fall inside a hole

New Shinkansen (1985)

First written December 15, 2023

The New Shinkansen with Light (ライト付ニュー新幹線) is an old power model of the 100-series Shinkansen from 1985. The old power 100 series was only sold between 1985 and 1987 in fifth generation packaging as EC22 New Shinkansen with Light. The 100 series actually post-dates the 200 series Shinkansens and were introduced to Hikari service on October 1st, 1985 to run the faster Shinkansen services on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen lines. The stylized "NS" on the intermediate car stands for New Shinkansen. The 100-series Shinkansen was rereleased with a two-speed new power gearbox in 1987 as the 2-Speed Shinkansen without a light.

The light feature of the New Shinkansen is based on the old power 200 series Shinkansens with the bulb fit into the plastic molding of the chassis. The battery contacts are all brass and the switch is bent downwards. The light shines out of both of the front headlights on the power car of the train.

Although both the traction tires and old power friction drive tires were dry rotted, the original friction drive tires surprisingly still worked well enough with new tires on the wheels to get the train up slopes.

The intermediate and tail cars are constructed similar to other cars of the era like the 0 and 200 series cars. The intermediate and tail car chassis have molding features matching those of the mid 1980s remote control trains, although a remote control 100 series was never officially produced. I have seen an old power 100-series converted at the time to run with a 1980's remote control receiver and gearbox. The intermediate and tail cars both use the more secure axle holders that had been in use for several years already and have the single split loop couplings of the era.

The light effect is best seen from right beside the engine. The light is perhaps less obvious than the lit 0 or 200 series Shinkansens and does sort of "bridge" across the nose of the train, shining through the plastic.

The 100 series Shinkansen was only sold with the old power gearbox and light for a few years before being replaced by the 2-Speed Shinkansen with the move to new power in 1987.