What is this JR train?

[sandiway]

I saw this simply gorgeous little train two days ago in Himeiji JR station while waiting for my train back to Osaka station.

What is it? I'd love to have it in N-scale.

[bill937ca]

JR West Series 115-1000?

 

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10609900

 

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10540946

 

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10508873

[miyakoji]

If you have a look at the bottom of the wikipedia page for the 115 series, you'll see this color called Setouchi area livery in the second row of pictures.  In your image you can make out the 'oka' character, along the bottom of the car between the crew door and the first passenger doors, indicating that this formation is from Okayama depot.

 

I lived there about 15 years ago, at the time these were in what the wikipedia page calls 'Kansai refurbished livery.'  I've always known it as cafe-au-lait livery.  Cars based in Hiroshima were in their liveries, plus what the wikipedia page calls 'setouchi livery' in the top row.  These were out of depots from points west, Hiroshima itself and I believe Shimonoseki.

 

JR West came up with their monotone color scheme idea a while ago now.  I think most steel body JNR era stock throughout the Seto side of the Chugoku region, i.e. Himeji to Shimonoseki, is getting this color when they're repainted, although some seem to have fresh Shonan green/orange paint.  To be honest I think your photo flatters this color.  The 115 itself is a classic, one of the various designs that I think were referred to as 'tokai' style (not to be confused with the express service, region, other JR company, guitar manufacturer, etc).   But of the JRW single color paint jobs, I disliked this yellow in particular and thought it was a real step down from cafe-au-lait and other previous liveries.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/115_series

[bikkuri bahn]

Probably an Okayama-based 115 series unit, these are seen in Himeji only on morning and evening services.  Good to see they are still in operation that far east of Okayama.  

[sandiway]

Thanks all for the id!

it was beautiful - the yellow color looked wonderfully tasteful at 6:34 pm.

 

i held the Tomix N-scale model in den-den town. But decided against buying it on this visit because my rule is I have to ride it (have to go to Himeiji - assuming it’s not possible  in Osaka - just to get in a ride) and I’d just gotten my 223-2000 trainset (8+4). 

[chadbag]

Break the rules.    You know you want to.

 

I thought about the 115 series in that color (and some others) last year.  They are nice looking traditional trains.

[serotta1972]

I want one of those, I've only been able to find the add-on set.  I rode them from Onomichi to Fukuyama multiple times.  

 

[Keith]

I agree, when I was there it looked the part of a work horse of the fleet with classic styling. Now I’m tempted but luckily HS is out of stock and the model colours seem too bright and shiny.

[Sacto1985]

The question now: how long will JR West keep the 113/115 train sets around? With the Hiroshima area trains all switched to the 227 Series, I personally think it's only a matter of time before JR West makes a huge 227 Series order and that will be the end of the 115 Series in western Japanese service.

[serotta1972]

On 6/13/2019 at 5:45 PM, sandiway said:

I saw this simply gorgeous little train two days ago in Himeiji JR station while waiting for my train back to Osaka station.

What is it? I'd love to have it in N-scale.

 

I think this might be the model of the train you saw - Tomix 98227 which I actually own.  And it's the reason I ignored the more recent release of the Tomix 98286 because I already had a set of yellow 115's.  On my first trip to Japan, I intentionally planned to ride a 115 Series train and did so on the Shinano Line.  On my recent trip, I spent the night in Onomichi as I was planning to ride the Shimanami Kaido but my plans fell through.  The consolation was that on my way to Onomichi, I hopped on a 227 at Mihari Station but then had to transfer to another train at Itozaki Station which happened to be a 115 Series which I believe is the Tomix 98286.  So now, I'm on the hunt for one of those sets.  

 

 

[miyakoji]

Serotta, what did you think of Onomichi?  Did you stay in a modern hotel or a ryokan/minshuku?  Definitely a place I wish I had seen more of.  I wasn't even very far away when I lived in Okayama.

[serotta1972]

I stayed at a modern hotel - Greenhills Hotel.  I liked it, I'm thinking of staying there and using it as my base for next trip to Japan and so I can do the bike ride.  It's not too much out of the way and only 20 minutes away from a Shinkansen Station.  

[MichiK]

There's a series of posts about a recent trip to Japan over at Drehscheibe Online Foren - two posts contain some shots of yellow 115 trains:

https://www.drehscheibe-online.de/foren/read.php?030,8824487

https://www.drehscheibe-online.de/foren/read.php?030,8830093

 

Contrary to miyakoji I must say I like that finish, in particular against a background of rich greenery like in these two shots:

https://bahnbilder.ch/picture/31614

https://bahnbilder.ch/picture/31543

[Keith]

I think this was at Onomichi on my way back to Hiroshima.

 

[Ochanomizu]

On 6/14/2019 at 3:09 PM, sandiway said:

...  But decided against buying it on this visit because my rule is I have to ride it  ...

 

Hello,

 

Oh, yeah!  We all had THAT rule .... once !!!

[miyakoji]

19 hours ago, MichiK said:

There's a series of posts about a recent trip to Japan over at Drehscheibe Online Foren - two posts contain some shots of yellow 115 trains:

https://www.drehscheibe-online.de/foren/read.php?030,8824487

https://www.drehscheibe-online.de/foren/read.php?030,8830093

 

Contrary to miyakoji I must say I like that finish, in particular against a background of rich greenery like in these two shots:

https://bahnbilder.ch/picture/31614

https://bahnbilder.ch/picture/31543

They do look pretty good in those two images.  The photos throughout the two forum posts are great.

 

If they just would have put a stripe of some kind on these, I think that would have been an improvement.  Although I guess that would have cost money, and I think the point of these liveries was to save money.

[sandiway]

1 hour ago, Ochanomizu said:

Oh, yeah!  We all had THAT rule .... once !!!

Still bravely sticking to it.

Second rule is I DON'T have to buy everything I've ridden in Japan.

Luckily, I've bought no Kintetsu. Otherwise I'd be out a few thousand dollars... 😉

 

Sandiway

[serotta1972]

Or you can buy a model train and then plan to ride it on your next trip to Japan. 🙂  But it's always nicer to own a model of a train that you've actually ridden.  This year on my trip to Japan, I rode the E353 and that same day I picked up the model from Model Train Plus and actually ran it at a Rental Layout.  That was a really cool experience.

[Densha]

Hah, I currently actually have one of these babies at Hiroshima set as my profile picture! Here is a larger version of the same photo:

 

 

These also exist as 'butchered' two-car formations, with a middle car converted into a cab car. I took these pictures somewhere on the Ako Line, but I remember also seeing them all the way up at Yonago. The orange/green train, the one I rode, is a 3-car 115 series with at that point in time interior and manual slide doors still in original 1980s condition.

 

 

[ben_issacs]

Folks, 

For yellow cars, go to the Sangi Rly. 2'6" gauge lines, these are a very bright yellow, and the 3'6" gauge Sangi EMUs are the same yellow, but with some orange trimming.

Regards, 

Bill,

Melbourne.