Japan

Nice pics and routes all. @ Railshuttle. Really nice progress on your route. @ DuskeyDuskey really good work on the Yard. Where can I find J-container stacks. I need some that are on the DLS as I am making a container yard at Icaruko Airport.
Sanyo J made them, ill ask him if he can upload them to the dls
 
Nice pics and routes all. @ Railshuttle. Really nice progress on your route. @ DuskeyDuskey really good work on the Yard. Where can I find J-container stacks. I need some that are on the DLS as I am making a container yard at Icaruko Airport.
I tried uploading them to the DLS before but something went wrong, there was some problem and I have not been able to upload them. But they're just available on my website. If you scroll down on the homepage, you'll be able to see my latest releases, including the containers.
 
Lol finally someone noticed it, its some meme asset kuro made

Mike Wazowski faceswapped with.... someone else!

Anyway, following my previous 6300 Series, here's another Mita Line train - this time the older 6000 Series!

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Already available on my website!

This is of course a reasonably well-known train as far as trainz content goes, having been made countless times in almost evry sauce. However, nearly all Toei 6000 Series models have been made from an "Indonesian" perspective, with the train being modelled as it was in service in Indonesia (with all related fetaures such as cowcatchers and window grills) and then eventually "back-modelled" into a Japanese version. This time around, i wanted to make the opposite - modelling from the "Japanese perspective" to properly encompass all the slight variations these trains had during their service life.

Now, depsite it's unassuming appearance, the Toei 6000 Series has quite a tricky and intersting history, indissolubly connected to the one of it's line - the Mita Line, wich has always been one, if not the one with the most difficult upbringing among all of Tokyo's subway lines, wether TRTA or Toei ones.
What is today's Mita Line was originally planned in 1957 as two different lines, one being a replacement for serveral tramway lines, intended to function as a branch of the Asakusa Line (and as such adopting the Asakusa Line's 1435mm standard gauge) and the other as a northern branch of the Tozai Line, wich would've been operated by TRTA and would've eventually reached Toda in Saitama Prefecture (ideally to serve a boat racing venue of the 1964 olympics).
In 1962 the subway master plan was revised, with the two branches being merged into a single line, numbered as Line 6, and planned to run between Gotanda, Itabashi and Takashimadaira, wich at the time was a rural zone being built up into a very dense cluster of Danchi apartments, Japan's typical apartment blocks (inspired from Soviet practices) that shaped urban expansion thruought the Japanese economic miracle.
Since the southern section was to be shared with the Asakusa Line to reach Nishi-Magome depot, Toei kept the 1435mm gauge in it's plans for Line 6, however soon both Tokyu and Tobu railway intervened, strongly demanding that Line 6 connect to their respective networks, since the line's planned terminuses were directly adjacent (such as in the case of Gotanda station for the Tokyu Ikegami Line) or within short distance from some of their main stations (Takashimadaira was a few kilometers away from Tobu's Wakoshi station), thus forcing Toei to redraw it's plans and to opt for the 1067mm gauge instead, making Line 6 incompatible with the Asakusa Line.

Tokyu Railway dropped out relatively soon from these plans, since their primary objective was to connect the Denentoshi Line to the subway network, ideally to the Ginza Line, even if it meant adopting a third rail (ultimately the Denentoshi Line began trough-services with the Hanzomon Line in 1978, built as a relief and bypass of the overcrowded Ginza Line).
However, Toei continued building Line 6, and was preparing for trough-services with Tobu, specificially with the Tojo Line - the ATS system was built to be compatible with Tobu's, and the subway rolling stock was to follow Tobu standards, including the provision of a raised driving position as a saftey mesaure against collisions at level crossings.

The first batch of these such trains, fourteen 4-car sets classified as the 6000 Series were built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries with electrical equipment from Hitachi, and were delivered in early 1968 to commence test-running on the nearly-finished infrastructure of the line.

Toei's sleek new stainless-steel trains were a true step-up from coeval rolling stock, however depsite their unassuming technical equipment and standard fittings, the 6000 Series was the bearer of a small, but fundamental revolution, being one of the first mass-produced trains fitted with an SIV, a static inverter.

