885 series

The 885 series is a tilting Japanese limited express electric multiple unit operated by the Kyushu Railway Company since March 2000.
==History==
The 885 series was designed to increase the speed of limited express train services in the Kyushu region specifically for use on the Kamome ("seagull") and Sonic services. The first sets entered service on 11 March 2000 on the Kamome service, with another few sets entering service on 3 March 2001 on Sonic services. A total of sixty-six cars were supposed to be built, but sixty-nine cars ended up being built due to an accident involving some cars of SM4, with the other cars involved in the accident being scrapped. Trains operated by the 885 series will have the "Shiroi" ("white") prefix, such as Shiroi Kamome.
With the Kamome service being rebranded to a Shinkansen service on 23 September 2022 with the opening of the Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen, the existing Kamome services operated by the 885 series were rebranded as Relay Kamome services; this service is expected to operate until the Shinkansen line is extended to Hakata.
==Design==
The 885 series adopted a modern design language for limited express trains; however, this design language would not be carried on onto more modern limited express trains built for JR Kyushu. The sets were designed by famed industrial designer Eiji Mitooka.
The sets have white painted aluminum bodies with, originally, black and yellow accents. The sets were all repainted with black and light blue accents by 2012, just like the Sonic sets.
==Specifications==
Construction is of a double-skinned aluminum alloy based on the Hitachi A-Train concept. End cars are 21.65 meters long while intermediate cars are 20.5 meters long. The 885 series sets use insulated gate bipolar transistor variable frequency drives produced by Toshiba or Hitachi; the Toshiba drives produce a hissing sound when accelerating from idle, while the Hitachi drives produce a shrill, shrieking sound.
The sets use a roller-type tilting system controlled by a computer known as a Tilt Controller. The sets' pantographs are mounted on support bases connected directly to the train's bogies; the same system was originally implemented on the older 883 series sets.
The 885 series sets are equipped with a musical horn that plays an upbeat tune when activated; this musical horn cannot be heard in regular service and can only be heard during events when the tilting system is demonstrated. The musical horn is activated via a switch on the driver's side controls as opposed to a foot pedal as seen on a variety of other trains, with the tune playing in an infinite loop until the switch is activated again.
==References==
*Wikipedia.org
== Gallery ==
File:885 SM4 Shiroi Kamome 2018.jpg|SM4 on a Shiroi Kamome service in May 2018
Category:JR Group trains
Category:Electric trainsets
Category:Tilting trainsets
Category:Hitachi locomotives
Category:Japanese locomotives
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Category:3 foot 6 inch gauge
Category:Narrow-gauge
Category:Narrow-gauge locomotives