The 0 series vehicle is 25 meters long and about 3.4 meters wide, which is 5 meters longer and 0.5 meters wider than the average Japanese incoming line vehicle. The carriage floor is 1.3 meters above the ground, which is also higher than ordinary vehicles from the platform. The body is made of carbon steel, so the average weight of the vehicle is 64 tons. The 0 series adopts a streamlined design. The cockpit and front part, which are similar to the cockpit of an aircraft, were introduced by the designer, former Japanese Navy technical major Tadanao Miki, from the Galaxy bomber he was responsible for designing during World War II.
The frontmost part of the 0 series vehicle has a semi-circular cover, which was intended to be the main headlight during development (commonly known as the "Hikari front head unit" (ひかりfront head unit)). The cover at that time was made of translucent acrylic, and after installing fluorescent lights, it could expand the field of vision when the train was traveling at night. However, during test runs, the cover was often damaged due to hitting birds, and the brightness of the fluorescent lights was not as expected. Therefore, Japan National Railways finally decided to abandon the light front design and use the original space to place the emergency towing coupler, and the cover was replaced with It is made of opaque fiberglass, and a pair of headlights (maximum two pairs) are installed on both sides of the original "light head" to make up for it. When these two pairs of headlights are driving in the opposite direction, the red transparent piece in the lampshade (the early ones were butterfly-shaped, and the later ones were semi-circular) will cover the front of the bulb to achieve the same effect as the red taillights.
An obstacle remover is installed under the front head to remove any obstacles falling on the track and prevent the train from crashing and derailing when running at high speed. In winter, the barrier remover can also remove snow from the track, allowing trains to run as normal. The obstacle remover is also a spoiler for the train, preventing the train from being rolled up by the airflow formed under the carriage when running at high speed. In addition, by changing the flow direction of the air, the barrier remover can also prevent dust accumulation in equipment installed under the compartment. The design of the barrier is based on the design of Odakyu's first-generation Romantic Express train 3000 series "SE" and Japan National Railways 151 series, and then strengthened. Initially, it is made of steel like the car body. It will be modified from the 22nd batch of vehicles. Made of aluminum.
The inverted L-shaped thin iron plate above the cab is an electrostatic discharge strip, and it also has the function of detecting the voltage of overhead cables. This shape, which is very different from the prototype model 1000, has become the trademark of the Shinkansen vehicle series. Although the installation position will be different in different models of vehicles in the future, its shape has not changed much so far (N700 series).
In the early days of the 0 series, iron plates were used on Japanese limited express trains to display the train class, train name, number and destination. However, because there is a possibility of flying off during high-speed operation, and the increase in train frequency makes the use of iron plates complicated, and because they are often stolen by passengers, Japan National Railways decided to only display the train destination. Subsequently, the opening of the Sanyo Shinkansen made the train operation system more complicated. In the end, Japan National Railways decided to use electric direction curtains to solve the problem. While installing electric direction screens on new cars, Japan National Railways also carried out replacement work on cars already in service, which was completed in 1976. Since then, subsequent models have used electronic directional screens.
Car body painting
Hoshi Akira, deputy technician of Japan Railways who participated in the design of the 0 series, once said that the original color painting of the 0 series was based on the painting of Pan American Airways aircraft. Designed with the wrapping paper of hi-lite brand cigarettes. The main color of the car body is milky white, and the "Shinkansen Blue" color used for the future Shinkansen is painted near the windows. The two colors represent white clouds and blue sky respectively. The main body color of the 0-series cars used by the "Nishi Nippon Hikari" service opened in 1988 was changed to the light white of the 100-series, and other cars have gradually changed their paintwork since 1995. As for the paint design, there are two types. The ordinary paint is the original paint design of the 0 series. The 0 series of "Nishi Nippon Hikari" refers to the 100 series paint, with a stripe added in the middle of the blue paint under the window. white line.
In 2002, JR West's 0-series vehicles completely withdrew from Hikaru service and switched to Echo service. The paint scheme has also been changed to a new paint scheme of gray and fluorescent green. In 2008, before the 0 Series was completely retired, JR West painted three trains used for farewell services in the opening livery. For details on the changes to the 0 series paint, please refer to the R and WR grouping and restoration works sections.
