Originally published December 6, 2020 on T Gauge Junction

On October 1, 1964, the very first Shinkansen 0 Series train departed Tokyo Station at 6:00 AM, bound for Osaka via the new Tokaido Line marking the birth of high-speed rail. At the time, it was the fastest train in the world, hitting a record 256 km/h (159 mph) on March 30, 1963.

The 0 Series revolutionized rail travel with its aerodynamic design, vibration-reducing engineering, advanced traffic control, and dedicated elevated track and no crossings, no sharp turns, just smooth, high-speed travel.

The T Gauge model captures this historic train nicely. It includes 4 cars: two power cars (with bi-directional lighting) and two intermediate cars, one of which is a buffet car. The full train set measures 230mm and is based on the original “Super Express” version with its larger windows, two rows of seats per window unlike the smaller windows used in later variants.

They made the windows smaller on later Shinkansen 0 Series trains mainly to make the car body stronger. At high speeds, especially when going through tunnels pressure changes can be tough on the structure, and big windows made things weaker. Smaller windows helped the train hold up better under those conditions.

The original Shinkansen 0 Series entered service as a 12-car train, later expanded to 16 cars by the end of 1969. The T Gauge model represents the earliest version known as the “Super Express” which was the first to go into operation. You can identify this version by its larger windows, each spanning two rows of seats. 

Build quality is impressive, and it looks spot-on in terms of proportions and design. In my setup, the two motor cars didn’t perform exactly the same at low speeds, but once the full set is running, that difference becomes unnoticeable. If you run a prototypical start and stop sequence, it performs well, and at scale speed (210 km/h), there are no issues at all.

Bottom line: this is a beautiful, well-made T Gauge model of a legendary train. Now I just need a layout worthy of it and when people say I’m running it too fast, I’ll just point out that it’s actually running at scale speed.

I am not paid by or have any affiliation with TGauge.com