Japan

Ran across something interesting on the Tokaido Shinkansen line south of Yokohama, near Hiratsuka. I've never seen this type of switch and I wondered if anyone had made this type of switch for the Shinkansen.

Here's a photo:
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A KMZ link to Google Earth

Best I can figure out is the white framework holds all four pieces of track. The tracks slide sideways left and right to allow the work train access to the mainline. Looks like something interesting to model. I stink at making stuff.

Bill
 
Ran across something interesting on the Tokaido Shinkansen line south of Yokohama, near Hiratsuka. I've never seen this type of switch and I wondered if anyone had made this type of switch for the Shinkansen.

Best I can figure out is the white framework holds all four pieces of track. The tracks slide sideways left and right to allow the work train access to the mainline. Looks like something interesting to model. I stink at making stuff.

Actually, there is no "real" switch.
The two side tracks are used only to store lightweight maintainance vehicles, such as catenary inspection carts. To have them access the mainline, the two yellow boards are used: those are actually portable 1435mm gauge track sections, wich are placed over the mainline tracks and connected to the storage tracks.

The principle is similar to the rerailer ramps used on model railways:

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The reason why such a system is used instead of a more traditional switch is that a normal switch (even if not set on the divergent route) might have been considered an impediment to high-speed running, as the section in question is among those that allow Tokaido Shinkansen trains to reach their maximium speed). A monorail-like switch like you described is impossible to make with conventional 2-rail tracks, let alone those laid on normal ballast.
 
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Hmm. I can see the concept now. I could probably fake most of it easily enough except for the sliding boards. It wouldn't be operational, just a static display. Nothing came up on the DLS for any of the MOW carts shown in GE at that location. They're there, though.

Bill
 
Shinkansen ALFA-X Class E956 by JIRC-Trainz in Trainz 2019 on Icarus Shinkansen v 2.0 (WIP) route. In this video we test the ALFA-X between Icaruko and Asadaka on the Icarus Shinkansen reaching 400 km/h max. The train was made by Rizky from JIRC-Trainz: Site Link: http://jirctrainz.com is availalbe under the Work in progress tab: http://jirctrainz.com/work-in-progress/

Route Icarus Shinkansen is a work in progress and will be released on the Trainz Download Station (DLS).



 
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This, quite trending on japanese railfans twitter yesterday..
The test run of first set E235-1000 series. This series will be replace current E217 series on Yokosuka line..
I also heard some of former E217 sets will be transfered to Indonesia.

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This, quite trending on japanese railfans twitter yesterday..
The test run of first set E235-1000 series. This series will be replace current E217 series on Yokosuka line..

Ah, yes. My japanese twitter feed yesterday was overloaded with test run pics. I have to admit that the E235 looks far better in the Yokosuka Line cream-blue livery rather than the Yamanote Line's one.
Just a quick question: is it a reskin of Hirochi's E235? I did a similar reskin when the E235-1000s where first announced, but i ended up with blue doors...

I also heard some of former E217 sets will be transfered to Indonesia.

Interesting. That's something that i did not expect.
I rather tought E217s were to be transferred to Tokyo-area local lines (Ryomo, Takasaki, Utsunomiya and so on...) to replace the 211s still in use there.
Tho, i did saw pictures of a KCI 203 Series set equipped with an enlarged cowhanger and cameras to test the platform's loading gauge. Apparently the test runs didn't go well as it came back with a slightly bent cowhanger.
I wonder if the E217s will be reformed to provide similar performances to commuter trains (E217s are suburban trains, so in an 11-car set they have a lower 4M7T motor/trailer ratio than, say, 205s wich have a 6M5T ratio) or they'll be kept "as they are" - green cars included.

Speaking of suburban trains, i recall KCI (or KCJ as it was then known), was actually interested in a few 211 Series sets for outer-suburban services, but as JR East hadn't any 211 set stored, they proposed ex-Joban Line 415-1500s instead. KCI accepted and JR East started to prepare a 415-1500 Series set for refurbishment and conversion to DC-only (415s are AC/DC EMUs). Mid-work the deal fell trough for unknown reasons, and said 415-1500 Series set was scrapped.
 
Available DLS
TOKYO TOWER 2020
JMA TOKYO TOWER <KUID2:461543:100437:1>
JMA TOKYO TOWER 75% <KUID:461543:100617>
JMA TOKYO TOWER 50% <KUID:461543:100438>

tokyotower.jpg


tower3.jpg


tower2.jpg
 
Available DLS
TOKYO TOWER 2020
JMA TOKYO TOWER <KUID2:461543:100437:1>
JMA TOKYO TOWER 75% <KUID:461543:100617>
JMA TOKYO TOWER 50% <KUID:461543:100438>

Very nice. I could use a little version of the Tokyo Tower in one of my Japanese cities.:D.
 