Accessible restroom
Telephone booth
Most 0 series vehicles are equipped with two doors on both sides of the body. Exceptions include the green carriage of model 15 (called first class before 1969). The Type 35 joint dining car and the Type 36 independent dining car each occupy half of the space (car), buffet restaurant and ordinary class carriage. Type 15 only has doors in the compartment on the Hakata side (the other side is the restroom), Type 35 has doors in the middle of the vehicle and the compartment on the Tokyo side, and Type 36 only has a restaurant door and no doors.
The 0-series carriages are higher than the ground. In order to evacuate passengers in an accident, an escape door is provided on both sides of the center of the 0-series carriage. However, due to the high safety of the Shinkansen, the escape doors The design was canceled in 2000. After the privatization of Japan National Railways, JR Tokai and JR West, which took over, eliminated the escape doors in the remaining carriages in order to slow down the corrosion rate of the car bodies. However, the methods adopted by the two companies were different. JR Tokai removed the escape door and then welded it to the car body with a new steel plate. The completed car body was relatively smooth; JR West used a simpler process, only removing the handle of the escape door and then welding the escape door to the car body. .
The air-conditioning system is installed on the top of the car and is a heat pump design to adjust the temperature of the car (both hot and cold). The carriage also has an air exchange device (air intake at the top of the carriage, exhaust at the bottom of the carriage and toilet), which not only assists in air convection inside and outside the carriage, but also adjusts the air pressure in the carriage. However, when the train enters the tunnel at high speed, the air pressure in the carriage changes drastically due to the different air pressure in the tunnel. As a result, passengers experience tinnitus and reduce the comfort of the ride. In order to avoid this phenomenon, the 0-series carriages adopt an airtight structure (the windows are fixed windows, and the doors are fixed by the air pressure in the carriage when the speed is above 30 kilometers per hour) to stabilize the air pressure in the carriage, and new signal signs are installed to allow the train to The air exchange unit is automatically switched off when entering a tunnel. Later, the Sanyo Shinkansen opened. Due to the long tunnels on the route, turning off the air exchange device for a long time will cause insufficient oxygen in the carriages. In order to solve this problem, Japan National Railways developed a "continuous ventilation device" that uses high-pressure air blowers to slow down the rapid changes in air pressure so that the train can continue the air convection process in the tunnel. The continuous ventilation device was adopted in the 14th batch of vehicles (produced in 1973). All vehicles manufactured thereafter were put on the "Hikari" service serving the Sanyo Shinkansen (or directly to the Tokaido Shinkansen), while the old vehicles were Service is restricted to the section east of Okayama. Later, due to the reorganization of the "Echo" with trains, if the newly debuted S group and the subsequent Y group included cars that were not equipped with continuous ventilation devices, their group numbers would need to be identified by adding 50 to the original group number.
In terms of windows, in order to prevent passengers from feeling uneasy when seeing the train moving quickly, the 0 Series, like subsequent Shinkansen vehicles, installs the windows at a higher position so that passengers can only see to slower moving vistas. In the early days, the windows of the ordinary carriages adopted the design of one wide window for every two rows of seats in the 151 series (the windows of the green carriages were one for each row of seats). Later, in order to prevent gravel and other objects from breaking the windows and To reduce the cost of replacing windows, the 1000-class vehicles are equipped with a small square window for each row of seats, and the 2000-class vehicles have wider windows. This design became the standard for the windows of future Shinkansen series vehicles. In addition, Channel 2000 simplified the design of the carriage, replaced the window frames with fiberglass components, and eliminated the small shelf for drinks under the window frame. As a result, it was criticized by passengers.
There is a set of restrooms for every two carriages, which is different from the design where each subsequent carriage has a restroom. This is because the initial design of the 0 series relied on a tank installed at the bottom of the carriage to store waste from the toilet, and then centralized treatment after the train returned to the factory. However, because the capacity of the sewage tank is not large (the train is full once it travels back and forth between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka), train dispatching is difficult. Japan National Railways finally decided to install filters on the trains to filter the flushing water and recycle it to reduce the number of times the trains return to the factory. This will allow subsequent vehicles to have toilets in each carriage. The restrooms of the initial vehicles are equipped with two squat toilets (called "Japanese toilets" in Japan), a male toilet tray and two sinks.
