The was a DC

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...

(EMU) commuter train type introduced in 1957 by

Japanese National Railways The , abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

(JNR), and formerly operated by

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

(JR East) and

West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, ...

(JR-West). The last remaining trains were withdrawn in November 2003.

History

The prototype 101 series set was delivered in June 1957, as a 10-car (4+6-car) set classified as 90 series with all cars motored. Cab cars were numbered MoHa 90500 to 90503, and the intermediate cars were numbered MoHa 90000 to 90005. Production sets were delivered from March 1958, differing visually from the prototype in having exposed rain gutters along the top of each car. The 90 series was reclassified as 101 series from 1959, with the prototype set cars numbered in the 900 subseries. The prototype set was modified in 1962 to bring it up to production set standards.

Lines used

101 series trains operated on the following lines.

Tokyo Area

Chūō Line (Rapid) The is the name given to rapid services on the eastern section of the Chūō Main Line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) between and stations. Some services continue to Otsuki. Basic data *Operator: East Japan Railway Co ...

(1957-1985) * Itsukaichi Line (1978-1985) * Keihin-Tohoku Line (1970-1978) *

Musashino Line The is a railway line operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It links Tsurumi Station in Yokohama with Nishi-Funabashi Station in Chiba Prefecture, forming a unclosed loop around central Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tok ...

(1973-1986) *

Nambu Line The Nambu Line () is a Japanese railway line which connects Tachikawa Station in Tachikawa, Tokyo and Kawasaki Station in Kawasaki, Kanagawa. For most of its length, it parallels the Tama River, the natural border between Tokyo and Kanagawa prefec ...

(1969-1991 for commuter rail services; 1980 - November 2003 for Branch line services) *

Chūō-Sōbu Line The is a railway line that runs through Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Part of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) network, the line operates on separate tracks along the right-of-way of the Chūō Main Line ( Chūō Line (Rapid)) and ...

(1963-1988) *

Tsurumi Line The Tsurumi Line () is a group of 3 railway lines operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Originally built to service the port and adjacent industrial area, the lines provide passenger services (especia ...

(1980-1992) *

Yamanote Line The Yamanote Line () is a railway Circle route, loop service in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is one of Tokyo's busiest and most important lines, connecting most of Tokyo's major stations and urban centres ...

(1961-1968) * Akabane Line (Now Saikyō Line) (1967-1978)

Osaka Area

Kansai Main Line The is a railway line in Japan, which connects Nagoya Station with JR Namba Station in Osaka. It is jointly run by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), with the boundary between both compan ...

Katamachi Line The , officially nicknamed the , is a commuter rail line and service in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto Metropolitan Area of Japan, owned and operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The line connects Kizu Station (Kyoto), Kizu Station in Kyoto Pr ...

(1976-1992) *

Osaka Loop Line The is a railway Circle route, loop line in Japan operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It encircles central Osaka. Part of a second, outer loop line, the Osaka Higashi Line, from Hanaten Station, Hanaten to Kyuhoji Station, Kyuh ...

(1964-1991) * Sakurajima Line (1961-1991) File:錦糸町駅-78-04.jpg, JNR 101 series EMU approaching Kinshicho Station at Chuo-Sobu Line, August 1978 File:Katamachi101-1985b.JPG, A JNR 101 series EMU leaving Katamachi Station on the

, 1985 File:JRE-EC-101-Tsurumi-Line.jpg, JR East 3-car Tsurumi Line set at Musashi-Shiraishi Station, circa December 1990 File:101 Shitte 20020713.jpg, A JR East 2-car Nambu Branchline set at Shitte Station in July 2002 File:101sayonara.jpg, Last standing 101 series with "Sayonara" head mark on its last run on Nambu Branch Line Services in December 2003

Private operators

A number of former 101 series trains were sold to the

private railway A private railway is a railroad run by a private business entity (usually a corporation but not need be), as opposed to a railroad run by a public sector. Japan In Japan, , commonly simply ''private railway'', refers to a public transit railway o ...

operator

Chichibu Railway The is a small-sector private railway company operating a railway line in northern Saitama Prefecture, Japan. In addition to its railway operations, the company deals in the real estate and tourism industries. It managed the Mitsumine Ropeway (� ...

Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...

in 1986, where they operated as 3-car 1000 series sets until March 2014. File:Chichibu Railway 1002 20080126.jpg, A Chichibu Railway 1000 series set in January 2008 File:Model 1000 Revival Coloring of Chichibu Railway.jpg, Chichibu Railway 1000 series sets in "revival" JNR liveries in December 2007

Preserved examples

* KuMoHa 101-902 is preserved at The Railway Museum in Saitama, previously preserved at JR East's Tokyo General Rolling Stock Center.Railway Museum exhibit details
. Retrieved 28 April 2009. * A 101 series

mock-up In manufacturing and design, a mockup, or mock-up, is a scale or full-size model of a design or device, used for teaching, demonstration, design evaluation, promotion, and other purposes. A mockup may be a ''prototype'' if it provides at le ...

car is exhibited at the

Kyoto Railway Museum The (formerly the until 2016) is a railway museum in Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The original Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum opened in 1972, but was expanded and modernized in 2016, becoming the Kyoto Railway Museum. The museum is owned by We ...

. File:KuMoHa101-902 Tokyo General Depot 20050827.jpg, KuMoHa 101-902 at Tokyo General Rolling Stock Center, August 2005 File:Main building of the Kyoto Railway Museum 047.jpg, Mock-up of a 101 series at the Kyoto Railway Museum, April 2017

References

* *

External links

* {{JR-West rolling stock Electric multiple units of Japan East Japan Railway Company West Japan Railway Company Train-related introductions in 1957 1958 in rail transport 1500 V DC multiple units of Japan