Now, to power passenger compartment lighting (and other fetaures), a so called "low-voltage" (or "auxiliary") electrical circuit is used, with a voltage usually between 12 and 440V DC, powered by the train's auxiliary batteries (wich are continuously recharged by the catenary while the pantograph is up). However, having a DC circuit means that the powered equipment (such as lights) has to be DC as well, meaning it needs to be specialized (as most of it is produced for the house mains of 100V AC), and thus relatively expensive. A Static Inverter instead is an inverter that indeed converts DC to AC current, (unlike the traction inverters that would be widely adopted two decades later, SIVs only have a single output frequency) meaning that the auxiliary circuit for the lighting and interiors could be converted to the same 100V AC current of Japanese house mains, enabling manufacturers to utilize commonly available and mass-produced household-like equipment such as lightbulbs, driving down costs and making spare parts easier to source.
With this small but fundamental revolution, something that has been standard since on all kinds of rolling stock, the 6000 Series was awarded the 1969 "Laurel Prize" by the Japan Railfan Club.

For the planned trough-services with Tobu Railway, the 6000 Series had been fitted (besides the afromentioned raised driving position) with an additional service type indicator above the driver's window and the top destination rollsign was also already fitted with some Tobu Tojo Line station names: Wakoshi, Shiki, Kami-Fukuoka, Sakadocho (currently Sakado), Hgashimatsuyama and Shinrin-Koen, the northernmost terminus of most Tojo Line services.
Livery-wise, the 6000 Series was left unpainted, except for a thin dark red line on the sides, then the colour of Toei's rolling stock (both lines of the Toei Subway and also of the surface Toden tram network and Toei busses as well).

Finally, the first section of the Line, from Sugamo to Takashimadaira opened on the 27th of December 1968, with 6000 Series trains entering revenue service on the same day. This portion was isolated from the rest of the subway network (both Toei's and TRTA ones), and initially only acted as a feeder to the Yamanote Line, wich it connected to at Sugamo.
However, even as the northern portion of the line opened to the public, Tobu still hadn't bothered to start construction for their branch line from Wakoshi station to Takashimadaira, where it would have connected with the Mita line.
Tobu was getting second thoughts, partly because the Mita line took a slightly circuitous route to central Tokyo, but also because it wouldn't pass through Ikebukuro - Tobu had their terminal there, and thus, like most japanese major private railways had a significant commercial presence. Having direct trough-services between the Tojo Line and the Mita line would have given passengers a more direct link to shopping areas in central Tokyo, such as high-end Ginza, effectively self-hurting their own department stores businness in Ikebukuro.

Around the same time, the president of Seibu Railway, which also had a major railway line terminating in Ikebukuro, used his considerable financial and political power to change the planned route of what would later become the Yurakucho line to pass through Ikebukuro, and to evenutally connect with the Seibu Ikebukuro line.
As soon as this change was finalized and approved Tobu jumped ship, announcing their intentions to connect the Tojo line to the Yurakucho line as well (in what would eventually become the intricated mess of the Yurakucho and Fukutoshin Lines), and basically told Toei to go screw themselves.
Toei (and thus by extension, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government) predictably protested vociferously, but the national government told them to stay put.
As a result, Toei was left with a subway line that was fully compatible with a commuter line that it was intended to connect to, but remained orphaned of trough-services possibilities at both ends of the Line.

Depsite this, Toei Subway soldered on, remaining open for eventual trough-service openings. The Mita Line was extended southwards to Hibiya on the 30th of June 1972, ending the "temporary isolation" to the line and it's proper integration into the Tokyo subway network. For this extension another batch of 6000 Series trains, built by Alna Koki and Nippon Sharyo with Hitachi equipment, formed as nine 6-car sets plus an additional 28 cars to lenghten the 1968 1st batch trains to six cars as well.
These new second batch trains fetaured a few improvements and changes - first of all, Toei (having gave up any hope for a start of trough-services with Tobu railway within reasonable time) had the new batch delivered with rollsigns devoid of Tobu station names. Secondly, the new trains were still unpainted stainless, but with a blue line instead, having been choosen as the Mita Line's colour to distinguish it from other subway lines.

