The were limited express

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...

(EMU) train types introduced in 1967 by

Japanese National Railways The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pref ...

and later operated by

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

(JR East) and

West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and ...

(JR West) on the through services express '' Kitaguni'' and other special trains until 2017. The seats of the 581 and 583 series trains could be transformed into three-berth beds, enabling the trains to be used on both daytime and night train services. , just six cars remained in service, operated by JR East and based at Akita Depot for use on additional and charter services. This last trainset was withdrawn in April 2017.

Individual car types

* KuHaNe 581: Cab car with air compressor and motor-generator (150 kVA) * KuHaNe 583: Cab car with air compressor and motor-generator (210 kVA: beneath the floor) * MoHaNe 580: Motored car with two pantographs (1,500 V DC / 20 kV AC 60 Hz) * MoHaNe 581: Motored car coupled to MoHaNe 580 * MoHaNe 582: Motored car with two pantographs (1,500 V DC / 20 kV AC 50/60 Hz) * MoHaNe 583: Motored car coupled to MoHaNe 582 * SaHaNe 581: Intermediate trailer car. All withdrawn. * SaRo 581: Green (first class) intermediate trailer car. The seats cannot be converted into berths. * SaRoNe 581: Converted from SaRo 581 in 1985 for '' Kitaguni'' services. The berths cannot be converted into seats. * SaShi 581: Dining car. All withdrawn. File:JNR EC TNc581 side view.png, Artist's impression of a KuHaNe 581 coach

Formations

(as of 1 July 2010)

JR East (Akita Depot)

JR East (Sendai Depot)

Set N1/N2:

JR West (Kyoto Depot)

Sets B04-06:

Interior

File:JNR583seat.JPG, Seating arrangement in a 583 series coach File:West Japan Railway Company(JR WEST) Night Train Express "KITAGUNI" 4.JPG, The interior of a Saro 581 Green seating car in 2010 File:JNR sashi581-19 syanai.jpg, The interior of a SaShi 581 dining car in 1985

History

The 581 series was introduced in 1967 on the ''

Midori Midori (みどり, ミドリ, , , ) is the Japanese word for "green" and may refer to: Places * Midori, Gunma * Midori-ku, Chiba * Midori-ku, Nagoya * Midori-ku, Sagamihara * Midori-ku, Saitama * Midori-ku, Yokohama People Given name * M ...

'' ( - daytime limited express) and ''Gekkō'' (Shin-Osaka - night limited express). The 583 series was introduced in 1968 on the ''

Hatsukari The and were limited express train services in Japan operated by Japanese National Railways (JNR) and later East Japan Railway Company (JR East) from 1958 until 2002. History The ''Hatsukari'' was first introduced on 1 October 1958 as a long ...

'' ( - via

Tōhoku Main Line The Tōhoku Main Line ( ja, 東北本線, ) is a long railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line starts from Tokyo Station in Chiyoda, Tokyo and passes through such cities as Saitama, Utsunomiya, Fukush ...

daytime), '' Hakutsuru'' (Ueno - Aomori via Tōhoku Main Line night), and '' Yūzuru'' (Ueno - Aomori via

Jōban Line The Jōban Line ( ja, 常磐線, ) is a railway line in Japan operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). The line officially begins at Nippori Station in Arakawa, Tokyo before the line officially ends at Iwanuma Station in Iwanuma, ...

night). These trains were subsequently used on other limited express services. In 1982, when the Tohoku Shinkansen opened, many cars became surplus to requirements, and some were remodeled into 419 series and 715 series EMUs. The last remaining trainset in service, a six-car set based at JR East's Akita Depot made its final run on 8 April 2017, on a charter service between and .

Preserved examples

, six former 581 series cars are preserved statically. * KuHaNe 581 8: Preserved at the Kyushu Railway History Museum in

Kitakyushu, Fukuoka is a city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fukuoka. It is one of ...

(cosmetically restored from its previous identity as KuHa 715-1). * SaHaNe 581 19: Preserved at the in

Bifuka, Hokkaido is a town in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 4,609 and a density of 6.9 persons per km2. The total area is . Geography Bifuka is located in a valley in the north central region of the island ...

. * SaShi 581 31: Preserved adjacent to the Hachinohe City Museum in

Hachinohe, Aomori is a city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 221,459, and a population density of 725 persons per km2 in 96,092 households, making it Aomori Prefecture's second largest city by population. The city h ...

. * KuHaNe 581 35: Preserved at the

Kyoto Railway Museum The (formerly the until 2016) is a railway museum in Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The original Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum opened in 1972, but was expanded and modernized in 2016, becoming the Kyoto Railway Museum. The museum is owned by We ...

in Kyoto since April 2016. In February 2015, JR-West car KuHaNe 581 35, formerly stored at Suita Depot in Osaka, was moved to Kyoto for exhibition at the Kyoto Railway Museum opening in April 2016. It was returned from its previous ''Kitaguni'' livery to its original JNR blue and cream livery. In August 2017, JR East announced the donation of two former intermediate 583 series cars (MoHaNe 582-106 and MoHaNe 583-106), which will be preserved at the National Taiwan Museum in Taiwan. The 583 series is known to be the first sleeper EMU introduced in Japan in the late 1960s. File:Kuhane581 8.jpg, KuHaNe 581 8 at the Kyushu Railway History Museum File:Kyoto-Railway-Museum Series581-35.jpg, KuHaNe 581 35 at the Kyoto Railway Museum in September 2018 File:Mohane 582 106 583 106.jpg, 583 series intermediate cars at the Taipei Railway Workshop

In fiction

The story "Ah, My Beloved 583-series" of the anime '' The Laughing Salesman NEW'' focuses on a man whose dream is to ride the 583-Type train and is given a once-only chance by Moguro, however boarding the train again condemns him to stay on it forever.

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Trains, Japan Electric multiple units of Japan Hokkaido Railway Company East Japan Railway Company West Japan Railway Company Train-related introductions in 1967 Hitachi multiple units 20 kV AC multiple units Nippon Sharyo multiple units 1500 V DC multiple units of Japan Kawasaki multiple units Kinki Sharyo multiple units Tokyu Car multiple units