Class 951 Shinkansen

Class 951 Shinkansen is the designation given to an experimental high-speed electric multiple unit operated by the Japanese National Railways from July 1969 to April 1980. The set was used to test technologies for future Shinkansen trains running at speeds of 250 km/h or higher.
==History==
The lone Class 951 set was constructed in 1969, and was shown off to the press on 22 April that year, with testing commencing around 2 months later on 2 July 1969.
During testing, the Class 951 set a world speed record of 286 km/h (177.7 mph) on the San'yō Shinkansen on 24 February 1972, beating the previous record of 256 km/h (159 mph) as set by the Class 1000 Shinkansen in 1963. This record would stand until it was broken by the Class 961 Shinkansen in 1979.
Testing would end in 1973, but the train was only officially withdrawn on 11 April 1980.
==Specifications==
The Class 951 looks very similar to the 0 Series Shinkansen, albeit the Class 951 operated as a 2-car set. Both cars had seats arranged 3+2 abreast, with car 951-1 having a capacity of 40 and car 951-2 having a capacity of 50 for a total capacity of 90 passengers.
Both cars had pantographs based on the 0 Series' pantographs, but were designated differently from the 0 Series' pantographs; normally, only the pantograph on car 951-2 would be used.
==Preservation==
The following Class 951 Shinkansen cars have been preserved:
Car number	Manufacturer 	Date manufactured	Date retired	Previous sets	Location 	Notes
951-1 	Kawasaki Sharyō	March 1969 	April 1980 	N/A 	Hikari Plaza Community Centre, Tokyo, Japan	Interior open for public viewing; plaques for Class 951 and Class 961 speed records in interior
The following Class 951 Shinkansen cars were preserved in the past but have since been scrapped:
Car number	Manufacturer 	Date manufactured	Date retired	Previous sets	Location 	Notes
951-2 	Nippon Sharyo	March 1969 	April 1980 	N/A 	Railway Technical Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan	Used for roller rig testing; scrapped January 2008
==References==
*Wikipedia.org
Category:Electric trainsets
Category:JR Group trains
Category:Unique locomotives
Category:Prototype locomotives
Category:Kawasaki locomotives
Category:Nippon Sharyo locomotives
Category:Built in 1969