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All the necessary dependencies are either included in this package or are avaible on the DLS. Soundscript by Rizky_Adiputra.

(Consists are included! Don’t bother with placing individual cars!)

 

The 2100 Series was introduced by Keikyu at the very end of the 1990s as it’s new “flaghsip”, specifically designed and intended to be used on the highest-end services over the Keikyu network – express trains.

At the time Keikyu’s express fleet was exclusively formed of the 2000 Series, twelve sets (six eight-car sets and six four car set, the latters running normally coupled in normal service) built between 1982 and 1987 by Tokyu Car and Kawasaki Heavy Industries.  Depsite being very recent for the 1990s, with a good portion of the sets barely 10 years old, the 2000 Series had nonetheless suffered precocious wear from the intense express services it was assigned to, a situation made worse by their conventional carbon-steel construction, wich easily and rapidly rusted due to the salty air blowing inland from the sea, as almost all of Keikyu’s lines are located within short distance from the seashore.

Furthemore, as it was designed without a front emergency door, the 2000 Series was not allowed north of Shinagawa and into the underground Sengakuji station, where non-trough-running services had a dedicated set of platforms to enable a smooth near-cross-platform interchange with the Toei Asakusa Line (Sengakuji station and the trackage from it to Shinagawa actually belongs to Toei, not Keikyu, thus subway rules apply – including the mandate for a front emergency escape door).

For all these reasons, plus a desire to modernize it’s own image, in the mid-1990s Keikyu decided to embark in the design of an entirely new dedicated express train.

The base bodyshell design was first of all based entirely on the 600 Series, then Keikyu’s newest commuter train, wich had just been introduced. Essentially the 600 Series bodyshell, made out of rust-proof aluminum alloy, with it’s lovely rounded front, was taken “as it was” and “repurposed” for the new trains, with the only modification being the elimination of the central doors, leaving only two pairs at either end (the same identical configuration as used in the 2000 Series).

The color scheme was likewise never a question – Keikyu’s scarlet red as a background and a cream white fascia around the passenger windows, again, nearly exactly the same one as the 2000 Series.

However, past the seemingly mundane bodyshell design and color scheme, Keikyu went all out in terms of interior fittings and equipment, seeking the fanciest and most refined “furniture” available.

Especially notable are the seats, designed in Norway by the Georg Eknes company (a renown manufacturer of seating for airliners, ships and european railway companies) with a distinctive lapis-lazuli blue with scarlet red polka dots upholstery designed in Sweded by the Bogesunds company (another renown manufacturer of seating for railway and pubblic transit agencies). Another notable fetaure of these seats is that they are “convertible” – that is, following the standard Japanese practice to have all seats in express trains face the direction of travel, the seats in Keikyu’s new express trains could be rotated at terminuses so that they could face the new direction of travel. An important part of this is that the seats could be rotated pneumatically at the same time by using a switch located in the drivers’ cab, drastically reducing the time needed for the operation down to a few seconds, whereas before, (such as on the 2000 Series) the conductor (or a platform attendant) had to manually rotate evry single seat.

Foldable seats, another unusual fetaure for Japan, were also installed near the two pairs of passenger doors. Normally locked in the “upright” position during rush hour, during quieter times they could be unlocked by the conductor using another switch located inside the driving cab. A light on top of each foldable seat would tell a “perspective seater” if the seat is unlocked and thus foldable open or not.

Other notable interior fetaures are the paneling and flooring, with a marble motif and the gangway door, built with an unusual honeycomb structure (hidden under the same marble-style paneling) in order to save weight.

Keikyu looked to fancier and refined overseas products even for more “technical” matters, landing a contract with two german companies: Knorr-Bremse for braking-related equipment (specifically an SL-22 endless-screw compressor) and Siemens, for traction-related equipment, leading to the most iconic fetaure of these trains – their “solfege” melody when departing.