The two liveries mixed up for some time, and for a brief period it was possible to spot "mixed formations" two "blue" 2nd-batch cars sandwitched in the middle of a 1st-batch "red" formation. Eventually within a year, all trains were repainted into the Mita Line blue livery (and Tobu station names were all removed from rollsign at the first scheduled maintainance).
On the 27th of November 1973 the line reached it's namesake Mita Station, the interchange with Toei's other subway line, the Asakusa Line. For this extension, another batch of 6000 Series trains was delivered, formed as three 6-car sets built by Alna Koki and essentially identical to 2nd batch ones built a year earlier.

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Finally, on the 6th of May 1976 the last extension of the line opened, from Takashimadaira to Nishi-Takashimadaira (a section that originally was intended to be part of Tobu's connecting line and was as such originally licensed to Tobu railway, before being transferred to Toei at a later date). For this extension, a 4th (and final) batch of 6000 Series trains was delivered, formed as two 6-car sets built by Alna Koki.
This latter batch was of a more simplified design than it's predecessors, with the main tell-tale fetaure being the lack of door pocket windows, something derived from the 5200 Series of the Asakusa Line that was being built at the same time (coincidentally as a batch of two six-car sets as well), giving them a more distinctive look.

The one to Nishi-Takashimadaira would end up being the last Mita Line extension for a relatively long time. Preparatory work for an extension towards Sengakuji (part of the original "Asakusa branch line" plans) was begun, but left incomplete shortly after, and in 1985 the Ministry of Transportation finally ordered Toei to shelve all plans for a northwards extension of the line to Saitama (something that had been around since the original 1957 plans for a northwards branch of the Tozai Line) due to the opening of the Saikyo Line.

Shortly after, in 1988, the Mita Line 6000 Series began to be slightly repainted, with the stainless steel front being modified with the addition of front blue bands around the headlights (wich would end up as a distinctive fetaure of these trains), in order to help users distinguish them from other unpainted stainless steel rolling stock (such as Hibya Line trains).
A year later, in 1989 Toei finally proceeded to retrofit all 6000 Series trains with air-conditioning units (wich was carried out by Keio Heavy Equipment Maintainance Co., a subsidiary of Keio Railway), and at around the same time all trains were fitted with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's (and by extension, Toei's) "gingko leaf" green logo on the front doors.

However, unexpectedly, by the early 1990s something started to "move" in regards to the trough-services Toei had long craved for, with the Transportation Bureau managing to piggyback on the exension plans of TRTA's Namboku Line to Meguro, where it would've connected to the Toyku Meguro Line.
Toei managed to score an agreement with TRTA, that the new Namboku Line section from Tameike-Sanno to Meguro would've joined by the Mita Line at Shirokane-Takanawa, and jointly operated from there to Meguro.

Originally, Toei intended to adapt and modify it's 6000 Series trains, however it immediately proved difficult, especially considering that the extension to Meguro was to be built to Namboku Line standards, fetauring platform screen doors and semi-automatic ATO operation. To adapt 6000 Series trains would've meant performing extremely expensive modifications, possibily even double the price of a new rolling stock purchase, something that made no economic sense, considering that the 6000 Series was now reaching the end of it's service life, and compared to coeval rolling stock, was now relatively obsolete, depsite still performing well it's duties.
In the end, plans to use the 6000 Series were almost immediately shelved in favour of a more rational purchase of new rolling stock, to be built already compatible with the new section's standards.

Classified as the 6300 Series, a first small batch of five of the new Mita Line trains was introduced in regular service in 1993, replacing the most worn-out 6000 Series units, followed by a second batch of eight sets a year later in 1994. 6300 Series were then temporarily suspended due to the necessity to retify, uniform and standardize the performance and equipment of the new trains with TRTA's 9000 Series. With these issued being solved, a bulk older of an additional 24 sets was made to finally replace the 6000 Series, with the last run of the Mita Line's original trains held on the 28th of November 1999, ending 31 years, 11 months and one day of reliable and faithful service.
A year later, on the 26th of September 2000, the 32-years-long isolation of the Mita Line was finally ended with the commencment of trough-services with the Meguro Line.

