called trams again as they always have been before.

 

In the past you had local railways and interurbans. The term "light rail" was basically a new marketing term for light train vehicles when (1) light-weight trains were needed to sustain local train lines with a low amount of passengers by saving fuel costs and (2) (sub)urban rail transport became popular again in Europe and eventually around the world during the 90s/2000s.

 

Extra: The term "LRT" (Light Rail Transit) usually defines metro vehicles and lines, or at least very closely resembling traditional metro systems. The Manila LRT line 1 for example has a metro infrastructure but the vehicles are basically high-floor trams. (The Manila LRT line 1 is actually based on the metro section of the Charleroi premetro system including the BN trams.)

 

 

Interurbans in Japan and elsewhere

 

Unlike in most other countries around the world where cars and buses replaced interurbans around the 1960s, many traditional interurban lines in Japan like the Keihan Ishiyama-Sakamoto line have withstood time and are still running as they always have been since their interurban days. Many Japanese interurbans were also upgraded to commuter lines such as the Keihan Keishin line or actually many other Japanese heavy-rail private railway lines.

 

To show the difference with another country: the last interurban lines in the Netherlands were closed during the 60s, except for one interurban line which was rebuilt into a traditional tram line in the 60s to save costs (tram infrastructure and vehicles are cheaper to maintain than interurbans) and is still running happily with articulated trams in a 10-minute frequency. (here a video from the Dutch line; traditional interurban section between 19:50 and 25:00)

 

 

Conclusion

 

The term "light rail" is a term originating from the 90s and has many different definitions. But actually all these concepts (okay maybe except the tram-train) have been around for literally centuries: during the 19th century light-weight steam trains were very popular on local lines with little traffic in addition to heavy mainline steam trains, (sub)urban rail transport was simply called interurban, and metro and tram systems were simply called metro and tram.

 

It's all a matter of how you name it. And yes some local railway/tram/interurban/metro/light rail/LRT companies prefer to use a certain term for their own network, presumably mostly for marketing purposes, even if it doesn't make sense when you look at the general definition of the word used or even at how the local law considers things to be.

Edited June 21, 2015 by Densha

[velotrain]

Wiki says, "The term light rail was coined in 1972 by the U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA; the precursor to the Federal Transit Administration) to describe new streetcar transformations that were taking place in Europe and the United States."

[velotrain]

 

I would think that light rail might be associated with the weight of the required rail to support a train passenger or other.

 

That doesn't really work, as in some situations LRVs are used on track originally built for heavier trains.

 

 

One example is the Riverside MBTA line here in Boston.

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Line_%22D%22_Branch

 

 

 

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==>  On a different note, does anyone know the minimum radius for the Rapit?

 

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[Sir Handy Booboo]

HI

 

I would like to scratch build the DARTH VADER train in "O" scale, as I can't buy it anywhere.

 

Does anyone know of any of the specs or dimensions of this train.

 

Thanks SHB

 

Nankai 50000 series (Darth Vader Train)

 

Kanasi Express

 

https://www.google.ca/search?q=darth+vader+train+japan&es_sm=93&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CCMQsARqFQoTCOu5lu-C-sgCFRYqiAodSNcB3Q&biw=1242&bih=585#tbm=isch&q=Nankai+50000

Edited November 5, 2015 by cteno4

[cteno4]

Merged with the previous post on the subject. The Rapi:t (that's it's name) is not a tram/light rail in the Japanese sense, it's a full sized and weight 6 car EMU passenger train. Same goes in Europe with this sort of EMU train. Previous discussion went thru this.

 

Hope someone will have some links to some drawings and dimensions. Might be something you may need to get off an N scale model, it has many odd profiles and shapes that will need some extensive drawings to document them all well for you. Some service bureaus are doing 3D scans pretty cheaply these days as well.

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

Edited November 6, 2015 by cteno4

[bikkuri bahn]

There was an identical thread earlier this year.  Basically you are not going to find detailed plans of more recent rolling stock anywhere for free on the internet.  If you are really serious about building this, you are going to have to invest in buying magazines and/or books that do have the plans, though these will typically be just rudimentary dimensional plans (i.e. no details of underbody equipment etc.).  As I have posted elsewhere, there are plans for this type in a Japan Railfan magazine- April 1994 (issue#396).  You may be able to get your hands on one using a proxy service for Yahoo Auctions.

[cteno4]

This is going to be a really tough one to model as well with all the curves, rounded sides, and oval Windows. This would lend itself to 3D printing, but at O scale would be pretty costly! Guess you could do just the front bulb section as a 3D print and do the sides as laser cuts and bend on interior frames.

 

Jeff

[Sir Handy Booboo]

For those that are interested here is what I have gathered so far

 

Technical

Rolling stock 50000 series EMUs

Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)

Electrification 1,500 V DC, overhead line

Operating speed 110 km/h (70 mph)

 

Specifications

Car body construction Steel

Train length 125.6 m (412 ft 1 in)

Width 2,850 mm (9 ft 4 in)

Height 4,140 mm (13 ft 7 in)

Doors Plug doors: 1 per car

Maximum speed 110 km/h (70 mph) (Nankai Line)

120 km/h (75 mph) (Airport Line)

Weight 219 t (216 long tons; 241 short tons)

Traction system Variable-frequency

Acceleration 2.5 km/(h·s) (1.6 mph/s)

Deceleration 3.7 km/(h·s) (2.3 mph/s) (service)

4.0 km/(h·s) (2.5 mph/s) (emergency)

Electric system(s) 1,500 V DC, Overhead line

Current collection method Pantograph

Bogies Bolsterless SS-137/SS-037

Braking system(s) Regenerative brake, electronically controlled pneumatic brakes

Safety system(s) ATS

Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)

 

Star Wars: The Force Awakens livery (November 2015 - May 2016)[edit]

From 21 November 2015, a 50000 series set is scheduled to be reliveried in a special Star Wars: The Force Awakens black livery to mark the nationwide release of the film Star Wars: The Force Awakens in December.[4] The reliveried trainset is scheduled to operate until 8 May 2016.[4]

 

Cars 2 and 5 are each fitted with two cross-arm type pantographs.[1]

Cars 5 and 6 have "Super Seat" accommodation.[1]

Cars 3 and 5 have toilets.[1]

Interior[edit]

All seats in standard and super-seat cars (Nos 5 and 6) are reserved and no smoking. Cars 3 and 5 feature a service counter and vending machines.

[katoftw]

For the low cost of one of your kidneys, you can get a brass ho version:-

 

http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?gcode=RAIL-21797&page=top%2Fsearch%2Flist%3Fs_cate2%3D9604%24s_preorderitem%3D1%24pagemax%3D40%24getcnt%3D0%24pagecnt%3D1

 

Wowzers!!!

Edited July 8, 2016 by katoftw

[Jcarlton]

Brass model. That's to be expected these days.  I'm not sure if it's made to order or the usual less than 100 production run.  The fun part is that reserves can go on for years waiting for enough reservations to get production. But if you want a 50000 in HO that's what you have to do and I expect that a Chines made version wouldn't be that much cheaper. 

[JR 500系]

The 'with interior' sparks a little interest, though it's more of curious to see what type of interiors are included ~