Cruising the Google Earth streets I located a very 7.5 Km shortline: The Shonan Monorail. I don't believe I've ever seen anything like this on the DLS. Looks interesting.

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Are there any "hanging" monorails at any third-party sites?

Bill
 
Cruising the Google Earth streets I located a very 7.5 Km shortline: The Shonan Monorail. I don't believe I've ever seen anything like this on the DLS. Looks interesting.

Are there any "hanging" monorails at any third-party sites?

Bill

The Shonan monorail is probably Japan's most famous suspended monorail, togheter with the Chiba Urban Monorail (at 15.2Km in lenght, it's the world's longest suspended railway, and the only one with a branch line).

Both use a Mitsubishi-made system, wich was an improvement of the French SAFEGE suspension monorail design of the early 1950s (of wich Mitsubishi had acquired production licenses in the mid-60s).

Before the Shonan monorail (wich opened in 1971 as the world's first SAFEGE-type monorail for regular passenger service) and the already-mentioned Chiba Urban Monorail (wich opened in 1984); in 1964 Mitsubishi had also built a 500m-long suspended-monorail between the Higashiyama Zoo and the nearby Botanical Gardens in Nagoya city. It was primarily designed to be a testbed for future applications of the SAFEGE system, and once completed it's role, it was closed in 1974 (three years after the opening of the Shonan Monorail), due to a very low ridership, high operating costs and severe deterioration in the track's supports.

The Ueno Zoo also has a tiny 300m-long suspended monorail on it's grounds, altough it's not a SAFEGE-type monorail. It's a proprietary Japanese design developed togheter with the TMGBT (the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Bureau of Transportation, wich also operates the line), and based on the Wuppertal Schwebenbahn system (world's first suspension railway, wich opened in 1901). It opened in 1959, but operations were suspended last year due to the deterioration of the track and rolling stock.

SAFEGE had also a 1.4Km-long test track in Saran (Centre-Val De Loire prefecture, near Orléans) between 1959 and 1966.

For trainz, the original SAFEGE test track monorail and relative train was under development a few years ago, even with it's own dedicated Auran trainz thread, altough there have not been any updates for a long time.
An under-development Shonan monorail train even popped out in this very thread not long ago, altough i can't remember exactly wich train it was (a 5000, 500 or even a 400 Series) nor who was making it.

The suspended SAFEGE-type monorails did not have much success as they were far more complex to build, maintain and operate than their "conventional" straddle-monorails derived from the German ALWEG design.
The Tokyo Monorail (opened 1964), wich connects Hammatsucho station with Haneda Airport, is a "pure" ALWEG design, while most of the other monorails in Japan (such as the Osaka Monorail, Tama-toshi Monorail, Kitakyushu Monorail and the "Yui-Rail" in Okinawa) are a Japanese design derived from the ALWEG one.

As a side note, the reason why two completely different monorail systems are in use is that Hitachi was the first to acquire the German ALWEG production license, so to compete with it, Mitsubishi acquired the French SAFEGE license instead.
(both companies still hold their respective production licenses).

Hirochi made the Tokyo Monorail 1000 Series and relative trackage for trainz. They're avaible on the DLS, and as of now, they're the only Japanese-style monorails avaible for trainz at all.

Mini-trivia:
The SAFEGE test monorail appeared in the 1966 movie adaptation of Farenheit 451. The film director actually instructed the driver to crouch down to make appear as if the monorail was operating automatically. The test track was torn down a few months after filming ended.
 
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I just replayed Fahrenheit 451 just now, fast-forwarding to the monorail scenes. Not all of them were "live" from the test monorail. Some of them were obviously models and appeared to be stop-motion animated. But, having said that, thanks for the great background information. It would be pretty cool to be able to create a route of this type, and I definitely agree that the complexity of the "track" would be a limiting factor. Just animating the switches alone would take great patience.

Is the reason for the monorail the connection between Mejiroyamatsheeta Station (serving Katasayama Park) and Ofuna Station (with connections to most JR routers)? There isn't much else to cause such an expensive setup.

Bill
 
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Ah, yes. My japanese twitter feed yesterday was overloaded with test run pics. I have to admit that the E235 looks far better in the Yokosuka Line cream-blue livery rather than the Yamanote Line's one.
Just a quick question: is it a reskin of Hirochi's E235? I did a similar reskin when the E235-1000s where first announced, but i ended up with blue doors...

Yes, It's Hirochi's E235.
I put the door mesh, animation and its textures file to separated folder so it won't share the same texture with main mesh textures.

Speaking of suburban trains, i recall KCI (or KCJ as it was then known), was actually interested in a few 211 Series sets for outer-suburban services, but as JR East hadn't any 211 set stored, they proposed ex-Joban Line 415-1500s instead. KCI accepted and JR East started to prepare a 415-1500 Series set for refurbishment and conversion to DC-only (415s are AC/DC EMUs). Mid-work the deal fell trough for unknown reasons, and said 415-1500 Series set was scrapped.

