International Railroad Discussion > SCMaglev and Railway Park (Nagoya, Japan)

The "SC" in SCMaglev stands for Super Conducting. The Japanese subtitle for the Railway Park is translated as "Museum of Dreams and Imagination." Well, I guess that's better than what the Passenger Board has become lately, the Discussions of Pipe Dreams and Delusions. :-)

The museum opened in March of 2011 by JR Tokai (a.k.a. JR Central), one of the JR Group of companies. Museum's main goal is to showcase the progress made in high speed rail technologies by JR Tokai, which includes the Super Conducting Maglev.

I made a day trip to Nagoya from Tokyo by riding the Shinkansen, covering roughly 225 miles in about 2 hours. I then hopped on the Aonami Line at Nagoya and rode the train to the terminus, Kinjofuto, where the museum is located.

- If you follow the recommended route in the museum, you should see these first: C62-17 4-6-4 steam locomotive, Class 955 Experimental Shinkansen (a.k.a. "300X"), and SCMaglev MLX01-1.

- 300X set a speed record of 443 km/h (275 mph) back in 1996. MLX01-1 set a speed record of 581 km/h (361 mph) in 2003.

- Video of some of the interactive exhibits in the museum, to be described next.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/14 01:22 by cchan006.

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In the video, you see scale models of past SCMaglev vehicles on display, and an operating scale model of the current SCMaglev set running underneath - that's the first two clips.

In the third clip, you see a demonstration of TERRA-S system, which activates when there's an earthquake. Fourth clip is a demonstration of CTC, which many are already familiar with on TO. Fifth clip is an interactive demonstration of ATC, Automatic Train Control, which is basically PTC. One train is controlled by the museum patron (me), and the other runs based on speed and distance of the train I'm running.

- Description of TERRA-S.
- Description of ATC.
- Control panel for the ATC demo.

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- The inductor between the tracks in front of the Shinkansen N700 model sends ATC signal to the robot train. Probably similar to the real thing.

- Mock up of MLX01-01 which shows the museum patron where the propulsion, guidance/levitating, and superconducting magnets are when the appropriate buttons are pushed.

- Interactive exhibits of the principles of SCMaglev. If you want to learn more, go visit, or do your own research. I don't want to describe this half-ass, which might be used in the Passenger Board to win pointless debates, instead of actually building something useful.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/14 22:27 by cchan006.

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- Beautiful models of the different Shinkansens used by JR Central. 0 Series is the original and the oldest, and the N700/N700A are the newest. 0, 100, and 300 series are no longer in service.

- Clay model mockups at the exhibit about aerodynamics and "micro pressure waves", which leads to "tunnel boom."

- Well, the museum also has full size train sets: 700, 300, 100, and 0 series, from left to right.

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Thank you for the images and thorough explanations. I will add it to my list.

nm2320 Wrote:
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> Thank you for the images and thorough
> explanations. I will add it to my list.

There's more to report about this museum, and yes, I highly recommend a visit there.

- Besides HSR and Maglev, the museum also has much older stuff. In the foreground is a GE boxcab imported into Japan in 1923 when the Tokaido Line electrification began. Japan had yet to manufacture an electric locomotive on their own.

- Other older stuff in the museum. The car to the extreme right was used to test clearances around the ROW.

- Why is a steam locomotive displayed next to Shinkansen 300X and Maglev MLX01-1? C62-17 set a speed record of 129 km/h (80 mph) for a 3'6" narrow gauge steam locomotive, back in 1954. I wonder if that had anything to do with it being an inspiration for the anime series, Galaxy Train 999?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/14 23:59 by cchan006.

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- Original "Doctor Yellow" and the double-decker Shinkansen restaurant car are preserved at the museum. Doctor Yellow is an inspection train set to check track and catenary conditions. Current "Doctor Yellow" is based on the Series 700 Shinkansen.

- Inside the restaurant car, which was part of the Series 100 Shinkansen. The kitchen is on the lower deck. I never got to eat in here while it was in service. Instead, I utilized the buffet car on the Series 0 Shinkansen.

- Restaurant car menu in both Japanese and English.

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SCMaglev and Railway Park has a very entertaining HO scale layout, and here's a video showing some (but not all) of the stuff that happens while it's operating.

The last clip in the video shows the scenery to the north of Kinjofuto Station with a nice suspension bridge (toll road) in the background, which is located in the middle of Port of Nagoya. Aonami Line train shows up, which I took to return to Nagoya after I recorded the clip.

- The HO scale layout is larger than what I could compose.

- Main station on the layout is JR Nagoya Station, I think.

- There's a fireworks show in the video.

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- MOW (Maintenance Of Way) train on the Shinkansen ROW (Right of Way). I think this is a ballast train.

- MOW train on the move, while Sunrise Sleeper Limited Express sets meet in the background. The layout is simulating night running.

- I also attended the Nagoya Rock Festival.

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