301 series

The 301 series was a Japanese commuter electric multiple unit operated by the Japanese National Railways and its successor company the East Japan Railway Company from April 1966 to August 2003.
==History==
The 301 series sets were conceived in 1966 to be used as trains that could perform through-running to and from the TRTA Tōzai Line and the JNR Chūō-Sōbu Line. The first sets entered service in 28 April 1966 with the introduction of through-running services to the line.
Only 56 cars were built due to cost reasons. The sets were originally seven cars long, but were eventually lengthened to ten cars in length. The sets were slowly retired in 2002 with the introduction of narrow-bodied E231-800 series sets, with the last sets retiring in 2003.
==Design==
The 301 series uses a traditional design very much like most commuter trains of the time, with yellow accents; the sets were later repainted to have "sky blue" accents. What set the 301 series apart from other trains used by JNR at the time was their use of unpainted aluminum bodies; the 301 series sets have the distinction of being the first aluminum-bodied trains used by the JNR.
==Specifications==
Construction is of aluminum. Cars are 20 meters long, 2.832 meters wide and 3.935 meters high. Traction motors are resistor controlled, which was standard for the time.
The sets were also broadly based on 103 series sets, so various specifications between both trains are identical, such as door width.
==Preservation==
The following 301 series cars were preserved in the past but have since been scrapped:
Car number 	Manufacturer 	Date manufactured	Date retired	Previous sets	Last location 	Notes
KuMoHa 300-4	Kawasaki Heavy Industries	August 1966 	June 2003 	K2 	Ōmiya General Rolling Stock Center, Saitama, Japan	Located on scrapping track; scrapped October 2017 due to seismic reinforcement work for viaducts on the Tōhoku and Jōetsu Shinkansen
KuHa 301-7 	Nippon Sharyo 	May 1969 	August 2003 	K4 	Ōmiya General Rolling Stock Center, Saitama, Japan	Ex-K4, last operational set; displayed after retirement, scrapped some time after
==References==
*Wikipedia.org
Category:JR Group trains
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Category:Kawasaki locomotives
Category:Nippon Sharyo locomotives
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