E2 series trainset to get original 200 series livery

[bikkuri bahn]

JR East announced Tuesday, in conjunction with Railway 150 year anniversary celebrations, that one E2 trainset will get the original Tohoku/Joetsu Shinkansen livery.  Operation will begin in July with a special rinji ressha. The trainset will also be operated on regularly scheduled services on the Tohoku and Joetsu Shinkansen lines. The trainset will also revive the "furusato chime" jingles which were instituted with the opening of the Tohoku Shinkansen as far as Ueno Station.

 

https://tetsudo-ch.com/12402639.html

 

 

[disturbman]

For illustration.
 

 

I predict good sales when this will hit the N scale shelves.

[JR 500系]

4 hours ago, disturbman said:

I predict good sales when this will hit the N scale shelves.

 

I can't wait for Kato or Tomix to pick this up! I would highly prefer Kato since i dont have a Kato E2, but then again a Tomix would be nice since i can also couple with the E3s ~

 

Somehow, it looks very much like the 200 series H-formation, just a little more bare on the front ~

[200系]

That's because the photoshopped picture in @disturbman's post is actually based on the pinstripe livery, rather than the original midori no hayate livery which will be used for the E2 series formation in question. Though the pinstripe livery is, as you mentioned, mostly associated with the six H formations, it was actually introduced a couple of years before the H formations were introduced.

 

The pinstripe livery was first introduced on, round nose, formation F52 (former formation E31, modified for 240km/h operation in 1985) at the end of 1986. This was done in preparation for the delivery of 4 shark nose 221/222 type 2000 sub-type end cars, which would be completed in March of 1987. 221/222-2002, delivered on March 20th was inserted into formation F52, with 221/222-31 being freed up to form formation F66 (standard livery), while 221/222-2001, which were delivered on the 27th, were used to form formation F58, which would be wearing the pinstripe livery as well.

Now, as you mentioned, with the formation of the H formations between April and July of 1990, the pinstripe livery would be retained for all six formations. As formations H3 and H4 were pretty much just formations F52 and F58 with a single 249 type double decks car inserted between the former car positions 6 and 7 (car 7 became car 8, 8 became 9 etc.)[note 1], and the remaining formations were to receive 221/222 type 200 sub-type end cars (surplus 225/226 type 0 sub-type (intermediate) cars which were rebuilt into shark nose style end cars) all of them would be repainted into the pinstripe livery [note 2].

 

So yes, that is what it looks like, but that isn't the livery the actual formation will receive. Fortunately in my opinion, as the pinstripe livery was designed for the sharp lines of the shark nose design, rather than the more flowing lines of the E2 series. As such I personally think the original midori no hayate livery works better on the E2 series as it was designed around the more gentle round nose design of the original 200 series design. I also think the fact that unlike the 200 series, the E2 series lacks rain gutters which makes the painting of them as such look really out of place, fortunately the design as shown by the JR East press release omits those.

 

Perhaps good to note, that though this was announced as part of the activities related to the 150th anniversary of rail in Japan, the repainting of this E2 series formation in the midori no hayate scheme is primarily related to the upcoming 40th anniversary of the opening of the Tōhoku (June 23rd, 1982) and Jōetsu Shinkansen (November 15th, 1982).

 

6 hours ago, disturbman said:

I predict good sales when this will hit the N scale shelves.

 

I hope so, though I'm personally not a big fan of special liveries, much less one that was never originally worn by said series, this is one will be an instant purchase for me. As the E2 series is my favorite contemporary shinkansen design (weird to say for a series of which the majority has already been scrapped, and the earliest 1000 sub-type formations are already being, or have been, scrapped right at this moment), and as it was designed to be the direct successor of the 200 series for JR East, I think this livery will fit the E2 series well.

 

[Note 1] The H formations were originally formed as 13 car formations prior to the delivery of the second, 248 type, double decks cars between December 1990 and March 1991, at which point an additional 225 and 226 (0 sub-type) car were inserted into position 5 and 6 of the formation as well. The original 37 type buffet cars were rebuilt into 225 type 200 sub-type ordinary cars between July and November 1991, which resulted in the configuration the H formations were best known for.