In the end, the Toei 6000 Series had a quite unlucky history, but unexpectedly, after their retirement, things soon took a turn for the better.
The sudden large surplus of well-built, reliable and most importantly already air-conditioned trains available for relatively cheap prices made the 6000 Series appealing to many third-sector rural railways, an exceptional case with Toei rolling stock (wich is rarely purchased second-hand due to the extensive wear and tear it suffers during it's intensive service life), with two railways, Chichibu Railway and Kumamoto Railway purchasing conspicuous fleets of the retired trains (four 3-car sets in the case of the former and five 2-car sets in the case of the latter).

However, the true turn in the 6000 Series' history came in 2000, when eight six-car sets plus an additional 24 intermediate cars (to be rebuilt locally into proper EMUs) were donated free-of-charge by Toei to Indonesia, as part of an official development assistance campaign promoted by the JICA (the Japanese Government agency for international cooperation), where they would've been used to revive the fortunes of Jakarta's Jabotebabek commuter rail network, wich had fell in decay and disrepair at the time.
Not only the 6000 Series brought a breath of fresh air (both figuratively and literally, thanks to their air-conditioning!) to the KRL Jabotebakek commuter system but also spearheaded a comprehensive reorganization of the network, from countless point-to-point services to a rational line-based system, and of the general operations as well, among other things, under the maintainance aspect changing from a "repair when broken" system to proper pre-emptive maintainance.
Originally introduced on special "Expess" service where a fare surcharge applied, the 6000 Series opened the doors for the import of more and more used rolling stock bought second-hand from a variety of sources, wich led to the replacement of the old dilapdated rolling stock with comfortable air-conditioned trains and the progressive transformation of the Jabotebabek network into a modern and efficient commuter rail system.
However, age soon catched up with the 6000 Series trains, as they too started to be replaced by the copious introduction of ex-JR East 205 Series trains, with the last indonesian 6000 Series being retired in 2016.

In the end, out of 168 vehicles built, 96 (more than half) were donated to Indonesia, 12 were bought by Chichbu Railway and converted into 5000 Series trains (of wich three out of four still are in operation as of today) and 10 were purchased by the Kumamoto Railway and converted into 6000 Series trains (of wich two out of five are still operating), resulting in a total of 118 cars escaping scrapping in Japan, plus two additional intermediate cars that were also saved and are now currently on display in a pubblic park in Chiba and the front half of a cab car that was transferred to the Tokyo Fire Department as a ("very B-train shorty-esque") training facility.
Out of the indonesian sets, wich began to be scrapped after their retirement in 2016, a cab car was preserved and it's now on display inside KAI Commuter (KRL Jabotebabek's successor) Depok depot.

In the end, depsite their intial unlucky history, the 6000 Series saw an interesting turn of tables, going from an unassuming and utilitarian subway train to something quite famous and well-known, likely even more so in Indonesia rather than Japan.
 
Just to add some informations:

...and the front half of a cab car that was transferred to the Tokyo Fire Department as a ("very B-train shorty-esque") training facility.

1. The ones repurposed by Tokyo Fire Department as part of its training facility is car #6051, which is part of 1st batch trainsets that started its operation right from the earliest day of Mita Line. The middle part of body that was supposed to be scrapped was later purchased by Takada Sangyō (a local company entrusted by Tobu Railway for scrapping their old rolling stock) and repurposed as outdoor storage within the premises of Tobu Railway's Kita-Tatebayashi Freight Station (this site has been completely turned into a scrap yard since 2003).

However, the true turn in the 6000 Series' history came in 2000, when eight six-car sets plus an additional 24 intermediate cars (to be rebuilt locally into proper EMUs) were donated free-of-charge by Toei to Indonesia, as part of an official development assistance campaign promoted by the JICA (the Japanese Government agency for international cooperation), where they would've been used to revive the fortunes of Jakarta's Jabotebabek commuter rail network, wich had fell in decay and disrepair at the time.