Later, as sitting toilets (called "Western-style toilets" in Japan) gradually became popular, new vehicles gradually replaced one of the squat toilets with a sitting toilet. The later-built Type 37 dining car also has a barrier-free restroom for passengers with physical disabilities.
In addition to restrooms, some 0 Series carriages also have phone booths, water dispensers and shops selling souvenirs.
Seat structure
Various seats of the Japan National Railways 0 series: (from top to bottom) ordinary carriage seats (early type, late type), green carriage seats ( Early type, later type)
In order to increase the passenger capacity of the train, the ordinary carriages of the 0 series (called second-class carriages before 1969) adopt a seat configuration of 3 × 2 per row (3 on the sea side) seats), making ordinary carriages always more crowded. In addition, since there was a proposal before the opening to name the ordinary carriages as silver-class carriages and the green carriages as gold-class carriages, the colors of the velvet seat covers have also been adjusted: gray or blue for ordinary carriages, and olive gold for green carriages.
The initial ordinary class carriages all use fixed seats (models: W-12, W-70). When the train’s traveling direction changes, all seat backs need to be pushed to the side facing the forward train. direction to avoid discomfort caused by passengers traveling in the opposite direction. Subsequently, the seats of the 14th to 29th batch of vehicles used higher seat backs to improve comfort. The 2000 series vehicles produced since 1981 were replaced with the 200 series orange rotatable and angle-adjustable seats used on the Tohoku Shinkansen. However, because the 3-person seats on the sea side are too wide to rotate in the carriage, after a passenger survey, it was decided to fix the 3-person seats facing both ends of the carriage (called the "collection-reverse type" configuration in Japan), making the train When traveling forward always half the passengers are facing in the direction of travel. At the same time, vehicles that have been put into service are also being replaced with new seats. The removed fixed seats were later used as priority seats for oncoming trains, giving the priority seats the nickname "Silver Seats". In terms of seat distance, the initial model and 1000-class vehicles are 940 mm, while the 2000-class vehicles are expanded to 980 mm.
After Japan Railways was privatized, JR Tokai and JR West, which took over their operations, have improved the quality of their seats. Among them, JR Tokai upgraded some of the ordinary carriages (cars 9-12) in the Y and YK groups used for the "Echo" flight to a configuration of 2 2 per row, and changed them to carriages with numbered seats. JR West has upgraded all seats in the SK group (in 2008 it was R group 60, 6 cars) to a configuration of 2 × 2 per row, and then put them on the newly opened "West Nippon Hikari" service. Since the position of the carriage door was not changed when changing seats, the door was not facing the center of the aisle.
The green carriage (called first-class carriage before 1969) had a seating configuration of 2 × 2 per row when it was put into service. The seats (model: R-25) can be adjusted in angle and rotation. Like the seats in ordinary carriages, the burgundy seats (model: R-32) in the 200 series green carriages have been gradually used since 1981. The seat distance in the green car is 1,160 mm. In addition to the controversy over the construction of new routes, there has also been controversy over the power used by the Shinkansen vehicles. At that time, because Japan Railways' long-distance trains generally used railway locomotives to tow other unpowered passenger cars (i.e., centralized power), many people within Japan Railways supported the adoption of this power method for Shinkansen trains. However, Hideo Shima had conducted research on power decentralized design before World War II and clearly understood that dispersing the power module on each bus can evenly distribute the pressure of each vehicle on the roadbed. In addition to being more suitable for Japan's fragile geology, it can also save money. Construction costs and route maintenance expenses. Therefore, Hideo Shima decided to adopt a power-dispersed design.
The 0 series vehicles are all-electric vehicles, with two vehicles forming a unit. The design limit allows that when one of the units fails, the train can still run on a track with a slope of 25‰ (25 thousandths, that is, it rises 25 meters for every kilometer forward) at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour. This has also become the design standard for all Shinkansen vehicles in the future.
In addition, since trains require a longer distance to come to a complete stop when running at high speed (oncoming line vehicles: 600 meters, Shinkansen vehicles: 2.5 kilometers), driving judgment alone may not be able to avoid it in time. Accidents happen. Therefore, Japan National Railways developed the automatic train control device (ATC). In addition to assisting the driver in adjusting the speed, when the train is overspeeding, the system can forcefully decelerate to ensure driving safety. In addition, in order to more effectively manage the daily operations of the line, Japan National Railways has also developed a centralized dispatching system (CTC), which unifies the monitoring and management of train operations on the line to a control center located near Tokyo Station.