Indeed their most iconic fetaure is their GTO-VVVF inverter, type G1450 D1130 / 560 M5-1, manufactured by Siemens in Germany, and based on the company’s excellent SIBAS32 technology (SIBAS meaning Siemens Bahn-Automatisierungs-Systeme – “Siemens Railway Automation System”), with the most notable trait of this family of inverters being their frequency switching “melody”, wich is formed of a near-perfect solfége with well-distinct notes (Fa – Sol – La – Si – Do – Re – Mi – Fa – Sol).

Already relatively commonplace in Germany (on the Class 401 locomotives for ICE1 sets and on the ES64P prototype of the successful “EuroSprinter” family), this was actually not the first time the “singing inverter” had been brought to Japan – indeed, JR East’s E501 Series (a multi-voltage 209 Series derivative built for the Joban Line) had already been fitted with Siemens inverters upon it’s introduction in 1995.

Be as it be, this is certainly an “odd” choice, as all major domestic traction equipment manufacturers (Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric and Toyo Denki) were already well acquainted with inverters, having supplied them to a large selection of railway companies since the mid-1980s. This can be explained one way with Keikyu (and JR East) looking for a better quality-price match outside the domestic market. While for JR East this was to be a very small, one-time thing, for Keikyu it would become a relatively long-term relationship with Siemens, as the company opted for the same Siemens-made GTO-VVVF inverters for the first and second batches of it’s New 1000 Series commuter trains, built in 2002 and 2003, and would keep using Siemens technology, albeit this time IGBT-VVVF inverters, for the subsequent third, fourth and fifth batch of the same series, built up until 2006, before reverting (permanently) to domestic manufactuers from the 7th batch onwards.

Christened as the “2100 Series”, officially after the soon-to-be 21st century (and as part of the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Keikyu, after the 1899 opening of today’s Daishi Line by the Daishi Electric Railway, Keikyu’s most direct “ancestor), but working also as a nod to it’s role as a successor to the 2000 Series, the new express trains were adorned with a stylish rendition of the series designation on the fronts, with a italics “2100” broken by horizontal lines. Unlike what someone would normally expect, that is – a mundane print, the number is actually perforated into the white front portion, wich is none other than a cover for the windshield wipers (and thus is empty behind).

In total, ten 8-car sets were manufactured by Tokyu Car Co. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (the same manufactuers as the 2000 Series) between 1998 and 2000 in four batches, split equally between the two manufacturers: Tokyu Car Co. would handle the first two batches (five sets) and Kawasaki Heavy Industries would handle the latter two batches (also five sets).

The first batch consisted of two sets, 2101F and 2109F, delivered on the 9th of February and 4th of March 1998. These were initially delivered devoid of the “perforated” 2100 numbering in the front, and were retrofitted with it upon delivery of the second batch. 

Said second batch consisted of three more sets, 2117F, 2125F and 2133F, delivered on the 27th of October, 19th of October and 2nd of November 1998 respectively – one notable change in these was the “reinforcment” of the seats located right behind the windowed partition with the driving cab, so that passengers (meaning children) could lean onto them without too much damage.

These were followed by three more sets, 2141F, 2149F and 2157F, delivered on the 19th of April, 17th of May and 21st of May 1999, wich introduced car numbers on the front emergency door, but only the two latter “relevant digits” (for example, for car 2149 of formation 2149F, only a “49” would be displayed- there was no need to add each time “21” as well, among other things because the “perforated” designation number made any doubt regarding the series designation nill). Finally, the last two sets, 2165F and 2173F, were delivered on the 30th of October and 8th of November 2000, bringing the fleet to eight cars.

All the small differences between batches however disappeared immediately, as all trains were uniformed to the “style” of the last batch within a few months of delivery.

Originally, Keikyu envisioned the 2100 Series for services not only on it’s network, but “Airport Express” services connecting Haneda Airport and Narita Airport via the Toei Asakusa Line and Keisei network, and as such, the 2100 Series was also designed with subway trough-services in mind and an additional two sets were planned to be built. However, opposition by Toei on technical grounds (citing difficulties with the lengthy dwell times due to boarding by two doors only, something that was already a slight incovenience even to Keikyu itself during rush hours) led to the abandonment of the project, with the planned two additional 2100 Series sets being curtailed in favour of two New 1000 Series sets, more favourably viewed by Toei.