2. The main cause of why Indonesia's Jabodetabek Commuter Rail Network fell into decayed condition in 1990s was the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, followed by a series of political turmoil that eventually brought heavy damages to nearly all parts of financial structure of Indonesia. This caused Indonesian Railways to unable to purchase new EMUs for Jabodetabek Commuter Rail Network in large quantity (as well as unable to maintain and refurbish both infrastructure and rolling stock in proper way), which relates to why there were large number of roof-riding passengers between late 1990s and early 2010s (this problem was completely solved in 2013, after large number of air-conditioned former Japanese EMUs were successfully replaced the aging non air-conditioned EMUs like KL3-76 series etc, with the heat dissipated from rooftop AC units caused roof-riders to be uncomfortable when they forced to ride on the roof).

Out of the indonesian sets, wich began to be scrapped after their retirement in 2016, a cab car was preserved and it's now on display inside KAI Commuter (KRL Jabotebabek's successor) Depok depot.

3. According to one of my friend who is an employee of KAI Commuter, car #6181 (the ones on display inside Depok EMU depot, part of the last trainset to operate in Indonesia a.k.a 6181F) was slightly modified to allow its usage as a training facility for all of maintenance staffs of KAI Commuter. On the other hand, remaining cars of 6181F are still put in storage at Manggarai Workshops (Jakarta) awaiting for its turn to be scrapped at the scrap yard located within the premises of Pasirbungur station (West Java).
 
Natural addition to the Toei 6000 Series pack, here's the Chichibu Railway 5000 Series!

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Already available on my website!

These are ex-Toei Mita Line 6000 Series trains bought second-hand by Chichibu Railway in 1999 to replace the four non air-conditioned 2000 Series sets (ex Tokyu 7000 Series trains) then assigned to local services on the Chichibu Line.
A total of four 3-car sets were purchased from Toei, for a total of 12 cars, all part of the 2nd batch of the 6000 Series, wich had been built in 1972 by Alna Koki and Nippon Sharyo with Hitachi electrical equipment for the southward exension of the Mita Line from Sugamo to Hibiya.

Upon their purchase by Chichibu Railway, the former 6000 Series cars undergone some modification and adaptation works, carried out by Keio Railway's Keio Heavy Equipment Maintainance Co., for their new role as rural commuter trains.
Modifications made included the replacement of the radio antennas (from the distinctive inductive loop type to an unassuming "horn"-style one), door chimes were installed, and the necessary equipment for "wanman" driver-only operation (in-car fareboxes, fare displays, semi-automatic selective door opening) was retrofitted.
Classified as the 5000 Series, the three trains entered service in late 1999, replacing all the non-air-conditioned 2000 Series sets within a year.

Currently, the first three sets are still in service as of today - the fourth one was involved in an accident at a level crossing on the 1st of November 2011, suffering extensive damage and was subsequently written off and scrapped.

Depsite having passed 50 years of age, there are no plans to replace the 5000 Series yet, altough the introduction of the relatively newer 7000, 7500 and 7800 Serieses (ex Tokyu 8500 and 8090 Series trains) is increasingly sidelining the 5000 Series to off-peak and reserve duties. Sometimes 5000 Series sets are also used on "Chichibuji" Rapid services if the dedicated rolling stock (the 6000 Series, ex-Seibu 101 Series trains) is unavailable.
 
Its in Takasaki, Gunma. Search up Kuragano station, there should be some freight line branching from the station. Its called Kuragano Freight Terminal (倉賀野貨物基地)


Ah I found it on the line that branches from Kragano Station. What exactly is put into the tanker wagons here? This can't be oil I assume? And where do they take the filled tanker cars?
 
This can't be oil I assume?

Indeed those tanker cars transport oil, but it's not loaded there, quite the opposite in fact. The one served by the Kuragano freight station appears to be a Japan Oil Terminal storage facility.
Japan Oil Terminal (or JOT in the names of some trainz assets) is a subsidiary company of JR Freight that transports oil, both crude and refined, from ports (Japan is one of the world largest oil importers) to various refineries, and from refineries to distribution centers. The one Kuragano storage facility is a place where large quantities of oil are stored temporarily on their way to refineries (crude oil) or distribution centers (refined oil).

In other news, here's the final pack of the Toei 6000 Series, and probably the quirkiest one - Kumamoto Electric Railway's 6000 Series.

Kumamoto-Electric-Railway-6000-Series.png


Now available on my website!

