Yamagata Shinkansen

[Guest bill937ca]

Some Shinkansen lines north of Tokyo run on branch lines as Limited Expresses with a top speed of about 80 mph.  An example of this is the Yamagata Shinkansen. There are instances of dual gauge track, 1067mm for the local runs and 1435mm for the Shinkansen runs off the main Shinkansen routes.

 

 

 

Coupling to Yamagata Shinkansen to Yamabiko Shinkansen at  Fukushima station. From Fukushima to Tokyo the run is a conventional Shinkansen.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjE7tIa9UuA

 

Coupling:

 

[Bernard]

Bill,

Is it universal that all Shinkansens can couple together?

 

I keep forgetting to ask this question, in the USA they have changed over the wooden ties to cement, in Japan, the construction is different, the rails are on cemented slabs. Is there a reason for this?

[Guest bill937ca]

Bill,

Is it universal that all Shinkansens can couple together?

 

I keep forgetting to ask this question, in the USA they have changed over the wooden ties to cement, in Japan, the construction is different, the rails are on cemented slabs. Is there a reason for this?

Bill,

Is it universal that all Shinkansens can couple together?

 

I keep forgetting to ask this question, in the USA they have changed over the wooden ties to cement, in Japan, the construction is different, the rails are on cemented slabs. Is there a reason for this?

 

Not all Shinkansen couple together.  This is newer development.

 

I read somewhere that slab track allows greater speeds in curves. Slab track construction is more stable.

 

 

http://www.tomytec.co.jp/tomix/report/n/nj_057.htm

 

Because of the topography the 103 mile Sanyo Shinkansen is 49% viaduct, 9% bridge and 35% tunnel.  The topography in Japan is not suitable for ground level track construction.

[CaptOblivious]

I keep forgetting to ask this question, in the USA they have changed over the wooden ties to cement, in Japan, the construction is different, the rails are on cemented slabs. Is there a reason for this?

 

I wondered that too. The answer: Increased stability, decreased deformation. You can imagine how slight imperfections would be a problem for bullet trains!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railroad_tie#Ballastless_track

These systems offer the advantage of superior stability and almost complete absence of deformation. ballastless track systems incur significantly lower maintenance costs compared to ballasted track. Due to the absence of any ballast, damage by flying ballast is eliminated, something that occurs at speeds in excess of 250 km/h (150 mph). It is also useful for existing railroad tunnels; as slab track is of shallower construction than ballasted track, it may provide the extra overhead clearances necessary for converting a line to overhead electrification, or for the passage of larger trains.