Odakyu 500 series

The Odakyu 500 series was a Japanese straddle-beam monorail operated by the Odakyu Electric Railway from April 1966 to February 2000 on the Odakyu Mukōgaoka-Yūen Line.
==History==
The 500 series was designed as an alternative to the create a new type of transportation to the Mukōgaoka-Yūen amusement park; prior to this a miniature railroad was used to ferry passengers to and from the park but a new type of transportation had to be implemented as a major road was to be built around that area, which would cut through the railroad.
The sole train intended for use on the new monorail line was manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in 1965 using technology developed by the Lockheed Aircraft Company; it was transported to the line via ferry and mounted on the line in late 1965. The set began service on 23 April 1966. The set would be used in regular service until February 2000, when a routine inspection discovered fatal cracks on the Kawasaki Type 623 bogies on the set; after this discovery service on the line was suspended on 13 February 2000. The train was stationed at Mukōgaoka-Yūen Seimon Station during this time.
After a review, Odakyu deemed that it would be too expensive and difficult to source for spare parts for the system as it was the only Lockheed Monorail system in operation in Japan; because there was already a bus service plying the Mukōgaoka-Yūen amusement park anyway, Odakyu made the decision to close the line in November 2000, with the line officially closing on 1 February 2001. As the decision was made to close the line when service was suspended the set never re-entered service, with a special event held at Mukōgaoka-Yūen Seimon Station held to celebrate the set's retirement in March 2001. After this event, both cars were scrapped; with the closure of the Mukōgaoka-Yūen Line no more Lockheed Monorail systems operate in Japan. About a year after the line was officially closed the Mukōgaoka-Yūen amusement park would close on 31 March 2002 due to falling attendance numbers; the site where the park is located is currently being used for redevelopment purposes.
==Design==
The 500 series sets used a curved front end with side-mounted circular headlights in rectangular casings. The sets also featured an Ultraman front cab for a time due to an event at the Mukōgaoka-Yūen amusement park related to the television series.
==Specifications==
Construction was of steel. The trains used resistor-controlled traction systems manufactured by Westinghouse through a Dortmund Cardan shaft drive. The set uses aircraft technologies to reduce the train's weight.
Category:Odakyu trains
Category:Electric trainsets
Category:Kawasaki locomotives
Category:Monorails
Category:Scrapped locomotives
Category:Unique locomotives