This relatively large fleet (for a rather small local railway) of ex-Toei Mita Line 6000 Series trains was introduced by Kumamoto Electric Railway in the 1990s to replace the company's older 500 and 600 Series trains, wich it had bought second-hand from Shizuoka Railway in the 1970s.

The first set of these "new old trains" was bought from Toei in 1995, when most 6000 Series trains were still operating on the Mita Line, the replacement with the 6300 Series having just begun. The set in question, formed of cars 6101 and 6108 (cab cars with and without pantograhps respectively), was indeed one of the first to have been replaced, being one of the oldest 1st-batch trains built in 1968 for the opening of the Mita Line, and also one of the only few that had not been yet retrofitted with air conditioning.

Following the purchase, the two cars were shipped to Kumamoto prefecture in Kyushu, making a little detour via Ni****etsu Railway's workshops, wich were contracted by Kumaden to adapt the ex-subway trains to it's particular needs:
distinctive "skeletronized" skirts were added to the fronts, one-man operation equipment was fitted, destination roller blinds were changedl, traction equipment was adapted for Kumaden's 600v DC catenary (instead of the standard 1500v DC one that these trains and air-conditioning was retrofitted, using four small-type air conditioning units typical of Japanese major private railways (such as Tokyu or Ni****etsu itself).

Maintaining it's original Toei series and car numbers, Kumamoto Electric Railway's 6000 Series entered revenue service on the 22nd of December 1995, among other things as the company's first air-conditioned train.
It was soon followed by a second set, formed of cars 6111 and 6118, themselves too early-replaced 1st-batch non-air-conditioned cars. After undergoing the same set of modifications, the second 6000 Series formation entered service a year and a day after the first, on the 23rd of December 1996. Initially, both sets retained their Mita Line-era blue livery, altough set No.1 (cars 6101 and 6108) was later repainted in a red livery.

The third 6000 Series set entered service for Kumaden on the 22nd of December 1999, almost exactly three years after the second one. This gap was due to some compatibility issues arising between Toei's 1st and 2nd batch 6300 Series train and the signalling system to be used on the then under-construction southwards Mita Line extension to Meguro (wich it would've shared with the more advanced TRTA Namboku Line), thus forcing Toei to suspend the deliveries of 6300 Series trains until these issues would be ironed-out and consequently to temporarily halt the retirement process of the 6000 Series.
After these issues were solved, with the gradual entry into service of the massive 3rd batch 6300 Series order, the retirement of the 6000 Series likewise gradually restarted.

The third set, formed of 3rd-batch 6000 Series cars built in 1973 had undergone the same modifications of the other two sets, this time however minus the air-conditioning, as this set had already been retrofitted with air-conditioning during it's service with Toei. Another difference was in the livery, like the 2nd set, this set retained it's Mita Line-era blue livery, altough with the addition of a yellow band around the cab windows to make the train more visible at dark, especially considering Kumaden's street-running sections.

Finally, a further and final two 6000 Series sets were delivered to Kumaden, formed of cars 6221-6228 and 6231-6238 (all 2nd-batch cars built in 1972), and entering service on the 14th of December of 2000 and 2001 respectively.
These two were essentially identical to the third set, being already fitted with air-conditioning. Likewise, they were also fitted in a similar blue and yellow livery, only with different front details (a larger yellow window band for both and the extension of the blue front band to cover the whole front instead of only the headlights for the fifth set).

In total, by 2001 Kumaden had five 2-car 6000 Series sets in service, overshadowing the rest of the company's small fleet, wich after the full retirement of the former Shizuoka Railway 500 and 600 Series between 1996 and 1999 included only a lone ex-Nankai 200 Series 2-car set (wich the company had bought in 1998 to "bridge the gap" of the 6000 Series temporarily-halted retirement), and a pair of single-car ex-Tokyu 5000 Series trains, retained for services between Kami-Kumamoto and Kita-Kumamoto as the two 20m-long cars of a 6000 Series set couldn't fit into the short platforms of that sections, meaning that older 18m-long rolling stock had to be used instead.
As such, the five 6000 Series sets are used exclusively on services* between Miyoshi and Fujusakigu-Mae, the bulk of services operated by Kumaded (and the ones that pass trough it's famous street-running section).