[edit] Electric motor
The main motor of the initially manufactured vehicle is the MT200 straight-wound commutator motor, with a continuous static output power of 185 kilowatts (415 volts, maximum static output: 204 kilowatts, The speed is 2,200 revolutions per minute), which was the most powerful electric motor for electric multiple units in Japan at the time. Each vehicle is equipped with four electric motors, which each can provide 740 kilowatts (≈1000 horsepower) of power. In terms of performance, it is composed of 0 series all-electric vehicles, with a top speed of 235 kilometers per hour on flat roads, and a top speed of 196 kilometers per hour when driving on a slope with a slope of 10‰. The fourth batch of vehicles (produced in 1966) switched to the MT200A model with enhanced insulation design. Subsequently, the 15th batch of vehicles (produced in 1973) adopted the MT200B model with higher output power (maximum static output: 225 kW) in order to cope with the long environment of the Sanyo Shinkansen tunnel and the need for greater acceleration due to the shortened station distance. .
[edit] Bogies
0 series bogies
When the train is running at high speed, the traditional bogies will vibrate left and right. In addition to reducing the comfort, it also There is a risk of tipping over. So the developers finally decided to develop a bogie specifically for the Shinkansen.
The bogie of the 0 series is the DT200 type (later manufactured vehicles use the improved DT200A), which is the original design of the bogie for the Shinkansen. The bogie is made of welded steel plates with a wheelbase of 2,500 mm, which is 400 mm longer than the bogie of the incoming line vehicle. The diameter of the wheel is 910 mm, and the slope of the edge part is also smaller than that of the wheels of the previous vehicle. These designs can enhance the stability of the bogie at high speeds. In addition, Japan National Railways added axle springs and air springs to the bogies to enhance the stability of the bogies and carriages. Axle spring The design of the axle spring refers to the Meden-type axle spring developed by the Deutsche Bahn Minden Institute for passenger cars before World War II and later became the Deutsche Bahn standard. Japan was produced by Sumitomo Metal Industries in 1960 after World War II. The axle spring used in the 0 series is improved based on this, adding springs in the front and rear directions and left and right directions to absorb the swing of the bogie during acceleration, deceleration and high-speed operation respectively. This kind of shaft spring is named "IS type" according to the first letter of the developer's name. Air spring The air spring adopts the diaphragm air spring developed and improved by Japan National Railways and commonly used in Japan National Railways vehicles. In addition to absorbing fine vibrations in the car while driving, it can also automatically adjust the height of the car when passengers get on and off. Compared with previous railway vehicles, the air spring of the 0 series is directly installed on the bogie, which makes the damping value and recovery of the spring better. At the same time, because the train needs to run at high speed for a long time, the bearings of the axle are lubricated oil bearings, which is the first Japanese railway vehicle to use it. For braking systems, see the Control and Braking Systems section.
[edit]Power supply
The diamond-shaped pantograph of the 0 series and the pantograph cover installed afterwards
The power source of the 0 series vehicles is along the line The overhead cables can be used by most equipment on the vehicle after the 25,000 volt alternating current is stepped down by the transformer on the vehicle. For devices that require DC power, the power is processed by a rectifier made of silicon before being input into those devices. In the early 1960s, Japan began to install on-board rectifiers on AC electric locomotives and AC and DC electric multiple units, and has some experience.
The pantograph adopts a cross-frame design, which is the first design adopted by Japanese railway vehicles. The purpose is to reduce the air resistance encountered when the train is running.
