The JR East 215 Series Train. A train with unique potential but unfortunately its structural problems that would lead to its own demise, no sayonara celebration, just dismantled and meant to be forgotten.
How unfortunate, considering I think this was one of the coolest looking trains to be built by JR East.
Produced in 1992 to 1993, a total of four 10 car-trains were produced (40 cars total) and manufactured by Hitachi and Nippon Sharyo. And were to be operated on warmer lines (not designed for cold or snow).
Image Source: Wikipedia – Photo by Sakurayama 7
The train were liner trains known as the “Shonan Liner” and “Shonan Shinjuku Liner” which were used to accommodate long-distance commuters on the Tokaido Main Line and provide express delivery services that utilized freight lines in parallel with seated services. All cars are pretty much double-decker cars with a maximum seating capacity of 120 people per regular car. And even won the Good Design Award in 1992!
But what happened? And what led to the train’s demise?
The 215 series train featured an all-stainless steel body based on the design of the 211, 113 and 415 series. Each side had two entrances and the concept for the exterior was “gentle & noble” with beige, dark gray/silver and maroon and white colors.
The train had green, ordinary and priority seating.
The train had an operating speed of 129 km/h (74 mph) and while it had toilets and was a dependable train, the problems start to show itself when it was used for the Acty Rapid Services.
With two round trips as a “Shonan Liner” and one round trip for the “Shonan Shinjuku Liner” and even was used as “Holiday” train for Yamanishi, Shonan and Kamakura operations.
But the problem was when it was used in the Shonan-Shinjuku Line. It took too much time for passengers to get on and off each stop and delays became very noticeable.
Part of the problem was that there were two doors on each side and the pathway was quite narrow.
By 2004, the Shonan-Shinjuku Line was unified to use the E231 series.
This led to the train just being used as a special rapid train for “Holiday Rapid Service View Yamanishi” and by March 2021, the “Shonan Liner”, “Ohayo Liner Shinjuku” and “Home Liner Odawara” were abolished in order to operate regular trains.
The trains were scrapped, dismantled and no longer exist. And received no sayonara event.
Fortunately, TOMIX paid their respect to the JR 215 series by releasing a basic car set and an add-on car set in February 2022.
There is no doubt the train is well produced and for the basic set, you get the first two trains and the last two trains, while the add-on set (98445) features six more double-decker cars.
The basic set comes with the following:
-Kumoha 215-0 (M)
-Moha 214-0
-Moha 214-100
-Kumoha 215-100
The front end features a motorized Kumoha 215-0 and on the front, the DDL and JR marks can be seen on the front and sides.
What I also found interesting is that the coupler is attached to its wheel base. Also, the ends featured a dummy coupler on the cab side of the leading car and it’s pretty much powered with a flywheel, black wheels and uses an M-13 motor.
I felt that coupling was a bit of a hassle and partly I feel is because the train cars were so light. So, while the trains really show a wonderful molding of seats, I needed to add a bit more weight. So, between the seats, I put whatever coin yen I had in which the top train cover can easily fit in perfectly.
I did try to add Tomix 0733 LED lighting but it was problematic to get things staying on and I decided to pass on the LED lighting because I was spending too much time trying to get it to work on this train. But the train does feature lights at the front and tail lights with LED.
Included are runner parts such as phone antenna, front display (transfer sheets/car number) deecals.
But for the most part, when it runs, it runs well. Tested it at various speeds as you can see below:
Overall, I am glad that TOMIX released this train series and in a way, acknowledging that the train has its fans. In reality, the train had a wonderful design but just didn’t get the respect it deserved due to the problems as mentioned.
And it’s a shame that while there is no sayonara event, at least TOMIX did fans of this train a great service by releasing the 215 series!
For me, this train was an instant buy and I’m glad I got it!