The life of the 6000 Series has been relatively uneventful from their retirement until 2014, when two major changes happened: First of all, in summer of that year, set No.1 was involved in a collision with a car, wich badly damaged the set's bogeys and underframe equipment, meaning that it had to be written-off and retired from service. With repairs being uneconomycal, the set was scrapped later that november.
Secondly, Set no.4 was selected by Kawasaki Heavy Industries as an in-revenue-service tesbed for it's innovative efWING carbon-fiber frame bogeys, wich were fitted to the set in early 2014, with the same set being later repainted into a "Kumamon" livery based on the world-famous Kumamoto prefecture mascot, Kumamon.

However, age soon caught up with the 6000 Series, as by the late 2010s, all sets were well beyond 45 years of age (with set No.2 nearing 50!), hence, an urgent replacement was in order. After an initial good experience with two ex-Ginza Line 01 Series trains purchased from Tokyo Metro to replace the crumbling 5000 Series, Kumaden proceeded to order more ex-Tokyo Metro trains, with the company opting for the Hibiya Line 03 Series, some of the last trains 18m-type commuter trains built for the 1067mm narrow gauge, wich made them quite appealing for Kumaden, as it now meant they could've be used seamlessly thruought the whole network, without worring of platform lenght.
However, Kumaden was able to purchase only three 03 Series sets, before the "available stock" was depleted (either purcahsed by the other two railways that got second-hand 03 Series trains, Hokuriku Railway and Nagano Electric Railway, or quickly and hastly scrapped by Tokyo Metro), meaning that Kumaden was only able to replace two 6000 Series sets plus the lone 200 Series set (wich by then was used sparcely in regular services).
Counterindicatively, the two 6000 Series sets to be replaced were the last two to be introduced - Nos. 5 and 4 (the Kawasaki efWING one), wich were retired on the 31st of October 2021 and 27th of November 2020 respectively.
To replace the other two left in service (sets 2 and 3), Kumaden announced a surprise purchase of ex-Shizuoka Railway rolling stock, this time being the 1000 Series (another 1, wich had been built between 1973 and 1985 by Tokyu Car Co. (and as such were based on Tokyu stock such as the 8000 and 8500 Series). This choice is rather unusual, but it's quickly explained - first of all, the 1000 Series is another 18m-long-type commuter train, and secondly Shizuoka Railway still uses a 600V DC catenary voltage, as does Kumaden, meaning that the new trains could be transferred with little to no modifications, and thus rather cheaply.

Maintaining it's original classification, the first 1000 Series set (1009-1509, built 1979) entered service for Kumaden on the 27th of March 2022, with the company planning to purchase another set in 2023, wich will then leave only one 6000 Series set, wich is likely to be used as a spare train (like the 200 Series), rather than in full regular services.
Hence, in a ironic turn of events, rolling stock bought to replace ex-Shizuoka Railway rolling stock, will be themselves replaced by ex-Shizuoka Railway rolling stock**


*counter-indicatively, Kumamoto Electric Railway does have two "official lines" - the "Main Line" between Kami-Kumamoto and Miyoshi and the Fujisaki Line between Kita-Kumamoto (the junction between the two) and Fujisakigu-Mae, however the it operates services irrispective of line names, usually between Miyoshi and Fujisakigu-Mae and between Kita-Kumamoto and Kami-Kumamoto (and sometimes also all the way between Kami-Kumamoto and Miyoshi).

**And this is even more ironic if you consider that the ex-Shizutetsu 500 and 600 Series trains that Kumaden had bought between 1976 and 1979 had been replaced by the very 1000 Series the company's now buying today!
 
@ Alexmaria

Nice trains (all of them lately)

Thank you for answering my oil question. I ask this because I have an oil refenery on my fantasy route. How realistic is it to transport Aviation fuel via rail?. In my scenario a daily supplementary train runs from Awaji Oil Terminal to Icaruko Airport as a supplementary Aviation Fuel service (as the rest is delivered by a pipeline)

I try to get a grasp of what is transported to where in the Japan rail system. Trainz had an industry system and when you search for images you can find some nice illustrations that explain the industries. But I assume for a reasonably realistic simulation of the Japan freight market there is a separate or different situation.

