Tag Archives: JRC

Tokyo Station – Home of Different Shinkansen Fleets

I have posted a variety of pictures of the Tokaido Shinkansen system from my visits to Japan.  Tokyo Station is the end of the line for JR Central.  However, it isn’t the only Shinkansen service from this station.  JR East Shinkansen services also serve the station.  They head north out of the station while JRC heads south.  The lines are not connected so this is a terminus for both companies.  However, when you look down on the station, you can see both operators.  I took these pictures from our office window looking down on the station and you can see a variety of Shinkansen equipment on the JR East Platforms as well as a JRC train passing underneath.

The Original Doctor Yellow

The Tokaido Shinkansen service requires regular inspection of the track to ensure it is up to the high standards required of high speed service.  JRC operates an inspection train called Doctor Yellow.  It is a highly instrumented version of the current trains.  I have seen the current Doctor Yellow when I was at one of JRC’s maintenance facilities.  However, the original Doctor Yellow was based on the Series 0 trains.  It is now preserved in the SC Maglev museum in Nagoya along with many of the other Shinkansen designs.

SC Maglev Museum

Nagoya is home to a museum of Japanese rolling stock.  The museum name focuses on Maglev technology and there is a Maglev prototype in the museum.  However, the exhibits are really a cross section of the Japanese rail industry over the years.  I will probably post some more from the museum as there were quite a few interesting exhibits.  Most of it was inside – most welcome on such a hot day – but the N700 prototype was outside.  I did have a look at that briefly along with an old steam locomotive but I was soon driven back inside by the temperatures.

When I first got there, you are directed into a hall with three significant exhibits.  It was so dark, I was wondering whether there would be any decent photo opportunities.  However, this was just the initial introduction and there were periodic videos and light shows to allow you to see these exhibits more clearly.  A little patience was required.  The main hall had the majority of the exhibits and they were lit normally.  There were plenty of people in the museum taking pictures with small children that didn’t seem to be enjoying it as much as the parents would have liked!  Maybe they wanted to be at Legoland across the street?