Tokyu 7700 series

The Tokyu 7700 series is a Japanese city commuter electric multiple unit operated by the Tokyu Corporation from August 1987 to November 2018 on the Tokyu Tamagawa and Ikegami Lines.
==History==
The 7700 series sets were converted from old 7000 series sets by Tokyu Car Corporation from 1987 to 1991; said cars were originally manufactured from 1962 to 1965. The sets would receive updated technology and variable frequency drives. After conversion, the sets were originally put on the Tokyu Ōimachi Line in six- and two-car formations for trial runs; they were later broken up into four-car sets, and finally three-car sets.
After the sets were broken up, three surplus cars were converted by Tokyu Car Corporation again to become another 7700 series set, except that this new set received new cab ends and newer variable frequency drives. This acted as a prototype car of sorts, and was numbered 7915; this set was put into service in 1996.
After some years, the sets's age began to show, and they were slowly withdrawn and transferred to other railroads; three sets were transferred to the Towada Kankō Electric Railway in 2002, with this being the first known transfer of variable frequency drive-equipped locomotives to another railroad. With the closure of the Towada Kankō Electric Railway in April 2012, the sets were scrapped.
By 2018, the trains' ages began to show and they were slated to be replaced. In August 2018, the Yōrō Railway announced its intention to purchase six ex-Tokyu 7700 series sets when they were retired. The Tokyu 7700 series sets were retired from service on 24 November 2018, with the six sets transferred to the Yōrō Railway shortly after, formed into two- and three-car sets. The first three-car sets entered service on that railroad on 27 April 2019, with the two-car sets entering into service on 13 July the same year. One additional car was also transferred as a parts donor.
The cab end of DeHa 7702 is preserved at the Maruzen Ikebukuro Library in Tokyo.
==Design==
The sets are made of stainless steel, as with the 7000 series sets they were converted from. Set 7915 was converted from 7000 series cars which were deemed surplus, but received a new front fascia resembling that of the 1000 series cars.
==Specifications==
The sets are converted from older Tokyu 7000 series cars from the 1960s, albeit with technical improvements; most of the sets use later-specification Tōyō Denki Seizō gate turn-off thyristor variable frequency drives which produce a raspy roar. Set 7915 however is very different in terms of appearance and technology; the set instead uses Tōyō Denki Seizō insulated gate bipolar transistor drives which produce a high-pitched squeal.
Category:Tokyu trains
Category:Tokyu Car locomotives
Category:Electric trainsets
Category:Rebuilds