Toden 5500 series

Toden 5500 series
5501 in July 2025
Technical specifications
Manufacturer(s)	Naniwa Kōki
Type of locomotive	Light rail vehicle
Family name	PCC streetcar (5501 only)
Constructed	1953 – 1955
Number built	7 cars
Dimensions	14,360 mm × 2,440 mm × 3,874 mm
Gauge	4 ft 6 in (1,372 mm)
Power supply	600 V DC
Electric system(s)	Pantograph
Traction system	Resistor control
Traction system model	Mitsubishi AB
Service information
In service	21 November 1953 – 10 December 1967
Formation	Single car
Number in service	None
Fleet numbers	5501 – 5507
Refurbished	1956 – 1958, 1960
Scrapped	1967
Preservation information
Preserved	1 car
Number scrapped	6 cars

The Toden 5500 series is a Japanese streetcar type operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei) on the Tokyo Toden network from November 1953 to December 1967.

History

The 5500 series was a series of streetcars manufactured for the Tokyo Toden network; the cars were designed to improve Japanese train technology, with the cars intended to be based on the United States' PCC streetcars. The Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation had obtained a license to have PCC streetcars operate in Japan, and the initial plan was to have two PCC streetcars imported from the United States, with one using Westinghouse electrical equipment and the other using General Electric electrical equipment; however, an American engineer in Japan at the time surveying the recovery of the country's industrial sector believed that it would be possible to produce PCC streetcars domestically, and so the plan was changed to have PCC cars produced domestically using domestic equipment such as Mitsubishi electric equipment and Sumitomo bogies.

Development of the 5500 series was spearheaded by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation's Transportation Technology Research Institute, which also conducted research into bogies and other equipment equivalent to what would be used in PCC streetcars; a committee, named the PCC Streetcar Domestic Production Committee, would also be formed with a number of constituent companies, such as Mitsubishi and rolling stock manufacturer Naniwa Kōki. To verify the practicality and functionality of the prototypes, Toei diverted some budget from what would be used to manufacture the last 6000 series car, 6291, itself intended to be a prototype manufactured on the directions of Toei's Rolling Stock Division, to produce the new streetcar, to be numbered in the 5500 series. Toei would order one car's worth of car bodies and electrical and mechanical equipment for the production of their prototype.

Production of the car would run into some early issues as a number of production issues led to both the Transportation Technology Research Institute and Rolling Stock Division's prototype car bodies being delayed; Toei's public relations bureau had already spent significant amounts of time marketing to Tokyo residents that they would be seeing a "new and revolutionary train" in fiscal 1953, and that backtracking on these promises would disappoint eager residents. To combat this, Toei commissioned Naniwa Kōki to manufacture a new separate car body based on the intended PCC streetcar body and combine it with the already existing mechanical and electrical equipment from the Rolling Stock Division's prototype car to produce a "provisional" car, not intended to be representative of the final design elements of the 5500 series. The resulting car was numbered 5502, numbered as such as 5501 was reserved for the car with the envisioned PCC streetcar technology in place. 5502 entered service on 21 November 1953. The Rolling Stock Division's prototype car would be completed in 1954 with such significant changes from the 6000 series it was renumbered 6501.

5501, the car intended to be representative of the class as a whole and featuring what was touted as "advanced technology", would be completed and enter service on 29 May 1954, also by Naniwa Kōki; it and the class as a whole would act as the "flagship" class of the Tokyo Toden network. 5501 however proved to be unpopular with train crews due to its unique control method using foot pedals as opposed to a throttle lever and was prone to frequent breakdowns due to its prototype equipment and apparent manufacturing errors; despite this, five more cars were ordered, numbered 5503 to 5507. These were manufactured from November to December 1955 and were based on 5502 instead, unintentionally making 5502 essentially the "representative" member of the class as a whole. The cars' pantographs were replaced with bow collectors from 1956 to 1958, while 5501's foot pedal throttle system was removed and replaced with a standard throttle handle system as used on the other cars at Shibaura Works in 1960.

Due to their highly specialized mechanical and electrical equipment, the 5500 series cars were typically stored at Mita Depot along with the aforementioned 6501 and were rarely used on other routes apart from Toden Route 1. With the abolishment of Route 1 on 10 December 1967, all seven 5500 series cars were withdrawn from service; they were not redeployed on other lines as their specialized equipment and large and long car bodies made them difficult to adapt for use on other lines. Due to its significance, 5501 was essentially earmarked for preservation while the remaining six cars were scrapped at Mito Depot; it was then preserved at Ueno Park, a location typically associated with Toden Route 1, where it remained for many years. Having fallen into disrepair due to being preserved in the open and not being repainted, Toei removed 5501 from Ueno Park and moved it back to Arakawa Depot in 1989; due to a lack of space in the depot it was left in a corner exposed to rain causing the body to corrode further. In 2007, it was decided that a dedicated space would be set up near Arakawa Depot to preserve 5501, with it repainted and restored to as-built condition and preserved in what is now known as the Toden Memorial Square.

Design

The 5500 series cars feature a PCC streetcar-inspired design. These were the first Toden streetcars with all-metal bodies. The cars were initially painted in Capital Cream with red accents, although in later years they were repainted in the same shade of yellow as other Toden streetcars.

Specifications

Construction of the cars is of steel. The cars use a Mitsubishi resistor controlled traction system transmitting power to Mitsubishi traction motors through a Cardan driveshaft; these were some of the first trains in Japan to use a Cardan driveshaft.

5501 is unique in that it uses a foot pedal system for vehicle control similar to that of a road car and like that a PCC streetcar; it employed three pedals, with the pedals from left to right being a dead man's switch, brake pedal and the accelerator pedal. 5502 would use a throttle handle, being built on mechanical and electrical equipment intended for an otherwise unrelated class of streetcar; all future 5500 series cars would also use throttle handle controls, with 5501 eventually converted to use the same sort of throttle controls. The foot pedal controls were restored in preservation.

5501 is the only Japanese streetcar which uses a 32 V DC power supply, commonly found on American streetcars.

Preservation

The following 5500 series cars have been preserved:

Number	Manufacturer	Date manufactured	Date retired	Location	Notes
5501	Naniwa Kōki	May 1954	December 1967	Toden Memorial Square, Tokyo, Japan	Displayed near 7504; restored to as-built condition with foot pedals and original livery