Nonetheless, the 2100 Series still remains technically capable (and legally compliant) to run trough the Asakusa Line, and it did actually a few times (for example, when moving to Toei’s Nishi-Magome Depot for the “Toei Festa” event), but it’s barring on regular revenue service usage still remains in place.

The official start of revenue services came already in early 1998, on the 28th of March, just a few weeks after the delivery of the first batch.

With their introduction, the old 2000 Series sets began to be swiftly retired, put trough refurbishment and “downgraded” to commuter trains, by rebuilding the cars with an additional third central pair of doors and longitudinal seating, with the last set being retired and converted in August 2000.

Ever since, the 2100 Series’ service life has been relatively uneventful, as their “operational” range has remained essentially unchanged, with the most “typical” assignment being limited express services from Uraga to Sengakuji (“Tokkyu”) and especially from Misakiguchi on the Kurihama Line to Sengakuji (“Kaitoku” – stopping at all stations on the Kurihama Line up to Horinouchi, then stopping only at Yokosuka-Chuo, Kanazawa-Bukko, Kamiooka, Yokohama, Keikyu-Kawasaki, Keikyu-Kamata and Shinagawa), as well as “Morning Wing” and “Evening Wing” services (morning and evening rush hour commuter rapid trains operating only on weekdays) from Miurakaigan or Misakiguchi on the Kurihama Line to Sengakuji or Shinagawa (more or less the same route as the “Kaitoku” limited express trains, but with a different stopping pattern).

One notable change came in 2005 for formation 2157F, wich was repainted in a blue livery and christened the “Keikyu Blue Sky Train”, wich it would carry until 2015. As set 2157F entered refurbishment, the “baton” of the “Keikyu Blue Sky Train” was passed to formation 2133F, wich was repainted in an identical livery in the same year. 

The “Blue Sky Livery” would then undergo a few “modifications” in early 2016 for the 1st anniversary of the signing of a “sister railway agreement” bewtween Keikyu and TRA (Taiwan Railway Administration – the taiwanese national railways). As part of this anniversary commemorations, Keikyu’s set 2133 would be fitted in a livery inspired by the old-timer blue-color TRA local trains (formed of a EMD diesel locomotive, either a G12 or G22 model – R0 or R100, R120, R150, R180 and R190 for TRA, along with a plethora of various passenger car designs). In practice, the modifications to the “Blue Sky Livery” included the addition of a side white line, TRA logos at the center of each car and yellow and black warning striping on the front skirt (reflecting Taiwanese practice for the diesel locomotives in question), plus the lettering “Taiwan Railways x Keikyu Friendship Railway Agreement 1st Anniversary” on the sides of the driving cab. TRA’s side in this “livery exchanged” involved instead repainting one of it’s EMU700 Series sets (built between 2007 and 2008 in Japan by Nippon Sharyo) in a livery inspired by Keikyu’s 800 Series commuter trains.

Originally slated to carry the “TRA” livery from the 21st of February to the 26th of March, Set 2133F in it’s “international” guise proved unexpectedly popular with Taiwanese enthusiasts, many of wich travelled to Japan to take pictures of it, so much so that Keikyu decided to extend the period of this “exchange livery” until the 5th of June, after wich all “Taiwanese” fetaures were removed, along with the “Keikyu Blue Sky Train” lettering and logo, leaving only the blue background, a sort of “former Blue Sky Train” livery that set 2133F is still carrying to this day.

By the late 2000s, however one issue was arising in ever increasing gravity: the beloved Siemens inverters, wich made the 2100 Series iconic and gave it a non-negligible character, were also becoming increasingly a pain for maintainance, both operational and economical. Not maintainance of the inverter per-se, as an inverter has no moving parts subject to wear and tear (it’s essentially a box full of printed circuits), the actual issue was with “interfacing” the Siemens inverters, and especially Siemens SIBAS32 control system with domestic Japanese components. Each time something was changed, careful calibration had to be done, and in addition, each time serious issues arose, Keikyu had to source Siemens technicians one way or the other, some times all the way from Germany (Siemens does have some presence in Japan, but it’s extremely minor and circumscript to medical technology and energy products).

