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Shinkansen 'Bullet Train' exhibition 

The journey from Japan - by Richard Gibbon, the NRM's Head of Engineering Collections

In March 2001 I was invited to go to Japan in connection with Bullet Train Car No 22-141's journey to York. I visited  Hakata Train Maintenance Depot to inspect the chosen vehicle prior to witnessing the loading of the vehicle on board  ship, on the first leg of its journey to the NRM.

Background

The NRM had for some months been in close liaison with the JR-West team who had been preparing the vehicle for shipment. The visit produced some interesting facts ... and some surprises!

The Shinkansen Bullet Train (Series Zero) pantograph car that we had chosen, had been fully restored to brand-new condition at Hakata to the highest possible standard of repair and finish.

There was a lavish departure ceremony at Hakata Docks on Friday 16 March at which the car and its bogies were raised amid much pomp and circumstance, to be loaded separately into the hold of a ship bound for Kobe.

Over one hundred JR-West workers had been involved in this restoration project and it had taken a huge amount of their resources to get it to the final superb condition.

The shipping costs alone, which were picked up by JR-West, and generously sponsored by Matsui (their shipping agents), totalled over £60,000.

This project had unleashed massive interest in Japan, and the expectation within JR, the Japanese press, public and rail-fans that the process would be matched by a similar spectacle in Britain.

Tuesday 13 March 2001

I was met at Fukuoka Airport by Mr Kuramitsu and Mr Orinaka, both of JR-West, and taken for a briefing over lunch about the ceremony scheduled for Friday 16 March. Great concern over what I was going to say and would I stick to script and timing prescribed. They were aghast that I had brought a gift of replica maker's plate for Mallard because their plans did not include this.

Wednesday 14 March 2001

Met at hotel and taken via ride on Series Zero to Hakata Car Maintenance Depot. A veritable 'Swindon' of a place! All types of Shinkansen Trains are overhauled or serviced here.

I met the brains behind the restoration project, Mr Osamu Ishimoto, ex-Surrey University (England) and now JR- West's Chief Mechanical Engineer in Hakata. We discussed a schedule that included seeing our exhibit, a tour of the factory, and interviews with all his team of engineers, as well as meeting with Mitsui to discus the logistics of overseas transportation.

I arrived to see the Car 22-141 in the factory amid a cacophony of sound with about forty men in helmets and overalls all swarming over it. The vehicle was immaculate and stunningly turned out. The paint job was perfect and matched the present standard of the Duchess of Hamilton.

Sounds came from the whole team working under the vehicle searching with their forty hammers for loose bolts and fastening. Clearly a dramatic bit of theatre for my arrival!

Inside all the seats and flooring were in new condition, and the vehicle exceeded my expectations by a long way. It was fully painted underneath in chassis black to our request. The only one to be so dealt with! (I was glad of this later on at the loading ceremony when the car was raised high above our heads and positively sparkled underneath!)

I made a speech to the workforce, at their request, explaining why we were looking forward to its arrival, why it was significant and praising their glorious efforts. This is when I first learned that the workforce saw this as sending their precious daughter to be married overseas. They wanted her to look as attractive as possible in her new life!

I then toured the factory with the twelve under-managers who were responsible for each section. I discovered that all the work on the Shinkansen trains is done in-house. Particularly impressive was the bogie shop where I learned that axles are checked for cracks every 30 days! (In the UK, every three years!) I found that the solid wheels are pressed off, and back onto, the axles at every overhaul without any damage to either component. This is achieved by forcing oil at extremely high pressure into the middle of the interference fit! The reassembled bogies are put through their paces in a simulator to make sure that all is well before being put under the cars.

The bogies for our car had been put through a full works overhaul, and are in tip-top mechanical condition with all wheels re-profiled to our requested shape. The electric motors that are in use now are the same ones as were originally fitted over thirty years ago. They are thoroughly stripped and overhauled every 900,000 Km.

There has been no re-design of the original 'Bullet Train'. All the components have behaved as expected and there has had to be no retrospective changing of faulty components. There is merely a continuous programme of refurbishment to eliminate wear.

I saw for the first time the safety double checking process during the tour, where at every crossing and possible hazard, the leader of the party gestured to where the hazard might be seen, and recited a mantra about checking all eventualities. I was to see much more of this behaviour when I rode with the drivers in the cabs of the Bullet trains.

At the question and answer session following the tour I was able to secure a good number of answers to our queries. I established where to tap in to the electrical system to make the lights work in the saloon and driver's cab. What electrical supply would be needed to make them work etc. (Thinks . I should have asked for some spare light bulbs). I also secured a certificate showing that all four axles were ultrasonically crack-free which is all in Japanese of course! I also learned that JR-West intend to carry on using Series Zero for at least another seven (possibly ten) years.

I thanked all the engineers for their magnificent efforts and for giving up their time.

I was then escorted outside where the car had now been moved into the Works Yard and was lifted by Matterson type synchronized jacks up into the air to get the special road vehicle belonging to Nippon Express to fit under the vehicle to take it to the docks.

