Shinkansen

Visited the National Railway Museum at York today. It was very busy. It was a Harry Potter themed day with characters wandering about and a smaller Hogwart's Express called the Hogwart's Castle running. Alana enjoyed the Hagrid's magic show in contrast to Louis who was oddly uninterested in anything. This could have been down to a desperation to get back to the car to continue playing Nintendo DS or the fact that he had a very late night due to his cousin sleeping over (Or a combination of both). Early night called for!

The picture is of a Japanese Bullet Train. One of the original designs and built in 1976, it is an amazing looking vehicle. I also like the fact that here is a train in York which once moved people around in the far east. Apparently this is the only Bullet Train outside Japan.

"Shinkansen literally means new trunk line, referring to the tracks, but the name is widely used inside and outside Japan to refer to the trains as well as the system as a whole. When it opened in 1965, Shinkansen re-invented Japan's railway system and set a standard for high speed rail travel that is still the envy of the world. This 'O' series 'bullet train' is an example of the first generation of Shinkansen and was built for West Japan Railways in 1976. It was withdrawn from service in October 2000 and donated to the NRM by West Japan Railways as an example of one of the greatest leaps in rail technology since Rocket. "