Kintetsu 10000 series first "Vista Car"

[bikkuri bahn]

Film from 1958 about the testing of the pioneer 10000 series Vista Car trainset, specifically the air-cushion bogies.  The air-cushion suspension was developed with Bridgestone Tire Corporation, and fitted to Kintetsu standard Schlieren-type bogies.  Ride quality as well as noise levels were measured on a portion of the main line between Haibara and Nabari.

 

Some nice scenes on the Kintetsu Main Line as well as glimpses of other Kintetsu rolling stock.

 

Edited September 18, 2014 by bikkuri bahn

[Jcarlton]

Interesting.  It's amazing to see how the private railways engineering led to the technologies of the Shinkansen. The private lines seem to experiment than JNR did.

[kvp]

It's because they had to be competitive and profitable. Also, they had less rolling stock, so it was not really required to keep everything standardised. Many private railways imported and some still import new technology from overseas. (a good example is the Siemens 'singing' inverters in Keikyu emu-s) The air suspension could be easily fitted to schlieren bogies, because they have a design that allows air suspension to be used with the secondary suspension coils kept inside the airbags as a backup system. This simple system is still in use on many european trains. The use of air suspension also allowed the use of bolsterless bogies, because the earlier (pre WWII) pure steel mechanical solutions had too many problems, but the airbags, when mounted above the bogie frames are much easier to twist while still serving the main role as secondary suspension. Interesting fact, that the vista cars in the movie have jackobs bogies, a very popular thing back then. (also found on the direct predecessors of the first shinkansen, the first Odayku romancecars) The 2 double decker cars and the middle car between them seems to be inserted in the middle of a more conventional 4 car Kintetsu emu.

 

Thanks for the movie! It's always interesting to see films from the dawn of modern railways in Japan.

[Jcarlton]

Also this train was the payoff for the investment Kintetsu made to regauge the entire railroad:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PRVDW4vnwE
I suppose that they could do that because they didn't interchange large amounts of freight with JNR.

[Mudkip Orange]

Interesting, when they show the system map a few minutes in they don't include the Kyoto-Nara (Yamatosaidaiji) line.

[Mudkip Orange]

Micro Ace's version of this train is back in stock at HS. Just ordered mine.

[bikkuri bahn]

Interesting, when they show the system map a few minutes in they don't include the Kyoto-Nara (Yamatosaidaiji) line.

Likely because at the time that route was a separate company, the Nara Electric Railway["Naraden"], which was jointly owned by Keihan and Kintetsu. The line was absorbed by Kintetsu in 1963 to become the Kyoto Line, but the connection at Tanbabashi and through running on the Keihan Line lasted until 1968.

Edited February 26, 2015 by bikkuri bahn