It was back in 2017 when I first rode on the Tokyu Series 300 railcar in the Setagaya, Tokyo area.
The railcar which Tokyu Corporation begain in July 11, 1999 consisted of ten two-car trains (20 total).
And of course, it was one of my interests of vehicles I wanted to own on my bucket list in my train collection. But I knew in my heart that chances of getting one that is affordable may be a bit tricky as Modemo trains, once they are released, if you don’t get it, it may be too late. Because they do not make them any longer after release and resellers tend to double or triple the price.
But these railcars are something that I will always have a memory of riding.
The train features an articulated car with two bodies and three bogies manufactured for the Setagaya Line and were used to replace the aging Deha 70, 80 and 150 series. Also, to make it barrier free and have cooling (and also heating).
Also known as the Deha 300 series, the design of these railcars was the concept of “Creating a friendly space” and taking into consideration the requests form passengers. Especially consideration for the elderly and wheelchair users, but also to prevent excessive noise and vibration while saving money on labor costs.
Interesting enough, the seat shapes and seat arrangement are different between the 301F-304F and 305F-310F. The 301F-304F have a slightly wider seat pitch and does not have two-seater seats. The 305F-310F have a narrower seat pitch but has two seating arrangements.
Fortunately, in 2019, Tokyu Corporation listened to their passengers and replaced the cushions with better versions in the 301F-304F trains.
As mentioned, there were ten two-car trains, so the colors are:
- 301F – Alps Green
- 302F – Morning Blue
- 303F – Classic Blue
- 304F – Apple Green
- 305F – Cherry Red
- 306F – Yellow
- 307F – Bluish Lavender
- 308F – Sunshine
- 309F – Burned Orange
- 310F – Turquoise Green
And occasionally, there are special wrapping campaigns, among the most popular is the “Luckyt Maneki Neko Train” :
Tamagawa Electric Railway 110th Anniversary Lucky Cat wrapping: Image Source: Wikipedia
Which now leads me to reviewing the Modemo NT85 Tokyu Series 300 (303F Classic Blue).
The Modemo Tokyu Series 300 are difficult to find. I think the ones that you may find are the “Classic Blue” or the “Apple Green” but the one I really wanted was the 310F Turquoise Green or the 306F Yellow.
But considering that these were released back in 2002, they are not easy to find (in new condition).
And because they are older releases, they do not come with any LED lighting, so no headlamps or tail lights. The tough part is knowing that Modemo doesn’t do re-releases but hopefully they feature these in wrapping trains, so we can get ones with newer technology and lighting.
Image Source: Wikipedia
The Classic Blue train from Modemo is the standard blue, no campaign or advertisements. But you get the two railcars with the Tokyu Corporation logo on the front end and tail ends.
Released back in July 2008, it was before Modemo started making headlamps and tail lights standard.
The train comes with destination stickers and also pieces that can snap on the top of the train (thank goodness this was easy). But I didn’t apply the stickers because they are way too small for my eyes to see. (Note: As always, train stickers are not like gunpla stickers that are pre-cut, you will need to use a blade and cut them yourself (or scissors if you can cut straight enough).
The train features a pantograph in car A and car B like the the real vehicle. A single arm type was adopted by Tokyu Corporation as a countermeasure against snow accumulation.
The two vehicles share three bogies. I’m often concerned of triple bogie trains on my tracks, so I had to test them on KATO and TOMIX tracks and I can definitely say that I had NO PROBLEMS running on either. Including on TOMIX Wide tram tracks.
And as always with Modemo releases, you will not see the chairs, because they put their motor inside the train.
For the most part, I’m glad I was able to get my hands on a Modem Tokyu Corporation Series 300 railcar. While, it’s not the color I really wanted (I have been looking for the turquoise color), it is what it is, Modemo releases are hard enough to find and unlike TOMIX or KATO, you’re not going to get re-releases. But I do hope Modemo at least considers re-releases of these railcars with wrapping promotions or with the glowing LED headlamps and taillights.
It’s important to note that when the 303F was released, retail was Y10,780 ($80US). So if you can get it around the +$20 US price range, that’s great! Otherwise, anything too much, I would just be patient and wait.
Overall, while older, it’s still an awesome Modemo railcar released and glad I was able to add it to my collection!
