first emu?

[keitaro]

can anyone tell me what the first full emu comuter train was e.g. 101 series nankai 21000 etc i can't seem to find specific info.

 

I'm not looking for emu pulled services though just full sell propelled emu comuter set.

[disturbman]

I'm not looking for emu pulled services though ust full emu comuter set.

 

"EMU pulled"? That doesn't make sense. It's either an EMU or it's pulled, can't really be both.

 

An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power.

 

The most important part of the definition here being: "self-propelled".

 

I would have said, the first suburban EMU was perhaps the 70 Series but I'll let people that really know answer that question for me.

[keitaro]

I mentioned not pulled as some people mistake ed/ef as emu some times.

 

but yes self propelled would have been a good mention.

[The_Ghan]

Does this count? Choshi Electric Railway 100 series ... It's the oldest I could find with my limited knowledge ... I'm pretty sure that there are EMUs from around the '20s.

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[marknewton]

G'day Keitaro!

 

The first EMU railway cars to run in Japan were on the Kobu Railway in 1904.

 

http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr23/pdf/Photostory.pdf

 

http://www.jrtr.net/jrtr23/index.html

 

If you include trams, the Odawara Electric Railway was running tramcars in MU as early as 1900.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

[The_Ghan]

Ahhh ... my feeble attempts have aroused a Master ... 

 

Keitaro, I look forward to seeing your scratch-build model, mate .... 

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[bikkuri bahn]

If you mean the first bogie electric railcar, rather than a streetcar (Kyoto had the first electric trams in Japan), then that would be the Keihin Electric Railway No. 1, introduced in 1904:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Keihin_No1.jpg

 

It had Beckham 14-B-3 bogies, and 4 GE traction motors of 50hp.

 

Picture:

http://img2.blogs.yahoo.co.jp/ybi/1/27/dc/aw7131/folder/212109/img_212109_11950899_1?1269491622

 

As far as the first units that ran in multiple, that would be the Nankai Railway in 1907.  As there were no electrical or pneumatic throttle connections between cars, drivers were in each car, and communicated by interphone.

 

http://www.khi.co.jp/rs/company/history/since_1907.html

[Nick_Burman]

 As there were no electrical or pneumatic throttle connections between cars, drivers were in each car, and communicated by interphone.

 

http://www.khi.co.jp/rs/company/history/since_1907.html

 

More likely communication was by buzzer code. JNR's KiHa 42000 and 42500 railcars ran in MU like that - the lead motorman would use a buzzer to tell his mates in the trailing cars when to accelerate, shift gears (the cars had mechanical drives) and brake.

 

Cheers NB

[bikkuri bahn]

I had a library book handy, Nihon no Densha Monogatari, and according to the author, the communication was indeed done by some phone apparatus. As this was an early application of multiple unit running, it likely was superceded by some other method of course.

[keitaro]

hmm thanks all.

 

I want to get a few older style models preffable with some form of history. i have a few i really like but just looking about for more.

 

Alot of these guys are best obtained via wourld kougei unfortunately

[Nick_Burman]

hmm thanks all.

 

I want to get a few older style models preffable with some form of history. i have a few i really like but just looking about for more.

 

Alot of these guys are best obtained via wourld kougei unfortunately

 

Tomytec is your friend, although their models are of cars from the 1920's and 1930's.

 

Cheers NB

[marknewton]

With respect bb, I'd argue that the Nankai cars weren't true multiple units, if they required a driver in each car. I'd say they were simply running coupled. I have a GA drawing of the Kobu Railway De 950 cars that clearly shows the MU jumper cable receptacles/sockets and brake pipe air connections, and they had early GE MU controllers. There's an interesting article in the Jan 2005 issue of "The Railway Pictorial" that describes the early electrified lines, and shows these cars running as three car - motor-trailer-motor - trains.

 

But however you define EMUs, it's clear that the Japanese railways were not slow in adopting new technologies.  

 

All the best,

 

Mark.

[keitaro]

i spent hours but there is so many private lines even the wiki for jp site of japans railway history doesn't mention, only when the first electric line was.

 

it has references to electrics but like mark said they are not fully running EMU's.

 

I guess it comes down to how you define an EMU self propelled train....

[Mudkip Orange]

hmm thanks all.

 

I want to get a few older style models preffable with some form of history. i have a few i really like but just looking about for more.

 

Alot of these guys are best obtained via wourld kougei unfortunately

 

The 42500's Nick mentioned earlier are available from Micro Ace: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10056588