Tobu 1800 series

Data (as of 27 Nov 2021)

History

The 1800 series had been used for Express Ryomo (Asakusa - Akagi). The number of passengers on Ryomo had been increasing at that time so that Tobu decided to introduce brand new trains, replacing second-handed trains built in the 1930s and 40s. The 1800 series initially consisted of four coaches, but later became six.

They were replaced with 200 series by 1998. Tobu did not simply throw them away, and converted some of them to 300 series, while reallocated others to stopping servces on Koizumi and Sano Lines. However, those on the branch lines were not successful, as they could not deal with congestion at peak times, and they were not compatible with driver-only operation (simply meant useless at off-peak times). They were taken out of service by 2006.

The last unit, which was introduced in 1987, remained on mainline even after being replaced with the 200 series. It was mostly used for group tours and seasonal services until 2018.