April 1985 trip to Japan

[beakaboy]

I have posted some photos on JR500's trip to Japan topic and these are some other shots. I would be interested on any info the group can share such as maybe station near Disneyland and class of subway unit. Also the type of steamer at Atami station. old photos scanned , so not that sharp.

 

Edited January 11, 2016 by beakaboy

[JR 500系]

Oh wow!

 

Thank you for sharing!

 

Please keep this thread alive, I am very much interested to see the photos from over 20 years ago! Look at that Zero series! Nostalgic! You mean they actually have a speedometer in the train to show you the current speed? I didn't know that... interesting!

 

Also the fashion of the people from the 80s are truly interesting ~ Look at the clothes and hairstyles!  :)

[railsquid]

This one:

 

 

is the Tozai line, not sure which station but with a bit of detective work it might be possible to find out. Photo taken from the Nakano-bound platform. Train arriving there is a Tokyo Metro 5000 series, and on the other platform is a JNR 103-1200 or 301 series, not sure which.

 

301 in model form:

Edited January 12, 2016 by railsquid

[beakaboy]

I need to get myself a Zero series Shinkansen and the Tokyo Metro 5000 series for nostalgia reasons. Unfortunately I never took any other railway photos while on our 10 day trip  . :cussing: Film for my camera was not cheap and I was also worried about the X-rays at the airports damaging my film. No really!  the real reason was my wife not wanting lots of railway photos in our holiday snaps. I used to listen to her then. Lol! We travelled on a lot of trains as well !!!!! Several Shinkansen (one had a digital readout for speed) as well as a unit to Nikko National park among others. I must see if I can find some old brochures for photos of the trains.

Interesting that the guide commented that the Shinkansen were speed limited to 70mph through stations and also that they had 5 layers of glass (18.4mm) for windows. I did write some things down back then.

My wife is the middle person on the platform in the bottom photo. Ginger Ninja very popular in Japan.Many people were curious.

Edited January 12, 2016 by beakaboy

[Ochanomizu]

Hello,

 

In those days I was a student in highschool.  I remember riding shinkansen and checking the speed.  It was located in the dining car.  I was so excited to be on shinkansen in those days.  It was like an airplane.  I remember checking the speed and 200km/h was almost incomprehensible to a 17 year old.

 

Thanks for the memories.

[200系]

 

0系 Kodama formation S93, one of the forty-six twelve car S/Sk formations in service in early 1985. The car pictured is 21-87, a 0系0番台 car which was delivered in 1971 and finally retired in 1989.

 

Formation S93, like all 0系 formations in that time period was composed of a cars from a number of different formations. Eight out of twelve cars (cars 1~4, 8 and 10~12) where originally delivered as part of twelve car kodama formation S47 in late November of 1971, the last of the S formations to be delivered. In 1972, with the opening of the first section of the Sanyō shinkansen, all S formations where extended from twelve to sixteen car formations, and re-designated into the K (kodama) formations (a similar movement was done for the H formations as well, though they would go through further revisions in 1974 and 1976 as well). Formation S47 became formation K47 with the addition of two additional 25形 cars and two 26形 cars, of which one 25形 (25-749) and two 26形 (26-549 and 26-788) would later become cars 7 till 9 of formation S93. Formation K47 remained unchanged until August of 1983 when the original 35形 buffet car was replaced by a new 37形 buffet car (the 35形 had been superseded by the 37形 in 1976 when the 0系1000番台 was introduced, the final 35形 batch was delivered in 1973) of the final 0系 sub-types, the 0系2000番台.

 

Due to operational changes and the financial situation at that time, J.N.R. decided to restructure the sixteen car kodama formations back into twelve car formations, and thus the S/SK formations where born in 1984. Sixteen car formation K47 became twelve car formations, and thus the S/SK formations where born in 1984. Sixteen car formation K47 became twelve car formation S93 in 1984. In this guise she served for nearly two years, until nine of her remaining eleven 0系0番台 cars where replaced by 0系2000番台 cars of the final 0系 production batch (Batch 38, this formation actually received the last 0系 cars ever built) in April 1986, after which formation S93 became formation Sk93 (whether a formation was identified as S or Sk depended on the sub types used, formations using mainly 0番台 cars where designated as S formations, while those that where mainly composed of 1000番台 cars or 2000番台 end cars where designated as Sk formations, the same system was present for the hikari formations), with the Surplus 0番台 cars scattered among other formations, or simply scrapped.

 

 

 

 

Interesting that the guide commented that the Shinkansen were speed limited to 70mph through stations and also that they had 5 layers of glass (18.4mm) for windows. I did write some things down back then.

 

Those are probably tidbits lost in translation, Shinkansen passing a station would do so at their scheduled speed (in 1985 that would've been 210km/h, as most services are scheduled at 10km/h less then max operational speed, most passing trains would pass their stations at a max of 200km/h).

 

This can be seen in the following clip (0系 Hikari service sailing through Shin-Yokohama(when the fastest Hikari services still skipped this station)):

 

When a shinkansen service was scheduled for a stop though, the ATC (in this case the older ATC-1 system) speed limit would be reduced in steps from 210km/h to 120km/h and before entering the station/turnout approaching the station to 70km/h. Up until this point all braking was handled by the ATC system. Near the start of the platform was another ATC beacon, which would further reduce the speed until 30km/h (used to be 50km/h on the earliest batches of 0系) at which point the driver had to press a button on the ATC system to release the brake at 30km/h (if this button wasn't pressed the train would come to a full stop) and manually stop the train at the correct door marker.

