International Railroad Discussion > 50 years of bullets

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/29/upshot/fifty-years-ago-and-today-japan-blazes-trails-with-trains.html?hpw&rref=upshot&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpHedThumbWell&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well&_r=0&abt=0002&abg=1

Fifty Years Ago and Today, Japan Blazes Trails With Trains

Fifty years ago this week, Japan conducted the first full-length test run of the Shinkansen, or what became known in English as the bullet train. A 12-car train ran from Tokyo to Osaka and back at an average speed of just over 80 miles per hour and a peak speed of 135 m.p.h. (217 kilometers per hour).

In an earlier test run, the train had hit a peak speed of 150 m.p.h., but the president of Japan’s national railroad said it would be held to 130 m.p.h. in regular service for at least the first six months.

But today, the Shinkansen run at a top speed of 168 m.p.h., and the Japanese have developed an even faster train, using a different technology called magnetic levitation, that can go as fast as 360 m.p.h.

...

A week or so before the Japanese test, The Times carried a small item about how the Budd Company was making plans for a high-speed train for the United States. Those trains, if built, would be capable of speeds of 125 m.p.h., the article said.

Five years later, the Budd trains, known as Metroliners, did go into service on what was then Penn Central’s Northeast Corridor between New York and Washington.

If I remember correct the early diesels of Santa Fe and possibly Union Pacific ran pretty fast too at top speeds. They even were bullet shaped ;)

Could we call these bullet trains too?

here's my tribute from one of the many trips i have made to Japan

in their land they prefer the use of the word 'Shinkansen' to the word 'Bullet' !

makes sense

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heres an evening crew change of conductors at Nagoya

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Do you have anymore information or photos
of how the coupling of these two trains in pic 8
is accomplished. Very unusual looking setup.

Larry Dodgion
Wilsonville, OR

bakersfielddave Wrote:
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> they couple up various types of shinkansens the
> couplers are all the same like a sharfenburg
> type most common on the northern lines out of
> tokio

I got a close up video of the uncoupling between E5 and E6 Shinkansen sets at Morioka earlier this year. Hope to post that soon.

truxtrax Wrote:
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> Do you have anymore information or photos
> of how the coupling of these two trains in pic 8
> is accomplished. Very unusual looking setup.

I don't know when I'll post the video, so I'll post a screen capture of my video of the couplers just as they are uncoupling, first photo. E5 is to the left, and E6 to the right, and both are capable of 320 km/h in revenue service. The couplers can be seen in regular use on most JR East Shinkansen sets, like the double-decker E4s, E2s, and the narrower loading gauge E3s. The discontinued 200 series had them, too.

I'll post some contributions to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Shinkansens in revenue service, too. The following are screen capture from the Shinkansen DVD which came with the May issue of "Tetsudo Fan" or Japan Railfan Magazine.

- First Shinkansen prototype is being shipped to the test track just east of Odawara at Kamonomiya. The train set to the right is probably Series 151 running as Limited Express Kodama, which will soon be discontinued when the Shinkansen's "local" service starts and adopts that name. Note that the Shinkansen prototype is being shoved by a steam locomotive! Unfortunately, the video changes scene before I get a good look at what it is.

- Roster shot of one of the three Shinkansen prototypes. This is the second set, the B series, a four car consist. The headlights are smaller than the production Series 0, and there are subtle difference on the curves.

- B series was used to set the 256 km/h (150 mph) speed record mentioned in the NY Times article, which has a slight factual error implying that a 12 car set was used for that purpose. Here's a screen capture of it running near that speed out of a tunnel, which occured on March 30, 1963. Unfortunately, none of the prototypes survived, used to establish scrapping procedures when newer sets were manufactured.

- Here's a rare color footage (screen capture) of the ceremony held at Tokyo station for the first Shinkansen in revenue service. NY Times article has the more popular B&W photo. October 1, 1964, just past 6 am.

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