 

[note 2] This would include the round nose end cars of formation H6, 221/222-34, in its original 13 car configuration. which briefly served in this configuration between July 1990 and February 1991 prior to being displaced by 221/222-204 on the 5th of February 1991

[disturbman]

What I wonder is if they will change the body of the E2 series to the cream/off-white of the original 200 series or if they will leave it white. In my opinion, that detail could break or make the livery.

[200系]

That is something I've been wondering as well. The artist impression does show the original cream no. 10 as opposed to the later white no. 3 (as introduced with the 100 series prototype formation X0 (later X1) in 1985) though, so I'll guess we have to wait and see.

 

As for the use of white no. 3 for earlier revival schemes as in the 0 series formations (R61, R67 and R68), as well as renewed 200 series formation K47, I remember reading about the reason for this a couple of years ago, in an article about the 0 series being repainted in their revival colors back in the spring of 2008.

 From what I remember the primary reasons they went for white instead of the original cream was simply the inability to recreate the original creme color with modern paint (please don't quote me on this though).

 

The change from cream no. 10 to white no. 3 is something that factually happened though, as for example surviving JR Tōkai and JR West 0 series formations started changing from the original cream no. 10 to white no. 3 sometime in the mid 1990's.

As shinkansen are fully repainted during their general inspection, which for the 0 series [note 1] was every 900.000 kilometers or 3 years, whichever came first (spoiler, the 900.000 km almost always came first, with most 0 series cars averaging around 2 years between general inspections), this pretty much affected most of the 0 series cars which managed to survive into the late 1990's (and beyond), and it is something which can be clearly seen on the surviving JR Tōkai Yk formations during their final years in service. It seems like JR East kept using cream no. 10 for the 200 series up till the mass retirement of the non-renewed formations in the early/mid 2000's, as far as I can see at least, so take it for what it's worth.

 

Anyway, because I'm a dolt and I forgot to include the JR East press release... I've provided a link to it below, the section on the E2 series can be found on the second to last page:

 

https://www.jreast.co.jp/press/2022/20220510_ho02.pdf

 

 

 

[note 1] For the 200 series (and later), it was changed to every 1.2 million km or 3 years, whichever came first. Recently it has further been increased to every 1.6 million km or 3 years for the N700A and N700S series, and I believe JR East was working on getting 1.8 million/4 years approved for the E5/H5 and E6 series, though I'm not sure if they are still working on this (inspection limits are set by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and apply to all railroads operating in Japan, as such increased inspection limits have to be approved by the ministry before they can be implemented by the railroad in question).

[disturbman]

Now you make me wonder how long we can expect to see that livery. If the selected train is the one that was scheduled to enter general inspection and will then keep its livery for a couple of years. Or if they will repaint a random set and thus the livery will last less time.

[Kamome]

The illustration used by the official JR East press release you posted shows the original cream colour. Railway enthusiasts are very unforgiving when promised something so I would imagine JR East will go with it.

[disturbman]

Here we go.

 

 

[bikkuri bahn]

Media footage:

Departing Sendai Station:

 

[bikkuri bahn]

Speeding through Furukawa Station, north of Sendai:

 

[200系]

@bikkuri bahn, has already posted a couple of these, but as I was already compiling this post when I received the notification, and as such I decided to keep them as is.

 

A couple of assorted clips of today's test ride:

 

 

 

 

 

I have to say, JR East did an excellent job in my opinion, even details like the pantographs were repainted in the correct color (silver).

 

On 5/13/2022 at 12:19 AM, disturbman said:

Now you make me wonder how long we can expect to see that livery. If the selected train is the one that was scheduled to enter general inspection and will then keep its livery for a couple of years. Or if they will repaint a random set and thus the livery will last less time.

 

I don't think the specific formations for projects like these are ever chosen arbitrarily, a repaint isn't something that can be completed in less than 24 hours so the formation has to be out of revenue service for an extended period of time, which unless there's a significant operational reserve will impact the timetable, which is of course a no go, especially in Japan. So you can be assured that no matter the formation selected, and in this case it does appear formation J66 went through her general inspection at the same time, the actual repainting job will be combined with a planned inspection in which the cars are expected to spend some time at the maintenance center anyway, if not a general inspection, then for example an equipment inspection which has to be performed every 600.000 km (450.000 for the 0 series) or 1 year depending on which comes first, might also provide an opportunity if no general inspection is planned or required. The general inspection is usually the most convenient though, as like I said a repaint is already part of the required work to be completed, so it makes a lot of sense to combine the two.

