Tuesday 17 February 2015

The Old 4000 Series from Danish Rail-fan's Photo Album

EMU Odakyu ex-4000 series arrives at Yamato Station on the Enoshima Line (1995 or 1996)
Photo: Nicolai Okkels
 
I am going to show you an old train picture in the Tokyo metropolitan area from a Danish rail-fan's photo album. My thanks go to Mr. Nicolai Okkels, who kindly sent me the picture.

The EMU 4000 series is famous for Odakyu's representative commuter trains. Specifically, it is frequently used for the direct operation train between the Odakyu and the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda lines, but do you know that Odakyu once had another 4000 series on their track.

Please look at the top photo. It is the EMU Odakyu old 4000 series. The old 4000 series was launched in 1966 to reinforce Odakyu's transportation capacity. A total of 92 units had been manufactured by Tokyu Sharyo, Nippon Sharyo, Kawasaki Sharyo and Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

Different from the present 4000 series, the old 4000 series has white colored steel bodies. The electric system was also rather old... DC motors with a rheostatic control system. Especially, the early batch of the old 4000 series had nose suspension drive system, which made a nostalgic rattling sound.

The top photo was probably shot at Yamato Station on the Odakyu-Enoshima Line in 1995 or 1996. Climbing up the sloped track, a short 4 car local train of the old 4000 series was just entering the station yard. It has two large front lights, but only one light was on to save electricity.

The old and the new Odakyu 4000 series... I feel a swift passage of time.


Odakyu new 4000 series arrives at Kyodo Station on the Odawara Line (2014)