Toden 2500 series

Toden 2500 series
2507 in the 1960s
Technical specifications
Manufacturer(s)	Fuji Heavy Industries, Shibaura Works
Type of locomotive	Light rail vehicle
Constructed	1958 – 1959
Number built	8 cars
Dimensions	11,860 mm × 2,150 mm × 3,554 mm
Gauge	4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm)
Power supply	600 V DC
Electric system(s)	Bow collector
Traction system	Resistor control
Traction system model	Mitsubishi KR-8
Service information
In service	1958 – 29 September 1968
Formation	Single car
Number in service	None
Fleet numbers	2501 – 2508
Scrapped	1967 – 1968
Preservation information
Preserved	None
Number scrapped	8 cars

The Toden 2500 series was a Japanese streetcar type operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei) on the Tokyo Toden network from 1958 to September 1968.

History

The 2500 series was a series of streetcars manufactured for the Tokyo Toden network; the cars were introduced in 1958 as a new type of rolling stock to replace the older wooden-bodied streetcars in operation on the line. Safety was noted as a concern, although since there were already plans to abolish the Toden network in future, the cars were manufactured cheaply to reduce costs, with a lifespan of 10 to 15 years; this was a similar policy as to what was used to manufacture the 8000 series cars.

A total of eight cars were manufactured from 1958 to 1959 by Toei's Shibaura Works and Fuji Heavy Industries; all eight were converted from 2000 series cars. They were exclusively used on the Suginami Line (Route 14), a narrow gauge line on former Seibu Railway trackage, from Shinjuku to Ogikubo; when that line was abolished on 1 December 1963, seven cars were converted from cape gauge (3 ft 6 in) to Scotch gauge (4 ft 6 in), relocated to Waseda Depot and operated on Route 15. The abolition of a significant number of lines on the Toden network starting in the mid-1960s resulted in the withdrawals of many of Toden's tram types, with withdrawals of this class commencing in 1967; all were withdrawn on 29 September 1968 with the closure of Waseda Depot and the abolishment of Routes 15 and 39. No 2500 series cars have been preserved.

Design

The 2500 series cars were built with a bus-like body structure. They were painted in Toei's corporate livery of yellow red accents.

Specifications

Construction was of steel. Electrical systems for the streetcars were manufactured by Mitsubishi.

Incidents

2503 was involved in a crash and scrapped. No further details are available.