JR East Series 253 (ex-NEX) - "Nikko" and "Kinugawa" livery

[miyakoji]

Bill posted about 2 former 253 series NEX sets sold to Nagaden here: http://www.jnsforum.com/index.php/topic,3069.0.html .  Although I now vaguely recall reading about it, JR East did keep some (2 sets) and is refurbishing and repainting them for use on Nikko and Kinugawa express services that they operate with Tobu.  Here's an artist's rendering

 

 

source: http://rail.hobidas.com/news/info/article/124167.html

 

I'm interested to see what they do with the interior.  It seemed a little claustrophobic to me, as if meant to look like an aircraft interior--but based on my experience with those I'm not sure why they wanted to mimic that so closely.

[CaptOblivious]

Urk! I dont much care for that livery at all!

[clem24]

Urk! I dont much care for that livery at all!

 

LOL agreed. That's nasty. They should've just replaced all the red with orange and call it a day.

[bill937ca]

Urk! I dont much care for that livery at all!

 

I don't like it. 

[Kabutoni]

Appalling. The red and yellow are okay, but that fluorescent orange just hurts. A bad piece of work from the livery designer. Not at all in line with the subtle lines of the 253 Series. :angry7:

[to2leo]

My eyes they burn!  :icon_puke_r:

[miyakoji]

OK, 5 of 5 opposed. I guess it's supposed to go with Tobu's liveries.  Let's see how it looks on the real thing!

[bikkuri bahn]

I think they should be nicknamed "Jabotabeks" (with a nod to Dave Fossett of Byun Byun fame)

 

http://matanews.com/wp-content/uploads/KRL.jpg

[miyakoji]

I think they should be nicknamed "Jabotabeks" (with a nod to Dave Fossett of Byun Byun fame)

 

http://matanews.com/wp-content/uploads/KRL.jpg

Several times I have considered starting a thread about how Japanese rolling stock exported to SE asia seems to disintegrate, although some locales seem to be more harsh than others.

[bikkuri bahn]

Several times I have considered starting a thread about how Japanese rolling stock exported to SE asia seems to disintegrate, although some locales seem to be more harsh than others.

 

Yes, probably a lot of it has to do with the maintenance regime and the year-round tropical weather.  Doesn't help that the stock is second-hand, either.  But I think those ex-Tokyu units will be pretty durable, their construction (shot-welded corrugated ss- a la Budd), is rock-solid.

[westfalen]

OK, 5 of 5 opposed. I guess it's supposed to go with Tobu's liveries.  Let's see how it looks on the real thing!

Make that 6 out of 6, maybe Japanese colour tastes are different to ours. I'd have thought they'd want to look different from the competition.

[miyakoji]

Make that 6 out of 6, maybe Japanese colour tastes are different to ours. I'd have thought they'd want to look different from the competition.

Well, I think the Nikko and Kinugawa are services operated cooperatively (a bit redundant) by both railways.

[bikkuri bahn]

To me, it looks more like something a British TOC would design on the first draft, rather than Japanese railways, which from the eighties have tended to favor paint schemes with lots of white ("boxes with stripes", to paraphrase a post on another forum), rather than colorful solids (which were more popular in the immediate post war era).

[bikkuri bahn]

Make that 6 out of 6, maybe Japanese colour tastes are different to ours. I'd have thought they'd want to look different from the competition.

Well, I think the Nikko and Kinugawa are services operated cooperatively (a bit redundant) by both railways.

 

Basically JR East conceded the market to Nikko to Tobu- there was no answer to the Spacia trainset, and the Nikko Line was too roundabout anyway.  But they still wanted in on the tourist market, and to transport JR Pass holders, so they were able to negotiate running rights on Tobu, and in turn gave Tobu running rights into Shinjuku Station.

[miyakoji]

Basically JR East conceded the market to Nikko to Tobu- there was no answer to the Spacia trainset, and the Nikko Line was too roundabout anyway.  But they still wanted in on the tourist market, and to transport JR Pass holders, so they were able to negotiate running rights on Tobu, and in turn gave Tobu running rights into Shinjuku Station.