However, due to two reasons, the 0 series is the only Shinkansen vehicle that does not have an ultra-high voltage lead wire installed between the vehicles: When the Tokaido Shinkansen opened, the station could not supply power with the same phase to two lines in opposite directions. , so a booster is used as a method of transmitting power over long distances (called "BT feed method" in Japan). For example, if a UHV pilot wire is installed between trains, when the train accelerates in the neutral zone, there are no wires on the track to complete the circuit between the train and the high-voltage cable. As a result, the pantograph and the cable will generate an arc and burn the cable. This problem was later solved by introducing automatic transformers as a method of long-distance power transmission (called "AT feed method" in Japan), and the neutral zone was also cancelled. After solving the problem of different power phases within the station, Japan has the technology and equipment to install UHV pilot lines between 0-series vehicles. However, because the 0-series air conditioner is installed on the top of the vehicle (the roof of the vehicle visible to the naked eye is just the top cover of the air-conditioning unit), installing UHV lead wires between 0-series cabins will cause insulation problems and change the procedures for repairing the air conditioner. It was complicated, so Japan Railways finally gave up the modification plan. As a result, one pantograph was installed in each unit instead, making the 0 series the model with the most pantographs on a single train on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines. Subsequent 100 series and other series of vehicles only need to install two pantographs.
JR West's NH82 train is the only 0-series train that has reserved space for the installation of ultra-high voltage pilot wires, and the wire covers between the carriages have become the biggest feature of this train. But in the end, JR West did not install UHV pilot lines for this train.
[Edit] Control and braking system
Since the 0 series uses two vehicles as one unit, the motor controller also has eight motors per two vehicles*** Use one. The controller adopts a low-voltage contact control method, which is a technology that has been tested on AC electric locomotives. After the power is reduced, it is not directly input to the motor, but is input to the controller. The controller adjusts the power input to the motor to achieve the control effect. Compared with similar high-voltage contact control methods, the low-voltage contact control method does not require a large transformer, which helps the 0 Series reduce the weight of the car body. As for not using the weak excitation control method that was common at the time, it was because the train could freely obtain voltage from the transformer, and there was no need to consider the insufficient voltage generated by the engine during deceleration, which caused the controller to withstand a huge voltage difference like resistive control. After experimental testing, the maximum controllable speed of this controller is 167 kilometers per hour. Higher speed control requires adjustment by the automatic train control device through the braking system.
The basic braking system of the 0 series is a disc brake system. The outer layer of the brake disc is made of cast steel and the inner layer is made of sintered alloy, which is pushed by high-pressure air. However, using disc brakes when driving at high speeds will cause strong friction between the brake discs and wheels. In addition to generating a large amount of heat energy, it will also greatly reduce the service life of the brake discs and wheels. Therefore, the braking system of the 0 Series also incorporates a generator braking method, which turns the electric motor into a generator during deceleration, converting the kinetic energy of the axle into electrical energy to provide energy for the cooling fan of the resistor on the car. This braking method has previously been used on oncoming trains, and is also mainly used when trains are traveling at high speeds. In addition, designers have designed various emergency braking systems for the 0 Series, including allowing the "light nose" to use the hydraulic system to extend forward in an emergency, like an airplane's speed brake to increase air resistance and slow down; Or you can set up a speed reduction version on the side of the car. However, such deceleration will cause vibrations and noise that are uncomfortable for passengers, and will also produce excessive reaction forces in the cabin, so it is abandoned.
The braking system of the 0 series has experienced incompatibility issues between new and old vehicles. Due to the various reasons mentioned above, Japan National Railways replaced the aging 0-class vehicles with newly manufactured 1000- and 2000-class vehicles. However, the speed of the conversion braking system (generated braking ← → disc brake) between the two is different. The 0-speed vehicle has a speed of 50 kilometers per hour, while the 1000 and 2000-speed vehicles have a speed of 30 kilometers per hour.
As a result, when the two were mixed, the generator braking of the No. 0 vehicle failed, but the generator braking of the No. 1000 and No. 2000 vehicles could still operate normally. As a result, the No. 0 vehicle behind stopped decelerating and rushed forward into the decelerating 1000 ahead. and 2,000 vehicles. Because of this problem, the conductor once lost his footing and fell when getting off the car and was injured, and drinks in the carriage were overturned. The incident was first reported in 1994. At that time, JR Tokai claimed that "the hook can withstand an impact of more than 100 tons, so there is no problem." Instead, it received strong backlash from passengers. The incident was widely reported by the media, with many exaggerating the problem and distorting the facts. After discovering the problem, JR Tokai and JR West finally decided to unify the braking system switching speed of all vehicles to 30 kilometers per hour to solve the problem.