781 series

The 781 series is a Japanese limited express electric multiple unit operated by the Japanese National Railways and its successor the Hokkaido Railway Company from March 1979 to October 2007.
==History==
The 781 series sets were designed starting from around 1971, with the JNR seeking to design a new limited express train to be used around the Sapporo region of Japan that was based on the technology used on the 711 series sets; in addition, these sets were to replace the 485-3000 series sets used on Ishikari services since 1975, but proved unreliable in cold weather conditions.
The first set, pre-production set L901, was delivered in November 1978 and entered service on 19 March 1979 on the Ishikari service. Full-production sets would be delivered in the coming years, originally formed as six-car sets; set L901 would later be converted to meet full-production standards in October 1981. The sets were reformed as four-car sets in November 1986 with the introduction of the revised timetable.
The sets were most famously used on the Lilac service, where they served until their retirement; however, they were also used on various other services such as the Suzuran and Airport Rapid services. The sets were repainted into a new livery between February 1992 and March 1993, while U-Seats were added to half of car 4 on all sets from March to June 2001. However, with the impending introduction of the 789-1000 series sets on those services, the 781 series sets' obsolescence was starting to show; the sets were officially retired on 28 October 2007 with a special last run.
Of note is that sets L7 and L104 were converted to become a six-car set designated L7 in 2003; the set was painted in a Doraemon livery and was used from 19 July 2003 on Doraemon Undersea Train services. The set operated until 2 August 2006 and was subsequently scrapped along with the two stored cars from set L104. The set actually did operate up to Aomori Station, and remains the only known operation of a 781 series set in the Honshū region.
==Design==
The 781 series sets' design is very evidently based on the later-batch 485 series sets, except the 781 series sets sport a more rounded profile to combat snow adhesion. An additional door was added to cars 1 and 3 of all sets to reduce station dwell time.
==Specifications==
Construction is of steel. Each car is 21.5 meters long. Traction motors are thyristor driven; the electronics of the sets are based on that of the older 711 series sets.
==Preservation==
The following 781 series cars have been preserved:
Car number 	Manufacturer 	Date manufactured	Date retired	Previous sets	Location 	Notes
KuHa 780-2 	Kawasaki Heavy Industries	June 1980 	October 2007	L2 	Kikyo Kindergarten, Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan	Complete 4-car set, wheels removed and mounted on stone plinths, used as classrooms
KuMoHa 781-2	Kawasaki Heavy Industries	June 1980 	October 2007	L2 	Kikyo Kindergarten, Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan	Complete 4-car set, wheels removed and mounted on stone plinths, used as classrooms
MoHa 781-4 	Kawasaki Heavy Industries	June 1980 	October 2007	L2 	Kikyo Kindergarten, Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan	Complete 4-car set, wheels removed and mounted on stone plinths, used as classrooms
SaHa 780-4 	Kawasaki Heavy Industries	June 1980 	October 2007	L2 	Kikyo Kindergarten, Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan	Complete 4-car set, wheels removed and mounted on stone plinths, used as classrooms
==References==
*Wikipedia.org
Category:JR Group trains
Category:Electric trainsets
Category:Hitachi locomotives
Category:Kawasaki locomotives