Is the connection between the two at Kitasenju?  These inter-railway links interest me a whole lot for some reason. 

[bikkuri bahn]

Basically JR East conceded the market to Nikko to Tobu- there was no answer to the Spacia trainset, and the Nikko Line was too roundabout anyway.  But they still wanted in on the tourist market, and to transport JR Pass holders, so they were able to negotiate running rights on Tobu, and in turn gave Tobu running rights into Shinjuku Station.

Is the connection between the two at Kitasenju?  These inter-railway links interest me a whole lot for some reason. 

 

The connection is at Kurihashi.

[KenS]

I have to agree: that's an absolutely terrible color-scheme. Unless the orange is really toned down, it's going to be eye-hurting.

 

And I guess this means the 189 and 485 presently used by JR East for the Nikko and Kinugawa service are going to be retired. Those were nice-looking trains (it took a while for them to grow on me, but they finally did). I'm glad the 253 has found a new life, as I like its design. But I'm sorry its at their expense.

[Kabutoni]

I think they should be nicknamed "Jabotabeks" (with a nod to Dave Fossett of Byun Byun fame)

 

I'm all for it! Here one person mentioned something like this as well: http://rail-uploader.khz-net.com/index.php?startno=10&id=925233

[Triplex]

Honestly, I'm surprised at the level of hate for this. It's no Narita, but I've seen much worse, in Japan and many other countries. Or maybe I should say that the whole style isn't my taste, regardless of color. It's hard to make a 253 look bad, though.

[miyakoji]

Honestly, I'm surprised at the level of hate for this. It's no Narita, but I've seen much worse, in Japan and many other countries. Or maybe I should say that the whole style isn't my taste, regardless of color. It's hard to make a 253 look bad, though.

Up close, some of the 253s were a little rough, as I remember.  The large, flat surfaces on the bodies' sides showed some deformation against the structural steel inside.  I think this was actually the first thing I ever saw on a Japanese railway--I left the airport, and while waiting for a 217 or 115, had a look at the 253 sitting there.  The slight warping, which could actually be seen pretty clearly under the lights, remains pretty clear in my memory.

 

I have to agree: that's an absolutely terrible color-scheme. Unless the orange is really toned down, it's going to be eye-hurting.

 

And I guess this means the 189 and 485 presently used by JR East for the Nikko and Kinugawa service are going to be retired. Those were nice-looking trains (it took a while for them to grow on me, but they finally did). I'm glad the 253 has found a new life, as I like its design. But I'm sorry its at their expense.

 

 

I'm not sure how many 189s and 485s they have on these services, but it looks like only 2 sets went to Nagaden and two sets were kept by JR East, so unless there's only 1 each of the other two, some should survive.  Unless they're cutting back service also.

[gmat]

I think that there are only one each of the 189 and 485 series and one of the newer Spacia on the Nikko Kinugawa run. I've been shooting them pretty regularly as I pretty much haunt the Shinjuku Station.

I've not noticed fans trying to shoot 189 and 485 like the Hometown Tochigi to Kuroiso that's retiring next month though.

 

Best wishes,

Grant

[Mudkip Orange]

like something a British TOC would design on the first draft

 

Completely beat me to the punch on this one.

 

All it's missing is the regulation bright yellow on the ends.

[KenS]

I think that there are only one each of the 189 and 485 series and one of the newer Spacia on the Nikko Kinugawa run.

 

I think that's correct, based on my reading of various Japanese wikipedia page.  The 485 is the normal JRE train on the run (and the Spacia is the Tobu's).  The 189 is used to fill-in during peak times or as protection if there's a problem with the 485, but the interior isn't as luxurious (per what I've read; I've no idea what specifically is the difference).

[marknewton]

Looks like I'm out of step with everybody here, but I rather like that livery!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[Martijn Meerts]

Looks like I'm out of step with everybody here, but I rather like that livery!

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

 

Same here, reminds me of the Morning Daylight a bit...