JNR tried to develop a new style limited express.

Even when the Pacific War ended, the railroad of Japan did not stop.
And it was moving on time mostly. Of course, there were few trains in operation and there were no vacancies. Therefore, the limited express was not driven. Operation of the limited express was resumed in 1949. It was the limited express HEIWA. It means 'peaceable' in English. The name was changed into the limited express TSUBAME in 1950. You will understand how the limited express TSUBAME was loved by Japanese people on the railroad of Japan. The first-class observation car, the second-class wagon, the third class coach, and the dining car were connected with it. The EF58 type electric locomotive towed the electrified section. It towed the royal Train. The C62 type steam locomotive is famous also as a prototype of the Galaxy Express 999 of anime. It made the world record of the steam locomotive of a narrow gauge of 129 km/h. Moreover, the C62 led the express NISEKO of Hokkaido after that. It was an express which runs in the beautiful scenes of snowstorms. The whole line of the main Tokaido line was electrified in 1956. The Limited Express Tsubame ran from Tokyo Station to Osaka Station in 7 hours and 30 minutes. However, it was still a limited express with which an electric locomotive tows a coach. Here, JNR tried to develop a new style limited express. It was a limited express in an Electric Multiple-Unit.

JAPAN Railroad Only Japanese Electric Multiple-Unit sleeping car

The sleeping car which carries power was used in part in every country in the world. It is famous for the Inter-urban Electric Multiple-Unit sleeping car in the United States in the early 20th century. Moreover, there were VT10.5 type of Diesel Multiple-Unit of the sleeping car in West Germany in the middle of the 1950s, etc. It was used for commercial service and in the daytime was used as a day coach. It stored the seats and was used at night a sleeping car. However, there was a problem. Silence was required for the sleeping car but the power for the sleeping car was noisy. Furthermore, there was no economical merit to drive a sleeping car in daytime and at night. Therefore, only a small number of them were produced, and they were only used for a short time.


However, JNR had a special reason for using the Electric Multiple-Unit for a sleeping car. The railroad of Japan had a complicated track with many slopes and curves. Japan is a small island but it is mountainous. There is only a short distance between one city and the next city. Therefore, the vehicles which were powered by Electric Multiple-Units or Diesel Multiple-Units were distributed from the start of the 1960s in Japan. That is because Electric Multiple-Units and Diesel Multiple-Units have excellent acceleration and slowdown performance, and also have good speed on an uphill slope. It is the same reason that the Shinkansen of Japan uses an Electric Multiple-Unit.