 

As far as the five layers of glass go, the 0系 always had triple layered glass as far as I'm aware, never heard anything about five layers before. 

 

 

 

 

Train arriving there is a Tokyo Metro 5000 series, and on the other platform is a JNR 103-1200 or 301 series, not sure which.

 

Neither, the second train seems to be another 5000系 (one of the aluminium bodied examples of the class). It's an easy mistake to make, as the 5000系 was designed in around the same period as the 103系/301系 and they share some superficially similarities (the aluminium cars use some of the same manufacturing techniques as the 301系 did), but the 103系1000番台/1200番台/301系 has a different roof line (slightly rounder for the 103系/301系), different door windows (the 103系/301系 door windows are the same size as the door pocket windows, the pictured cars have smaller door windows which correspond to the 5000系 (both aluminium and stainless variants)) and the side windows are recessed too far into the body structure to be any of the two J.N.R. series. Another pointer are the ventilation scoops on the roof, they correspond perfectly with the 5000系 cars before they received AC units between 1989~1994.

 

So my guess goes to the 5000系:

 

 

 

[beakaboy]

Thanks Guys! some great information from everyone. Still wondering on the steamer at Atami station?

[westfalen]

I remember taking photos of the steam loco at Atami, I've just got to remember which trip it was and find the disc with the photos.

[Kabutoni]

Nice pictures! The steamer at Atami is a former Atami Railway engine that ran from Atami to Odawara.

 

It was one of the few narrow gauge lines in Kanagawa and was in operation until 1923 when all tracks were destroyed by the Kanto Earthquake. Back then it was already slowly being retired before the earthquake, so there was little to no chance of rebuilding the line anyway.

 

The locomotive should still be there.

Edited January 12, 2016 by Toni Babelony

[beakaboy]

Thanks Toni. Its a nice looking engine and looks a little like an English Narrow Gauge loco with those cab windows. Any idea on where I could find photos of it in action?

[kvp]

I've only found this one:

http://www.city.atami.shizuoka.jp/story/meiji10.jpg

( http://www.city.atami.shizuoka.jp.t.tt.hp.transer.com/page.php?p_id=860 )

 

Nowdays:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Atami_railroad_No.7.jpg

 

[Kabutoni]

Thanks Toni. Its a nice looking engine and looks a little like an English Narrow Gauge loco with those cab windows. Any idea on where I could find photos of it in action?

Just via a Google search: https://www.google.co.jp/search?q=%E7%86%B1%E6%B5%B7%E9%89%84%E9%81%93&client=ms-android-google&prmd=mnsiv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwid8KGq7KPKAhWF5aYKHS65Dq4Q_AUICigE look for "熱海鉄道". There are even some blueprints of these engines online!

[beakaboy]

thanks Kvp and Toni. I am intrigued by the photos of people pushing little carriages along a track in Google link. Was this before they had an engine??Lol!

[Kabutoni]

Was this before they had an engine??Lol!

Yep. That's basically it.

[cteno4]

Like the Botchan in matsuama

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botchan_Ressha

 

Jeff

[JR 500系]

Wow... Sander san you truly amazes me... How did you know which train it is just from the photo of its front car?  :)  Amazing!

 

 

 the real reason was my wife not wanting lots of railway photos in our holiday snaps. I used to listen to her then. Lol!

 

Haha ~ Mine too, but luckily we are in the digitial age now so I got a lot more freedom to take the photos of the trains ~ But she will be like: 'Why did you take that photo? They are the same trains anyway...' I'll get ready to bombard her with the facts and details but she'll say first: "It's ok, forget I asked'. Now where's the eikben?  :)

[Kabutoni]

Haha ~ Mine too, but luckily we are in the digitial age now so I got a lot more freedom to take the photos of the trains ~ But she will be like: 'Why did you take that photo? They are the same trains anyway...' I'll get ready to bombard her with the facts and details but she'll say first: "It's ok, forget I asked'. Now where's the eikben? :)

The story of my life. Literally.

[Suica]

Nice photos, beakaboy!

Japan in the 80s must've been a whole different experience.

 

About that little SL at Atami, here are photos I took in 2013.

There's a little hot spring behind it, which is a nice touch, especially during winter.

[Ochanomizu]

Wow... Sander san you truly amazes me... How did you know which train it is just from the photo of its front car?  :)  Amazing!

 

Hello JR500,

 

Inside front window you will see the number S93.  Mr Sander must have a copy of the 1985 Railway Car Organization Table in order to look up the car number.  I certainly have a copy from 1984 or 1985 myself.  It is one way to ensure you've got your consist prototypically correct ... ;)

[beakaboy]

Nice photos, beakaboy!

Japan in the 80s must've been a whole different experience.

 

Thanks Suica and welcome . Things have changed alright according to what I read on this forum and elsewhere .I would love to return at some stage, although my wife is not keen. She knows that my addiction to Japanese trains would be amplified after another visit :love10:

Thanks for the photos of the steamer at Atami. good to know some things are the same!