This is the JR East E5 series Hayabusa train which I road from Omiya to Shin-Aomori. Its top speed during the trip was 320 kmh. It is so smooth that when I was sorting out my luggage after boarding, I didn't even know that the train had started moving!

I'll be adding more photos of trains to my thread in the special interest group. I've added photos on Flickr from the next trai in the trip - which went through the seikan tunnel under the sea.

[Schraubstock]

Interesting nose on that train, it reminds me of the bulbous bit of ships at the pointy end, I wonder if this performs the same kind of function with air as they do with water.

HI

Aerodynamics of trains are more complicated then most people would assume and create quite a bit of a different problem from other conveyances such as planes and cars.

While we have seen record speeds in excess of 570km/h it is unlikely we will see these speeds in regular train travel anytime soon.

Trains running at speeds of 500km/h need to be designed aerodynamically underneath as well as above. Without special underbody design at 500km/h + the airflow will suck up the track aggregate and spay it all over the place and the track after a few passes will become unusable. Also a train will never be able to go through a tunnel with these speeds because as it exits the tunnel the air pressure it pushes in front of it will me resulting in a massive boom similar to a Champagne cork popping out of the bottle. Houses nearby will have to have their windows replaced constantly.

The other problem (but it has been solved by a Japanese design) is the power transfer from overhead wires to the train. The contact of the Pantograph and the wire at high speeds creates vibration (like the bow on the violin) which creates arcing and the different pressure of the Pantograph uptake against the wire created by the catenary curve can mean loss of contact. The Japanese have invented a special suspension system to counter this.

It's a photo forum but I thought you might be interested in a bit of trivia.

Greetings

[RobG]

That explains it!

Also, the E5 is still pretty new. The 700 series do a lot of runs every day over the Tokaido line!

Nice shot. Nice train. We have nothing of that...caliber...over here.

Thanks! It does literally look bullet-like, doesn't it? We don't have anything that comes close either - not even to the slowest of the bullet trains.

PS This set on flickr will become my photo diary of the trip. Next up is day 2 - the train trip from Omiya to Hakodate. Something like 1000km in a day, with the 320kmh bullet train and a 42 km tunnel under the sea.

[Kerrowdown]

I thought you might be interested in a bit of trivia

Thanks for sharing that and putting it into words I can keep up with.

How on earth do you know all this stuff.

[Schraubstock]

Thanks for sharing that and putting it into words I can keep up with.

How on earth do you know all this stuff.

I acquired all my knowledge from bartenders.

Greetings

[Bob Harris]

Nice shot. Nice train. We have nothing of that...caliber...over here.

Kyle, do you expect California to get this type of train or just another slow freight train to San Francisco? They sure want to spend a lot of money on the project, I can't ever see it happening.

[SpecialK]

Kyle, do you expect California to get this type of train or just another slow freight train to San Francisco? They sure want to spend a lot of money on the project, I can't ever see it happening.

I doubt it.

[RobG]

Aerodynamics of trains are more complicated then most people would assume and create quite a bit of a different problem from other conveyances such as planes and cars. While we have seen record speeds in excess of 570km/h it is unlikely we will see these speeds in regular train travel anytime soon. Trains running at speeds of 500km/h need to be designed aerodynamically underneath as well as above. Without special underbody design at 500km/h + the airflow will suck up the track aggregate and spay it all over the place and the track after a few passes will become unusable. Also a train will never be able to go through a tunnel with these speeds because as it exits the tunnel the air pressure it pushes in front of it will me resulting in a massive boom similar to a Champagne cork popping out of the bottle. Houses nearby will have to have their windows replaced constantly.

You Tube

You Tube

The Japanese test maglev has got to 581 kmh. No ballast on the track because there's no rails, but it's not yet a production train. The shock of two bullet trains passing at 300 kmh is already significant, as is the shock of entering a tunnel. Interestingly the maglev test track has tunnels. I'm curious how the maglev gets its power but I presume that it must be through the same moving magnets that it floats on, or it actually has batteries in the train.

The other problem (but it has been solved by a Japanese design) is the power transfer from overhead wires to the train. The contact of the Pantograph and the wire at high speeds creates vibration (like the bow on the violin) which creates arcing and the different pressure of the Pantograph uptake against the wire created by the catenary curve can mean loss of contact. The Japanese have invented a special suspension system to counter this. It's a photo forum but I thought you might be interested in a bit of trivia.

Richard Hammond did an excellent program about the shinkansen technology.

You Tube

You Tube

. One of the interesting statements was that the bullet train system has moved more than the population of the entire earth at about 200 mph.

[normhead]

In North America, we've decided rings like this are impossible to do, because, they aren't cars, and we love our cars. Thanks of sharing.

[RobG]

In North America, we've decided rings like this are impossible to do, because, they aren't cars, and we love our cars. Thanks of sharing.

There's more than the population of Australia in the greater Tokyo metro area (about 30 million, and in Oz there's only 23 million). The only practical way for all those people to get around is public transport. Equally, when it comes to the bullet trains, the sheer number of people travelling between Tokyo and Osaka every day can only be safely moved with trains. There's too many people involved to safely move with aircraft.

I like to drive, too, but I'd happily use a train to commute if they were as efficient as in Japan.

[Kerrowdown]

I acquired all my knowledge from bartenders

You and I are defiantly going to get on, is it your round or mine...

[RobG]

This is what the grand class seating looks like:

[RichardS]

I'm curious how the maglev gets its power but I presume that it must be through the same moving magnets that it floats on, or it actually has batteries in the train.

Linear motor. When we were playing with (er - "studying") these at uni in the late 1960s, they were linear induction motors.

Linear motor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Richard.

[RobG]

Linear motor. When we were playing with (er - "studying") these at uni in the late 1960s, they were linear induction motors.

Linear motor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Richard.

Yep, I understand the linear motor part.

[volley]

Thanks for these pictures Rob, the Shinkansen is a great way to travel within Japan. Once or twice a year I take the train from Tokyo to Nagoya and back and it has always been a very good service.

[RobG]

Thanks for these pictures Rob, the Shinkansen is a great way to travel within Japan. Once or twice a year I take the train from Tokyo to Nagoya and back and it has always been a very good service.

The Tokaido line is good too, but the E5 trains on the Tohoku line are newer. Regardless, I wish I could travel on such trains at home! I also took the Tokaido line later on my trip - to Kyoto, and passed through Nagoya on the way. I agree - the shinkansen is the best way to get around in Japan!