Class 373 Eurostar for Scrap

[Claude_Dreyfus]

Found out today that the first Eurostar class 373 set is being dispatched for scrapping over the next day or so. The identity of the unit is still unknown, but with the new Velaro units coming on stream and 22 years of hard slog behind them, I am not surprised...but still a little saddened.

 

Slightly amended post as it transpires that SNCF chopped a couple of sets they had in their domestic fleet (ex 'North of London' sets) last year. So this marks the first of the Euro tunnel units to go.

 

Report here...

 

http://www.railmagazine.com/news/fleet/2016/09/20/eurostar-prepares-to-scrap-186mph-class-373s

 

I suppose the modern high speed train will have a limited lifespan - see the 300 series Shinkansen. Not quite the longevity of the 0 series, or the Class 43 HST (which is now over 40 years old and still very much with us).

 

It is not the end, the refurbished 373s will still be around for a while; but certainly the beginning of the end.

Edited September 21, 2016 by Claude_Dreyfus

[railsquid]

Pity, these standardized designs are getting boring...

 

Not quite the longevity of the 0 series, or the Class 43 HST (which is now over 40 years old and still very much with us).

 

Arguably the 0 series enjoyed longevity of design, but AFAIK individual units didn't last much longer than 20~25 years in front-line service either (someone more knowledgeable can no doubt fill in the details).

[Sacto1985]

I'm not surprised. After all, all that high-speed running does take its toll in terms of wear and tear on the trainset--If I remember correctly, Shinkansen trainsets are usually rated for around 15-20 years of service (I believe that's why the E4 Series Shinkansen will be phased out over the next few years).

[200系]

It has been a while since I visited this forum, so I might be a bit late with my response.

However, as this topic gives me a perfect excuse to slip into my 0-Kei sensei role, I'll do my best anyway.

 

 

 

Arguably the 0 series enjoyed longevity of design, but AFAIK individual units didn't last much longer than 20~25 years in front-line service either (someone more knowledgeable can no doubt fill in the details).

 

 

That's more or less correct, though the average life cycle of a 0 series car depended on the batch the car was originally produced in and the time period she served. 

 

the 0 series shinkansen entered production in 1964 while the final 0 series car left the factory in 1986. Production of the 0 series, like all larger J.N.R. series, was divided into production batches. In the 0 series case these were batches 1~38.

 

Batch 1~21 consisted of the 0 series 0 sub-type cars. A further split can be made between the batch 1~12 cars (1964~1971) and the later batch 13~21 cars (1972~1976)

 

Batch 22~29 were 0 series 1000 sub-type cars built between late 1976 and 1980, the 1000 sub-types introduced the smaller passenger windows as well as a few other changes. With the exception of three full 16 car formations (N97~N99, all part of batch 22) they were meant to replacement ageing batch 1~5 cars.

 

Batch 30~38 were 0 series 2000 sub-type cars, the last 0 series cars built between 1981 and 1986. They introduced, among other things, a modified interior, slightly larger windows (based on the 200 series design) and modified cab windows (sliding windows, based again on the 200 series) for the type 21 and type 22 cars. Meant to replace batch 6~12 cars.

 

However the retirement and scrapping of the first 0 series car began before before the final batches were even planned.

 

As the first shinkansen type built, it could be expected that the 0 series would suffer it's share of issues related to ageing. In the mid 1970's it became clear that the first 12 batches of 0 series 0 sub-type cars were showing signs of advanced ageing. Thanks the contracting and expanding caused by pressure differential when entering the many tunnels on the Tōkaidō and Sanyō shinkansen, the oldest batches of 0 series cars were starting to show advanced signs of metal fatigue, to the point that it became increasingly difficult for the oldest cars to maintain their pressure tightness.

J.N.R. made the decision to retire the oldest batches of 0 series cars in 1975, and for this purpose a specialized dismantling line was built at the Hamamatsu works. Normally blow torches where used to scrap end of life equipment, but due to the large volume of cars needing to be scrapped a specialized system whereby stripped cars were send through a selection of rigs equipped with semi-automated circular saws was developed. The Hamamatsu dismantling line entered service in November of 1976, with the first batch 1 cars arriving for scrap in December of 1976.

 

 

A 1985 feature on the Hamamatsu dismantling line, for those who can stomach it:

 

Nearly all Batch 1~12 cars would end their life at the Hamamatsu dismantling line between 1976 and February of 1987, their life limited to between 12 and a maximum of 15 years of service.

 

The newer, batch 13~21, cars generally had a longer life, ranging between 17 and 24 years of service. (average closer to 17)

 

The Batch 22~29 cars, or the 0 series 1000 sub-type cars followed a similar trend as the later 0 sub-type cars, they were retired between 15 and 27 years of service (the average was around 17/18 years)

 

The Batch 30~38 cars or 0 series 2000 sub-type cars, were closer to the batch 1~12 cars in terms of life cycle. As they were the final 0 series cars built, the youngest cars were relatively young when JR Tōkai and JR West retired their 16 car formations in the mid to late 1990's. Some of the batch 38 cars built in 1986 were "only" 13 years old when retired and scrapped, after JR Tōkai retired the final 16 car Yk formations on September the 18th 1999. The batch 30~38 cars would average between 13 and 15 years of service.

