Odakyu 3000 series SE
Encyclopedia
Romancecar
The is Odakyu Electric Railway's name for its limited express luxury tourist services south-west of Tokyo, to mountain resorts such as Gotenba and Hakone, and beaches such as Numazu and Enoshima. Service started in 1957 with the 3000 series SE trainset, it broke the world speed record for a...
" EMU
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
operated by the Odakyu Electric Railway
Odakyu Electric Railway
, or OER, is a major railway company based in Tokyo, Japan best known for its Romancecar series of limited express trains from Tokyo to Odawara, Enoshima, Tama New Town, and Hakone....
in the Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
area of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It was the recipient of the inaugural Blue Ribbon Award
Blue Ribbon Award (railway)
The is an award presented annually in Japan since 1958 by the Japan Railfan Club. It is awarded for railway vehicles that entered service in the previous year and voted by members as being the most outstanding design of the year.-Award winners:...
presented by the Japan Railfan Club in 1958.
Service first started in 1957 with the SE trainset, which, on a trial run, attained the world speed record at the time (145 km/h) for a narrow gauge
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
train. This record gave impetus for the design of the first Shinkansen
Shinkansen
The , also known as THE BULLET TRAIN, is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies. Starting with the Tōkaidō Shinkansen in 1964, the network has expanded to currently consist of of lines with maximum speeds of , of Mini-shinkansen with a...
, the 0 Series
0 Series Shinkansen
The trains were the first Shinkansen trainsets built to run on Japan's new Tōkaidō Shinkansen high-speed line which opened in 1964. The last remaining trainsets were withdrawn in 2008.-History:...
. The 50th anniversary of the Romancecar's narrow gauge world speed record was celebrated on 28 September 2007.
The trains were reformed from eight cars to five in 1968, becoming the 3000 series SSE (Short Super Express).
The SE trains were in service from 1957 to 1968, and the SSE from 1968 to 1991.