New Type: JR East EF510-500 "Hokutosei" & "Cassiopeia"

[CaptOblivious]

JR East took delivery of their first EF510-500 last month. The livery was chosen to match JR Hokkaido "Hokutosei" DD51s. I prefer the original EF81 red livery, but hey.

 

 

 

 

[Guest ___]

I agree that the paint scheme is not very progressive, but then again, I don't find the new design of the exterior to be all that impressive either.

[scott]

I'd usually prefer red, too, but it's funny how the Hokutosei livery makes it look like its about 40 years old. :-) (But really well preserved!).

 

So--does this mean I have to break down and buy an EF81 before they become "WOW RARE OOP HARD TO FIND!"? 

[Mudkip Orange]

I agree that the paint scheme is not very progressive, but then again, I don't find the new design of the exterior to be all that impressive either.

 

Pretty freekin' vanilla if ya ask me.

[to2leo]

Aside from design, I never really feel JR companies are creative or progressive in colour schemes.

[ToniBabelony]

Aside from design, I never really feel JR companies are creative or progressive in colour schemes.

 

Apart from those funky one-offs?

 

e.g. 103 Series from JR West?

 

Not to mention the numerous schemes of the 485 Series and KIHA 58 through the times!

 

Also, I like the EF510-500. I at first thought it was a re-paint from the EF510-0 Series, but I was proven wrong! Maybe in the future they'll release a few other paint schemes as well. Think about a Twilight-Express and Cassiopeia livery for example. Maybe JR Freight orders also a few. Maybe a model of it will be released soon! Ah, those hopes and dreams.

[CaptOblivious]

The EF510-500 is the same as the EF510-0, with modifications for passenger service (which I imagine includes head-end power and maybe a water heater? I don't actually know what the differences amount to). I doubt that JRF is interested in the -500 for that reason.

[scott]

I think I like the EF510 livery more because it reminds me of 583s than because of the color itself. <--- oddball

[ToniBabelony]

The EF510-500 is the same as the EF510-0, with modifications for passenger service (which I imagine includes head-end power and maybe a water heater? I don't actually know what the differences amount to). I doubt that JRF is interested in the -500 for that reason.

 

Aaah... I see now (after viewing the wikipedia page on the EF510 as well). There is already quite a fleet of EF510 around. I thought only one prototype was made. 15 are going to be delivered of the EF510-500, so more liveries are to be expected I guess :happy4:

[Mudkip Orange]

I don't think JR paint schemes are particularly boring. For every private railway with a bunch of different, varied schemes (like Keihan) there's another one that just spraypaints everything the same color (like Hankyu).

[westfalen]

I like the paint scheme. I think it is classy and elegant, (a couple of things that are missing from a lot of modern paint schemes), to match the trains they are meant to pull. The gold rather than yellow striping is a nice touch. At any rate it is good to see JR East investing a bit in it's remaining sleeper trains, it may ensure their future for a while, no using the excuse "the locos are old and worn out".

[Guest ___]

More sparkly, I should say is needed.

[westfalen]

Remember that apart from arrival and maybe departure from Ueno most of the EF510-500's running will be done at night under the cover of darkness, so maybe the felt they didn't need a flashy paint scheme. I'm waiting to see a photo of one at night under lights, that will be how they are meant to be seen.

[harukablue]

This guy is very on the ball with his models :-

 

 

http://page5.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/e96111310

 

 

Lew

[Guest ___]

Remember that apart from arrival and maybe departure from Ueno most of the EF510-500's running will be done at night under the cover of darkness, so maybe the felt they didn't need a flashy paint scheme. I'm waiting to see a photo of one at night under lights, that will be how they are meant to be seen.

 

Then, they wasted money paint it at all. 

[deltic45]

I wonder why they do not use a blue DF200 instead of the DD51s?

I think any new passenger locomotive is welcome on JR. They can paint in tartan if they like!

[Guest ___]

I wonder why they do not use a blue DF200 instead of the DD51s?

I think any new passenger locomotive is welcome on JR. They can paint in tartan if they like!

 

Considering how the blue trains are all running towards their last days, I can hardly see the point at all. 

[bill937ca]

Running backwards.

 

[ToniBabelony]

Hah! I knew those end-cars had some kind of cab-control function! I thought only the 50 Series had that.

 

The 510 looks awesome in comination with a blue train coaches. :0

[Martijn Meerts]

It's interesting, it doesn't look like there's any headlights turned on, but the loco definitely has red tail lights.

 

Also interesting to see is how low the pantograph is.

[westfalen]

It's hard to tell from the video if the train is being driven from the rear car or not. There doesn't appear to be any white headlights or marker lights displayed on the rear, sorry leading, car and you can't tell if there are M.U. connections between the train and the loco. The train crew visible in the rear car could be merely calling signals to the loco crew and have their hands ready to pull the emergency brake handle. I will concede however that they are going a lot faster than I would be without being able to see where I was going.

 

The locos do look good with the blue sleeping cars.

[CaptOblivious]

It's pushing the Hokutosei from Tabata yard into Ueno Station. The express platforms are all terminal lines, and there isn't any run-around for them, so loco-hauled expresses have to be backed in. This means, likely, that it came back out the other way too. But that's an awfully short consist for the Hokutosei. Likely it was simply a test run and not in revenue service.

 

I've had a second look up close now. The OHAFU cars don't have headlights, but they do have markerlights. The markerlights on the lead car were off, but there was one reflector placed in the "shunting" aspect (driver's RHS). The fifth car, the one closest to the loco, was not a -FU car, so this wasn't a full consist. Nor was there a KANI behind the loco, as would be usual for a blue train departing Ueno. So I think the EF510-500 is being used merely for shunting duties in this video, delivering half a Hokutosei to Ueno. Presumably it'll return to Tabata for the front half. I'd love to have been there watching the movements…*sigh*

[bill937ca]

This was a crew training session from OKu Kuroso ---> ----> Ueno on Saturday March 20, 2010 (during a Japanese holiday weekend).

 

http://railf.jp/news/2010/03/21/203000.html

 

Three more from the same photographer, all taken March 20, 2010.

 

 

 

[CaptOblivious]

This was a crew training session from OKu Kuroso ---> ----> Ueno on Saturday March 20, 2010 (during a Japanese holiday weekend).

 

http://railf.jp/news/2010/03/21/203000.html

 

That explains it, then!

[miyakoji]

Sorry to revive an old thread, but has anyone read about JR's commitment to night trains?  With the exception of the Sunrise services, the Twilight Express, and the Cassiopeia, I kind of thought they were doing away with them, but JRE has, according the Wikipedia, which knows all, ordered 15 of these -500s.  They don't really need 15 just for the Cassiopeia I don't think.