Shinjuku to Tokyo cab ride

[westfalen]

Here's a two parter from 1990 for the cab ride fans. Shinjuku to Tokyo via the Chuo Line. My brother and I were enroute from the Ome railway museum to Tokyo Disneyland during our free day in Tokyo.

 

 

[Mudkip Orange]

Pretty awesome. But after watching tons of Keihan and Keikyu, this just seems kinda... slow?

 

I hope they've improved the track speeds in 20 years...

[KenS]

Slow is good; it lets you appreciate the lineside detail.  But the train clearly wasn't going as fast as it could.  At one point in the second video it passes a "65" speed limit sign at the same apparent speed that it shortly later passes a "45" sign.

 

And even though it's 15-20 years before the period I'm modeling, this line is one of my focal areas so it was really helpful to see. I don't think they run freight on this part of the line today (or do they, I'm not sure), but seeing a freight train followed by a Chuo Rapid passenger train was quite something.  And that's another possible reason for the speed.  If this was a weekend or mid-afternoon off-peak time with slow freights mixed in with the passenger trains, that would explain why passenger trains were moving slowly.

 

And look at all the grime on the tracks! I'm thinking I need to airbrush my Unitrack with some "grimy black". 

[Mudkip Orange]

And that's another possible reason for the speed.  If this was a weekend or mid-afternoon off-peak time with slow freights mixed in with the passenger trains, that would explain why passenger trains were moving slowly.

 

Wow, just like Amtrak!

[westfalen]

Slow is good; it lets you appreciate the lineside detail.  But the train clearly wasn't going as fast as it could.  At one point in the second video it passes a "65" speed limit sign at the same apparent speed that it shortly later passes a "45" sign.

 

And even though it's 15-20 years before the period I'm modeling, this line is one of my focal areas so it was really helpful to see. I don't think they run freight on this part of the line today (or do they, I'm not sure), but seeing a freight train followed by a Chuo Rapid passenger train was quite something.  And that's another possible reason for the speed.  If this was a weekend or mid-afternoon off-peak time with slow freights mixed in with the passenger trains, that would explain why passenger trains were moving slowly.

 

And look at all the grime on the tracks! I'm thinking I need to airbrush my Unitrack with some "grimy black".  

If there is a private line and JR between two points, the private line is often the fastest (and cheapest) but as a railfan with a JR pass you're not always in a hurry. It was mid-afternoon on a week day so things might not have been as hectic as the peak hour. When I'm there later this year I might try an fit in a trip over the line to see if it's any faster, and see what changes there are after twenty years.