The surviving JR West 2000 sub-type cars, and in particular the 7000 sub-type cars of the (W)R61~R68 group which were the final 0 series formations retired in 2008 (November 30th for the regular services, and December 14th for the final run) with the cars of the final 3 formations (R61, R67 and R68) at between 23 and 25 years of age.

 

In summary, if we look at the J.N.R. and 16 car era (1970~1999) of the 0 series shinkansen the average age before retirement was between 12 and 17 years of service, with the oldest batches having the shortest service lives. It can also be said that the retirement cycle of the 0 series (between late 1976 till late 2008, or 32 years) actually exceeded the production cycle (1964~1986, or 22 years of production). therefore the illusion was created that the 0 series was in service for a very long time, while individual examples life expired cars were simply replaced by new built cars from the same series.

The handful of 0 series formations which survived at JR West post 2000 also helped pertain this image of longevity. While they generally contained cars that were older than average, even they weren't likely to survive past the age of 24/25 with less than a handful exceptions to the rule, one of which I will write about in a further paragraph.

 

In conclusion, the longevity of the 0 series was not that different from the more modern series of shinkansen.

 

 

For a bit of trivia, the 0 series car with the longest lifespan was unsurprisingly part of the 1000 sub-types of the 0 series, car 26-1030. She was completed on the 25th of October 1977 by Nippon Sharyō, and was placed in formation H18 (as car number 14. Cars 1~4, 9~12 and 14~16 were also replaced by new built 1000 sub-type cars) after which the formation was re designated as formation Nh18. She replaced car 26-35 which had been completed on the 4th of September 1964 as part of the 1st batch of 0 series cars. 26-35 was retired after slightly more than 13 years of service, and was forwarded to the Hamammatsu works to be scrapped, a fate she shared with all batch 1~12 cars (built between 1964 and 1971) between 1977 and 1987.

26-1030 however was destined for a much longer life. 26-1030 retained her position well past the J.N.R. split, after which formation Nh18 was transferred to JR West. In 1993 car 26-1041 replaced her in formation (W)Nh18 while 26-1030 was transferred to formation (W)Nh25 in which she stayed until the autumn of 1995 when she entered JR West's life extension program.

 

In November 1995 her life extension work had been completed, and she received her new car number accordingly: 26-5033 (all 0 series cars going through JR west's life extension program received a new number, 0 sub types became 3000 sub-types, 1000 sub-types became 5000 sub-types and the 2000 sub-types became 7000 sub-types). She was placed in one of the only 17 remaining 16 car (W)Nh formations still on property at that period in time (JR Tōkai had retired their final Nh formation in 1995), formation Nh99. She remained in formation Nh99 until the formation was disbanded in early 1998.

 

26-5033 was then transferred to 6 car formation R10 (R1~R29 sub-group, not to be confused with the later R61~R68 sub-group) and remained in this formation which survived as one of the last two R1~R29 sub-group R formations to be retired retired in August of 2005. The four 1000 (5000) sub-type cars of formation R10 were the final cars of their sub-type to be retired, 26-5033 originally built as car 26-1030 was scrapped on August 19 of 2005 after 27 years and 10 months of service, which is the all-time record for the 0 series (not the shinkansen in general though).

 

 

The record holder for the oldest shinkansen cars ever, goes to six cars of 200 series formation K21. Cars 226-146/225-60/226-149/225-491 (originally 237-30)/226-150 and 215-30 were built by Nippon Sharyō in March of 1980 as part of formation E30, and were retired in January of 2012. They reached a service life of 29 years and 10 months of service, at nearly 30 years of service this record will most likely never be broken.

 

-Sander

 

 

[railsquid]

Thanks for the excellent detail as always!

[cteno4]

Sander,

 

Amazing as always! You da man!

 

Jeff

[serotta1972]

Had my 0 Series lesson for the month!  Thanks Sanders for sharing your wealth of knowledge.

 

-Junior

[utrainia]

Great answer! As an aside, I find it fascinating that even the very first Shinkansen cars were pressure sealed, yet when travelling in Italy last year, their high speed trains still aren't, something we painfully realised as soon as we entered the first of many tunnels.

[kvp]

Thanks for the info! Btw. some newer italian trains are sealed and i was scared by the roughly 1 cm inward bending of the large window plane i was sitting at. (this was on the vatelina line) Perhaps this is why german high speed lines have pressure equalization equipment at tunnel portals, so they go a bit easier on the trains.

[Densha]

And here is the first unit heading for the scrap yard: https://twitter.com/chichibugou/status/791556189284892673