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@ Alexmaria

Nice trains (all of them lately)

Thank you for answering my oil question. I ask this because I have an oil refenery on my fantasy route. How realistic is it to transport Aviation fuel via rail?. In my scenario a daily supplementary train runs from Awaji Oil Terminal to Icaruko Airport as a supplementary Aviation Fuel service (as the rest is delivered by a pipeline)

I try to get a grasp of what is transported to where in the Japan rail system. Trainz had an industry system and when you search for images you can find some nice illustrations that explain the industries. But I assume for a reasonably realistic simulation of the Japan freight market there is a separate or different situation.

---

How realistic is it to transport Aviation fuel by rail (in a Japanese setting)?
Absolutely realistic.

Aviation-purpose fuel is indeed one of the most common types of petroleum-derived products carried by Japanese tank cars, but interestingly, the majority of it is not for civilian aircraft usage but rather for the air force - both the Japan Air Self-Defence Force and the United States Air Force.

Many air force bases in Japan do have their own dedicated branchline, used to deliver Jet Fuel - probably the most famous (and one of the few still active) is the one that branches from the Hachiko Line at Hajima station and serves the Yokota Air Base (wich is shared between the JASDF and USAF).
Another such branchline served the USAF Misawa Airbase - it's not operating anymore (having been closed sometime before 2014), altough it's path and track remnants are still well visible. Part of it, the one on Japanese soil outside the base, has been converted to a bycicle path.

On the other hand, by train delivery of civilian air fuel is almost non-existant, atleast in major airports. This is because most of the major Japanese airports have been built in relatively recent times (Narita, Kansai International, Central Japan International, Kobe...) on isolated or on middle-of-the-sea reclaimed land, meaning that delivering fuel by truck (or in some cases even pipes) is faster and more flexible, and while all of the afromentioned airports do have rail links, they're almost all major private railways, some even with a different gauge (Kobe's connection is a rubber-tyred AGT), and overall designed for passengers only.

The US Air Force actually used to own sixeable chunk of tank cars for dedicated jet fuel usage, some of wich were made by Keimei for trainz (they can be found as "JNR Taki/Tasa ... US Army"). These were a common sight in the 1950s and 1960s on the Tokyo network, as Yokota Air Base was being intensively used for reconnissance, combat and bombing missions (and also as a relay point for aircraft coming from the US mainland) during the Korean and later the Vietnam war.
One such train derailed and exploded while passing trough Shinjuku station in 1967 (an accident similar to what happened here in Italy at Viareggio in 2009), leading to a still in place ban of hazardous-material carrying trains on central Tokyo-area freight lines, wich consequently expedited the need for a new freight bypass, in the form of the Musashino Line, wich opened in 1973.

Nowdays, as far as i know, jet fuel tank cars are no longer owned directly by the USAF, but rather by JR Freight (they can allegedly be distinguished from other similar tank cars due to their special markings).
 
When I was at Misawa, there was quite a bit of train activity near the POL (Petroleum, Oil, Lubricants) gate. nearly every day, a string of tankers waited to be unloaded into vast underground storage tanks. It was an interesting operation to watch.

Bill
 
Some line in Asadaka that uses Tokyu 1000-1500 Series and 9000 Series
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3000 and 5080 Series on the Asadaka Blue Line. I let all trains be 8 cars
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Tokyo Metro 8000 and 08 Series
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Y500 Series Hanyo Metro
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Tokyu 5000 Series. This was the first Tokyu train I have ever drove
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209-1000 E233-2000 Series
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TWR-70-000 E233-7000 Series
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Some line in Asadaka that uses Tokyu 1000-1500 Series and 9000 Series
3000 and 5080 Series on the Asadaka Blue Line. I let all trains be 8 cars
Tokyo Metro 8000 and 08 Series
Y500 Series Hanyo Metro
Tokyu 5000 Series. This was the first Tokyu train I have ever drove
209-1000 E233-2000 Series
TWR-70-000 E233-7000 Series



Very nice pics JDriver. Glad you are still enjoying the Icarus Shinkansen Route.
Next building update features some very nice improvements on this ever growing Network.
 
Nice video dusky. I'm wondering the the freight yards in Japan function the same way as the ones in other countries?. It seems like a drop off and pick up operation.
 
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