Development History of Carbody Contour of Railway Vehicles

-Development of High-Speed Train using Ultra-Lightweight Curved Monocoque –

Abstract

With the knowledge of aeronautical engineers who moved to the railway industry at the end of the war and the technology transfer from developed countries, the development for weight reduction and speed of railways accelerated. Since 1951, the Ministry of Transport, JNR, JARi and manufacturers have developed technology development schemes, and new technologies such as tension shell structures and cardan drives have been pioneered by private railway companies, and their know-how has been accumulated and shared.

In 1954, aeronautical engineers of Tokyu Car broke the unwritten rule of straight contour in the railway industry and developed curved contour that was described as an "airplane without wings" in the high-speed ultralight train Tokyu 5000 series .

In this study, focusing on the development history of the cross-sectional shape of the car body, we will clarify that the eggshell Curved Monocoque, which is the "revolutionary and innovative design concept" of the Tokyu 5000 series, was adopted as the Odakyu 3000 , JNR 151 series , and JNR 0 series, and came to fruition as the world's first high-speed railway.-