 

As for how long we'll be able to enjoy this livery, that's always tricky to predict.

 

Historically speaking there have been not insignificant differences in remaining service life between the different formations which received these revival liveries. Taking into account just the shinkansen formations in this section, the cape gauge formations have a different inspection regime (though similar in scope and work that has to be done, we have the following examples:

 

-> 200 series (renewed) K formation, K47.

 

Formation K47 would be the first shinkansen formation to be receiving a revival livery, being repainted in the original midori no hayate livery (though modern paint properties delivered a white base as opposed to the original cream white as discussed earlier) to commemorate the 25th anniversary of both the Tōhoku and Jōetsu shinkansen in 2007. As JR East had retired the last unrenewed 200 series formation, formation F19, earlier that year formation K47 would be the sole representative of the original color scheme present during the opening of both shinkansen. K47 would be repainted between May and early June 2007, and would remain carry her revival livery the longest out of all shinkansen formations which would receive such a livery, staying in service until the end of 200 series operations on the 15th of March, 2013, though she would still operate a couple of chartered services before operating the final Sayonara 200 series service on the 14th of April, 2013. K47 would be operating in her revival scheme for almost 6 years, 221-1510 was preserved by the Niigata railway museum, and can still be found there (together with E4 series, E444-1).

 

-> The 0 series (W)R formations, R61, R67 and R68.

 

These three formations form a bit of a special group within the shinkansen formations which received a revival scheme, as they would operate as such for the shortest time, yet their repainting was arguably the most significant taking into account the historical and cultural importance of the 0 series. These 3 formations were selected as they were intended to remain in service until the end of scheduled 0 series operations in the autumn of 2008. The repainting was announced at the end of February, 2008, with formation R67 being the first to be completed on the 16th of April, followed by R61 on the 21st of May and finally R68 on the 19th of June 2008. Taking into account the time between the announcement and the first formation to be completed, I wouldn't even be surprised if they actually went through a general inspection, or at least an equipment inspection, though I've never been able to establish when JR West stopped general inspections for the final 0 series formations, so take it for what it is. R61, R67 and R68 would all remain in service until the last scheduled 0 series service on the 30th of November, 2008, and R61 and R68 of them would still be used for a number of charter services on the 6th, 13th and 14th of December, with R61 operating the final goodby service, Hikari 347, on the 14th of December, 2008. Formation R68 would still see a single positioning move on the 23rd of January, 2009, which would mark the last actual movement of a 0 series formation ever, but also the last movement of the revival scheme. The 0 series (W)R formations would "only" be in operation for 6 to 8 months.

 

-> The 100 series K formations, K53~K55.

 

Similar to the 0 series, though remaining in service as such for a much longer period of time, three of the 100 series K formations, K53, K54 and K55, were repainted in a revival scheme prior to their retirement in March of 2012. The announcement that three of the K formations would be repainted in a revival scheme was made on the 2nd of July, 2010, though work had started in June. Formation K53 was the first to be completed on the 15th of July, followed by K54 in August and finally K55 in September of the same year. All three remained in service until the end of service on March 14th, 2012 and were scrapped in the months following. K53, K54 and K55 retained their revival scheme for a longer period in comparison to the 0 series (W)R formations, though this period was less eventful, in the end they carried this livery between 1 year and 6 months up till 1 year and ~9 months respectively.

