Meitetsu 7000 series

The Meitetsu 7000 series is a Japanese limited express electric multiple unit operated by the Nagoya Railroad (Meitetsu) from July 1961 to December 2009. This article also will describe the related 7700 series trains operated from April 1973 to March 2010 and the 7100 series trains operated from 1984 to November 2009.
==History==
The 7000 series trains were designed based on various studies conducted by Meitetsu management. The trains are often said to the brainchild of be Akira Shirai, an instructor at the Nagoya Railroad Driving School, and Moto Tsuchikawa, vice-president of Meitetsu at the time. During a conversation with Tsuchikawa regarding train cars, he was struck with inspiration: "I want to make a train with a good frontal view.", to which Tsuchikawa replied: "I like that idea." This idea would be passed around back and forth but would generally remain stagnant until an idea for a train with an observation area would pass at a board meeting, effectively putting this plan into motion.
Nippon Sharyo was contracted to construct the cars, with a total of 114 cars constructed from 1961 to 1975. The first set, 7001, entered service on 1 July 1961. Numerous press events were held prior and after the train's official entry into service, and the 7000 series sets quickly became Meitetsu's flagship train. Their unique design won them plaudits and culminated in them being the recipient of the 1962 Blue Ribbon Award. A train was involved in an accident with a dump truck in November 1961, which collided with a cab car, hitting the side. The truck rolled but only some damage was done to the cars, with the front glass only having minor cracks; the train was then nicknamed the "Dump Truck Killer", although new concerns arose regarding safety within Meitetsu management. A two-car set was used to transport some members of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage in 1962, marking the only time a 7000 series set has been in a two-car formation.
In April 1973, the 7700 series trains were introduced; these were basically identical to the 7000 series sets but used gangwayed cab cars opposed to panoramic ones. Some 7700 series sets were rebuilt to become 7100 series sets in 1984, which are largely the same sets apart from a different cab identical to that of the 6000 series sets. Retirements and scrapping of the 7000 series sets also began that year, with the equipment from cars being used on the later 8800 series sets. Refurbishments of the sets began in 1982, these being identified by a white stripe running down the centerline of each of the sets; these were nicknamed the "white belt" sets and were mainly intended to compete with JNR's new rapid services run by the 117 series sets.
Retirements restarted in the 1990s with more and more sets being retired and replaced with newer sets. A press release from September 2006 announced that various things related to limited express services were being revised and that the 7000 series sets would be retired by the end of fiscal 2009. Retirements and scrapping restarted again in 2007, with a timetable revision on 29 June 2008 drastically reducing 7000 series operations; on 26 December 2008, the 7000 series sets were retired from regular service, and operated only special events until they were retired fully on 30 August 2009 with a special event. The 7100 and 7700 series sets remained in operation until 29 November 2009 and 21 March 2010, at which point they were retired.
Five cars are preserved, all of which are 7000 series cars; 7001 and 7002 are located at the Maigi Inspection Yard, while 7027, 7092 and 7029 are preserved at Chukyo Racecourse.
==Design==
The 7000 series sets use a curved front end with side-mounted headlights in ovoid casings. The 7000 series sets feature a raised driver's cab to allow passengers to have a panoramic view ahead; this cab is accessed via a raised door on the side of the cars accessed via step ladders. The design of the sets was penned by Masao Hagiwara.
==Specifications==
Construction is of steel. The trains use resistor-controlled traction systems.
The headlights are somewhat unique in that the casings hide a multi-functional system, allowing the headlights to function as taillights by rotating a red filter over the lamps themselves. The headlights also can act as Mars lights. The top of the cars features a convex lens mounted on the roof named the "front eye", allowing the driver to see the situation just ahead of the observation seats, although the view is upside down for certain areas and angles.
The trains feature a musical horn which produces a modulating tone using a transistor oscillator circuit; initially the horns were branded the "transistor horn" to showcase that they used the latest technology. This feature was not announced during the planning stage and would only be revealed at an exhibition. Pressing a pedal caused the horn to continuously play in a loop until the pedal was pressed again. The train's electronic horn uses the same circuit as the musical horn, but played all three modulating tones at the same time to create a vague buzzing noise.
Category:Meitetsu trains
Category:Electric trainsets
Category:Nippon Sharyo locomotives