JR East East i-E E491 EMU Track Inspection Train

[gmat]

Not the best photos as it was on the other side of the adjacent platform and I didn't realize what it was until I was actually shooting the special middle car.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best wishes,

Grant

[KenS]

Thanks for posting that Grant. I really like that train, and there are very few photos of it online.

 

Anyone know more about the fourth car?  My Micro Ace model only has three, but the Japanese Wikipedia page briefly mentions a fourth ("50 Maya 5001" formerly "50 Suya 5001") with something about "architectural" measurments, so I'm guessing it's checking clearances or maybe track geometry. It looks like an older inspection car of some kind repainted to match the color of the E491 and the "50 Maya" link appears to say that it's a car modified in 1995 to do clearance measurements of some kind.  But was it part of some other train that's now used with the E491, or does it get used independently or with other cars (the East-i D, for example)? Did anyone ever make a model of it?

[gmat]

I believe that it's he same as the one in this thread.

 

http://www.jnsforum.com/index.php/topic,3436.0.html

 

Best wishes,

Grant

[miyakoji]

Great pics, gmat.  I particularly like that third one with the side lights on.  I haven't seen that before.

[westfalen]

Railfanning is like fishing, sometimes you get lucky.

[Gordon Werner]

Thanks for posting that Grant. I really like that train, and there are very few photos of it online.

 

Anyone know more about the fourth car?  My Micro Ace model only has three, but the Japanese Wikipedia page briefly mentions a fourth ("50 Maya 5001" formerly "50 Suya 5001") with something about "architectural" measurments, so I'm guessing it's checking clearances or maybe track geometry. It looks like an older inspection car of some kind repainted to match the color of the E491 and the "50 Maya" link appears to say that it's a car modified in 1995 to do clearance measurements of some kind.  But was it part of some other train that's now used with the E491, or does it get used independently or with other cars (the East-i D, for example)? Did anyone ever make a model of it?

 

the 4th car you mention (the one that looks boxier and older ... is used to record clearances along the line where it is being used ... this includes track clearance, catenary pole clearance and such ... anything that could potentially foul a train and/or damage it ... I believe they only drag that car out tho after rebuilding sections of track to make sure that the existing clearances are maintained or if changed, what the new ones are.

 

It was originally part of the older Inspection train that the E491 replaced

 

it is rare to see it coupled to the E491s tho (or so I've been told)

 

 

many closeups here: http://www.jnsforum.com/community/topic/6654-i-e-e491-emu-track-inspection-train/

 

 

here is where it came from (original car class): https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9B%BD%E9%89%8450%E7%B3%BB%E5%AE%A2%E8%BB%8A

 

also more info here: https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/建築限界測定車

 

Edited January 19, 2016 by Gordon Werner