 

So with this in min, my own prediction for this specific formation would be one general inspection cycle, perhaps two at most. JR East selected formation J66, which is one of the Sendai based formations which, considering yesterday's announcement [note 1], could be regarded as a positive sign for the future. That being said, with the planned retirement of the E2 series from the Jōetsu Shinkansen at the end of this year, and the fact that out of the J52~J75 sub-group of formations, J52~J69 or put simply, the bulk of the E2 series 1000 sub-type formations, were built between July 2002 and December 2005 and as such even the youngest of this group will be approaching 17 years of service by the end of this year, makes it likely that the remaining Sendai based E2 series formations will be scrapped in the next couple of years. With the introduction of the E8 series starting in 2024, and the stated desire by JR East for all services on the Tōhoku Shinkansen to be able to operate at 300 km/h or above, I expect the final scrapping of the remaining E2 series formations to be sometime during this period, and considering the small size of the remaining fleet, I don't expect this to be a drawn our process. I do expect them to keep J66 in service to the very end, as that would follow the historic precedent I mentioned before.

 

That being said, this is of course merely my own speculation, based on historic examples as it may be, so take it for what it's worth.

 

On 5/13/2022 at 1:24 AM, Kamome said:

The illustration used by the official JR East press release you posted shows the original cream colour. Railway enthusiasts are very unforgiving when promised something so I would imagine JR East will go with it.

 

Hell hath no fury like a Saitama toritetsu scorned!

 

[note 1] JR East posted a press release yesterday announcing that the Jōetsu shinkansen will consolidate the Jōetsu Shinkansen fleet at the end of this year, which means all services will be operated by E7 series formations from that point onward. The previous target date was to be March 2023, so the schedule was accelerated by a not insignificant amount of time. What this means for the E2 series formations currently stabled at Niigata remains to be seen, as the remaining Niigata based formations include some of the oldest formations, J55 and J57 built in the autumn of 2002 and 2003 respectively, as well as the 5 newest formations, J70~J75 built between February and September 2010 as the last group of E2 series formations built (specifically for the Shin-Hakodate extension of the Tōhoku Shinkansen).

 

Though I expect J55 and J57 to be scrapped this year, not just because of their age (J55 will be turning 20 in November, a more than respectable age for a shinkansen) but also because of the stated target of four E2 series formations which were to be scrapped in 2022 (2 other formations have already been scrapped this year, formation J52 in March and J54 in April of this year. This on top of the (1000 sub-type) formations scrapped prior, the prototype formation J51 in March 2019 and formation J56 in November 2021.), the fate of the J70~J75 sub-group might be a little harder to predict as they are barely 12 years old at this point. Part of me expects them to be transferred back to Sendai at the end of this year, as happened with formations J63 and J64 in March of this year, replacing some of the oldest surviving Sendai based formations, however, predictions versus reality are sometimes entirely different, though rare, JR East has scrapped Shinkansen of that age before (the 248 and 249 type double decks cars and E225 type 100 sub-type and E226 type 400 sub-type cars are the most prolific examples of this), so it will be interesting to see the further movements of this formation sub-group.

Edited June 8, 2022 by 200系

[Kamome]

Yeah, I think @200系 just about said what I was about to say. 😄

 

Joking aside, it doesn’t look half bad in this colour. 

[katoftw]

Better than the original E2 paint scheme.

[JR 500系]

It has a sort of nostalgic feel to it, being in the old 200 series colour and all... Looks good too, especially if we join it to a E3 Tsubasa in old grey and green livery!

 

Next question, can Tomix do the set J66 E2 please?  😛

[jappomania]

On 6/9/2022 at 1:08 PM, JR 500系 said:

Next question, can Tomix do the set J66 E2 please?  😛

 

100% correct with current mold? No, the right sub-sub-series has been done by Kato (J54-J69), that's better base (for me)

maybe they do it (they continue to sell 300 series without LCX antennas...), but the E2-1000 serie aren't so homogeneus

on J51 (prototype with "split nose" at both ends), and J52-53, the High voltage line between cars 4-5 have a low profile, Tomix reproduce the last J70-75 batch with bigger LED panels and without the "pantakaba" (pantograph shield) attachment, applied only on J59 5 years ago (at the same time a similar test done with E7 F13)

for trial run but never used on the other trains, this predisposition has not replicated on the last 5 trains

 

ciao!

Massimo

 

 

Edited July 8, 2022 by jappomania

[bikkuri bahn]

JR East video of a unit getting the livery at the the paint shop:

 

[miyakoji]

JR East is uploading some cool stuff to that TRAInBLAZER channel.  Over 27k subscribers already.