Well.. FYI Indonesian Railway (KAI) also had been proposed some of former Japanese train like 583 series (sleeper kitaguni), and KiHa 183. The proposal of 583 series cancelled because of internal politics problems in late 90s. In the other side KiHa 183 also cancelled because KAI had prioritize the electrification.
 
Is the reason for the monorail the connection between Mejiroyamatsheeta Station (serving Katasayama Park) and Ofuna Station (with connections to most JR routers)? There isn't much else to cause such an expensive setup.

As far as i know, the monorail system was chosen for several different reasons.
For starters, the Nishikamakura area (wich is roughly the area between the Enoden line and the JR Keihin-Tohoku/Neghishi Line) in the 1960s was an industrial zone, and as Japan's population rapidly increased during the economic miracle, industries were "encouraged" by the governemnt to move away from populated areas (and to relocate to Chiba and Kawasaki), wich meant that in the late 1960s, Nishikamakura was an area ready to be developed as a quaint and tranquil "New Town" for Tokyo's booming population. The fact that it was literally a stones throw away from the Kamakura and Shonan beaches (wich are extremely popular day-trip among Tokyoites), also greatly helped in Nishikamakura's success.

As said before, the Nishikamakura area is bordered to the north by the JR (then JNR) Keihin-Tohoku and Negishi lines, wich were to take commuters down into Tokyo and Yokohama, and to the south by the Enoden line, wich was deemed unadequate and unfit to handle the daily mass of commuters coming and going (at the time, Enoden wasn't doing economically exactly well, and with ageing equipment and dilapdated infrastructure, an all-togheter closing of the line was considered multiple times).

To solve this issue, building a new rail line was deemed of the utmost importance. Luckily, land wasn't an issue. In fact, Keikyu railway had considered in the 1930s to build a railway line to Enoshima, and as such, acquired the necessary land. By the 1960s, the project was scrapped, but the land remained in Keikyu's onwership, wich built an highway instead (as a side note, Keikyu still has a railway line nearby: the Zushi Line is located roughly 7km from where the "Keikyu Enoshima Line" was to be built).

In the mid-60s, Keikyu railway sold the land to Kamakura city, but with the "New Town" construction in progress, the "new railway" was in a decision-making limbo: a full-size "rapid railway" was too costly, a tramway was out-of-question and buses weren't able to cope with the traffic, and JNR wasn't exactly in a favourable economic situation, meaning that a Keihin-Tohoku Line branch serving Nishikamakura wasn't an option.
Furthemore, the "Keikyu road" on wich the railway was to be built had several steeply inclined sections (up to 8%) and extremely tight curves (some with a radius of just 25m).

This is where Mitsubishi stepped in, as they offered Kamakura city to build a monorail line.
After acquiring the SAFEGE licenses in the mid-60s, Mitsubishi was interested to market it's suspension monorail system not only as a "ride" for a Zoo or some other kind of park, but for an actual day-to-day regular service operation, and the "Nishikamakura issue" was a perfect chance to show off. A suspension monorail was actually almost ideal for the area, as it could have been built simply over the "Keikyu road", while easily managing thight curves and steep inclines (like the original SAFEGE design, the Shonan monorail actually runs on rubber tyres).

Finally, as it was a sort of a "turn-key" project (and a big pubblicity stunt), Mitsubishi itself offered to pay for a large part of the construction costs.

As such, it was a no-brainer, and Kamakura city happily accepted the monorail proposal.

The monorail beams and tracks were built by Mitsubishi Heavy with the aid of Mitsubishi Cement, the trains were made at the Mitsubishi Yokohama Shipyards, the electric and substation equipment was manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric, and the whole work was supervised by Mitsubishi Estate. In short, almost evry company of the gigantic Mitsubishi Conglomerate partecipated in the construction of the Shonan monorail.

The first 4.7Km-long section, from Ofuna to Nishi-Kamakura, opened on the 27th of March 1970, followed by the rest of the line (1.9Km to Shonan-Enoshima) on the 2nd of July 1971.
The line was a big novelty when it first opened, as it was the first suspension railway in pubblic, regular service (except the original Wuppertal schwebenbahn, of course). As the novelty wore off, the monorail faced a few initial problems, but as Nishikamakura new town fully developed, riership boomed, and the Shonan monorail became higly successful.

As of today the Shonan monorail still happily operates with more than 90% of it's passengers being commuters, exactly as the original project intended. The Shonan monorail proved to be also a lifesaver for the area: due the huge influx of tourists in recent times, the Enoden line (wich is a tourist attraction itself) is costantly overcrowded, and the Shonan monorail provides a much-needed relay for those going to and from Tokyo.

I've also found this 20-mins english-narrated documentary about the construction of the Shonan monorail (promotional material by Mitsubishi without a doubt).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1BPyNuNCE4
 
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