Aizu KiHa 8500 series

The Aizu KiHa 8500 series is a short-lived Japanese higher-speed diesel multiple unit operated by the Aizu Railway from March 2002 to May 2010.
==History==
The KiHa 8500 series cars began life on the Nagoya Railroad, where they were used as higher-speed trains on the Northern Alps service in conjunction with the KiHa 85 series cars used by JR Central. The cars ended service on 30 September 2001 with the introduction of a bus service largely plying the route the Northern Alps took. Around the same time, the Aizu Railway was looking for a new type of rolling stock for sightseeing use as well as to replenish lost rolling stock, with one car converted to use tatami mats and another accidentally scrapped.
Meitetsu sold all five KiHa 8500 series cars to the Aizu Railway in December 2001, with the cars still maintained by Meitetsu. These entered service on 23 March 2002 on the Aizu Mount Express service, formed in two car sets. Intermediate car 8555 was made surplus with the two-car set conversions and was ultimately scrapped in 2007 having never been used. With use on the railroad though parts began to deteriorate as the trains were meant to be used at high speeds; the low speeds and frequent stops on the Aizu Railway Line only aided in speeding up their retirement. With a lack of spare parts and the accelerating deterioration of parts, the Aizu Railway announced the sets would retire from regular service on 30 March 2010 and be replaced with AT-700 and AT-750 series cars. The sets were retired on that day, with a "handover ceremony" at Aizu-Tajima Station where passengers transferred from the KiHa 8500 series cars to the AT-700 and AT-750 series cars.
The Aizu Railway put both trains up for sale in December 2010; the sets managed to attract a buyer. In preparation for the sets's full retirement a final run event was scheduled on 26 and 27 March 2011; this was canceled due to the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. All four existing cars were transferred to the Nakagawa Clear Stream Railway Preservation Society, where they are preserved in operational condition; in 2015, cars 8502 and 8503 were transferred to the Sabah State Railway, for use starting in 2016. Cars 8501 and 8504 remain at the Nakagawa Clear Stream Railway Preservation Society.
==Design==
The KiHa 8500 series used a squared-off design with side-mounted headlights in rectangular casings. The cars featured the same liveries as its Meitetsu days: a yellow livery with green accents and maroon highlights. The livery was kept as a way to remember the days when the set operated the Northern Alps service.
==Specifications==
No changes were made to the KiHa 8500 series cars when they were transfered.
Category:Aizu trains
Category:Diesel trainsets
Category:Nippon Sharyo locomotives