Thus, the decision to discard the fancy Siemens equipment in favour of domestic products (primarily Toyo Denki-manufactured IGBT-VVVF inverters) was ultimately taken, with the first set undergoing refurbishment and “re-powering” being 2165F, returned to service on the 13th of December 2008, followed by 2101F and 2109F (September and November 2009), 2125F and 2117F (June and September 2010), 2149F (August 2011), 2157F and 2173F (March and August 2012), 2141F (January 2014) and ending with the last remaining one, 2133F, wich was returned to service in March 2015, thus ending the era of the iconic “solfége” on 2100 Series trains (the New 1000 Series would hold on a little longer, with the last “singing” set, 1033F, being refurbished in summer 2021).

Besides the changes to the traction equipment, the refurbished also involved a general bodyshell repairation for most sets, new air-conditioning units, 17-inch LCD next-stop displays were fitted above the doors, new LED interior lights as well as destination indicators and the addition of a “Keikyuun” sticker (Keikyu’s mascot character) on the front emergency door.

As of today, all ten 2100 Series sets are in regular service on the Keikyu network, running the classic “Tokkyu” and “Kaitoku” services on the Main Line and Kurihama Line, as well as more rarely some limited express services between Shinagawa and Haneda Airport (otherwise normally exclusive to Toei Asakusa Line-allowed rolling stock such as the New 1000 and 600 Series). Even if deprived of the “singing” that made them iconic, the 2100 Series still remains the flagship train of Keikyu, a full 25 years after it’s introduction. 

Trivia #1

Within Keikyu’s computer-based rolling stock management syste, the 2100 Series is abbreviated as “8E” (standing for “eight cars, express type”).

Trivia #2

Notably, there is one persistent “operational” issue with the 2100 Series: its undersized fleet compared to the vast number of services they’re assigned. As such “temporary replacements” with other rolling stock, usually the relatively comfortable 600 Series or New 1000 Series are used, but there have been some cases where even a 1500 Series set had to be called in.

Trivia #3

The 2100 Series’ seats once rotated are mechanically locked in place. This was unbeknownst to passengers in the earliest years of the 2100 Series’ service, and thus there were some cases of people forcefully attempting to rotate the seat manually (as they were used on older trains), wich would result in damages to the whole rotating mechanism.

As such, for the first few years of the 2100 Series’ career, all headrests had to be printed with a “Seat cannot be turned” preventive message.

Trivia #4
One might consider the solfége of the Siemens-made inverters to be a lucky case of technical coincidence, given the vast variety of different inverter sounds (with the variety for GTO-VVVF inverters being particularily vast).

Instead, the “melody” of the Siemens inverter was allegedly a deliberate addition by Siemens engineers, looking to provide a more “pleasant” sound to their product!

Trivia #5

Other notable adopters of the Siemens’ “singing” inverter outsides Japan, besides the afromentioned Class 401 ICE1 powercars and the ES64P prototype (wich would later become Clas 127 001), are the 1st-generation locomotives of the “Taurus” family of the austrian OBB (Classes 1016, 1116 and 1216), plus their “export version” (DB Class 182) – likely the most notable users of this inverter outside Japan, the Korail 8200 Class (another EuroSprinter derivative) and the CPTM 3000 Series from Brazil (the closest sounding equivalent to Keikyu trains).

Model-Trivia:

I actually began to model the 2100 Series back in June of last year, but due to various time constraints (primarily my thesis) i had to postpone it indefinitely.

The pack then remained “dormant” for several months as other projects took priority and time was scarce. I picked up where i left nearly exactly one year later, upon my return from france in late June, and dribbling trough university exams and other time constraints, i finally managed to finish it and release it today, nearly exactly one year and one month after i started modelling! making this as of now the record holder for the longest time between the start of modelling and the release, a record i am certainly not inclined to surpass!