14/12/2019
This 5700 series will be abolished in one week. Many people love it because of the comfortable ride and unusual designs. For example, a few passengers can get a view through the front windshield of the first car like riding in the front seat of an automobile.
30 years ago these cars were made as based on the famous Meitetsu Panorama car. In fact, some parts were borrowed such as the motor and electric generator that were used in the original Panorama car. In other words, it would have been a waste to abolish the Panaroma Car and dispose of the various parts. So the engineers tried to reuse as many parts as possible.
I want to ride it again but I'm too busy studying for tests this week. Furthermore, this car runs only in the morning when I'm riding another line on the way to school.
According to my friends, in the past this car was used as a film location for t.v. shows.
27 December update:
This series is now gone. A few days ago I tried to take pictures and ride it because school was finished. But I could take pictures only and not ride it. This car was running regularly about 2 weeks ago.
Let me sidetrack a little. When many train cars of the same model are running, train fans have many chances to encounter them. Now with this old train model, as the numbers decreased, so did the number of operations per day also decrease. It reached a point where so few cars were in operation each day that train fans had a difficult time trying to encounter it.
18 January 2020 update:
Many Japanese train companies make plans for a model to run on a non-standard line. For example, the 5700 series were allocated to the limited express line departing Nagoya Station at 11:41 a.m. But, one month ago, the number of 5700 series cars decreased unexpectedly (company strategy unknown) so that the original plan to run the 5700 series on the limited express line from Nagoya was canceled. So the train company was left with spare cars. To prevent waste, the train company managed to find a purpose for them which is the following.
When a particular train had an accident or inspection taking several months, these spare cars of the 5700 series would run as a substitute. This happened on December 17th, the big chance that train fans were waiting for.
24 January 2020 update:
But it was not always that the 5700 series runs all day and where is not far from my home. Then the 5700 series passed by Nagoya Station only once. And this car was going towards Gifu Hashima Station. If I went there, I was late for the cram school class. I took only a picture of the 5700 series and and go to cram school, then. I was frustrated that I took a picture in this situation only but I was still lucky.
All of the cars are someday replaced by new ones. It's necessary and train fans should accept it. Let's look forward to debuting the new 9500 series.