It was here that I first became aware of the magnitude of the whole operation. Not only were some thirty people involved in this process, but a further thirty were filling in the traverser pit with steel supports and covering plates to enable the loaded road vehicle to turn itself round before leaving the factory. This job alone, which I understand Mitsui Ltd had sponsored as a gesture of good-will, cost in excess of £10,000, but grew from our early request to change the intended car from the leading car to a pantograph car! This meant it was facing the wrong way, and there was nowhere to turn such a long vehicle round. It could not reverse all the way to the docks!

Thursday 15 March 2001

Mr Kimura and Mr Kuramitsu met me and we were conveyed in a minibus to various locations in the Japanese countryside where Shinkansen Series Zero can be seen in action. We visited four locations and I got some fine photographs, but this was fraught with difficulty as the Shinkansen track is invariably higher than the vantage points for routing and noise reduction reasons. There are only few places where it is possible to look down on trains.

The reason for the two JR-West officers accompanying me was really to rehearse the final arrangements for the next day's ceremony. Each day they had to go back to executive meetings to see if the plan had changed, and of course it had! By this time I had decided that the final part of my speech was to be delivered in Japanese, thanks to our brilliant interpreter who assisted me with phonetically spelt Japanese sentences! Actual permission to do this had to come from the very top later the next morning!

Friday 16 March 2001

A limousine collected me at 10.15 for a rehearsal of the day with Mr Kuramitsu which included my acceptance speech (which of course had to be fully cleared in advance by JR-West) including the last paragraph which was in my best phonetically transcribed Japanese! Then prompt at 12.00 I was delivered to a very posh hotel and whisked through the lobby past dozens of bowing staff, and into the VIP suite where the top brass were assembled for a formal lunch for six in a huge ceremonial room. Mr Ide, Mr Kimura, Mr Cowin, Mr Matsuoka and Mr Yamamoto and myself at head of table. It was quite a formidable occasion!

From lunch we went by motorcade to the ceremonial tent at the docks where the press, VIPs and public were gathered for the ceremony. The Shinkansen was sitting at the dockside with a huge satin bow attached to its side in true Japanese style of neat wrapping! There was yet another rehearsal as the Master of Ceremonies took us through our paces.

We started promptly at 13.00. Each of the six of us, starting with me, were introduced to the crowd behind us as we sat at the front of the special tent facing the two 75-tonne cranes ready to lift the car into the ship.

Mr Ide spoke first. Then I did mine, and then read the letter from Andrew Scott with my message about agreeing to cherish this wonderful gift in a fit and proper manner at the end in Japanese. Mr Richard Cowin spoke next. The gift of a gold-plated "break" (sic) handle was then given to me by Mr Ide, and I in turn gave him the original letter from Andrew Scott plus the replica maker's plate from Mallard.

The six of us then lined up in front of a red, white and blue ribbon in front of the car and with six pairs of gold plated scissors and white gloves, we all together cut the ribbon into seven pieces to the sound of "Land of Hope and Glory" as the carriage behind us was lifted high into the air and with a very well planned and executed lift swung the car into the waiting hold of the ship to rapturous applause. (It actually says "apprause" on the timetable at this point!) We did several interviews with local and national newspapers and TV.

Meanwhile we saw the car and bogies fastened firmly down in the ship's hold and away it sailed into the sunset bound for Kobe, with me waving on the quayside for the benefit of the local media!

Saturday 16 March 2001

This was the day set aside for riding the Shinkansen. Five trips had been planned: four on the Series Zero and one on the Series 700. The latter was truly remarkable - the ride at 286 kmh is about the same as a British GNER Mark 4 coach running on the East Coast Main Line at 50 kmh.

The most surprising thing that I discovered is the almost automaton-like actions that the driver has to carry out in order to satisfy the rules. Every action and every signal received by the locomotive is verbally shouted out by the driver into the voice recorder on board, as well as being relayed to HQ at Tokyo.

Sunday 18 March 2001

Returned to England via Kansai Airport to London Heathrow.

Postscript

Well that was the first third of the task completed! The next big event would be the arrival at Southampton where ownership of Car No 22-141 would change hands and the vehicle taken fully assembled to be stored at the Science Museum at Wroughton, near Swindon, until late June when the real problems would start!

After coming all that way from the other side of the world, the Shinkansen car would have to make the last part of the journey by rail over Railtrack metals from Thrall to the NRM. Car No 22-141 is almost a metre wider than standard UK railway vehicles which would soon present problems of it's own!

The day the Bullet Train arrived in Southampton, England

Ray Towell, the NRM's Curator of Operations, and I set off from York to travel to Southampton on the afternoon of Sunday 13 May. We had separate objectives. I was to go via the Matsuri Japanese Restaurant in London, where I joined Andrew Scott, Head of Museum, and other colleagues for the final fund-raising party for the NRM with Japanese business associates, and Ray was to go on to set our stall at Southampton where we knew we needed a late access to our hotel once the ship had docked at 23.30 hrs.

The Matsuri party was a very happy occasion and the enthusiasm of the Japanese for the Bullet Train project was very evident and most encouraging. The splendid meal was accompanied by an auction of gifts with all the proceeds being donated to the project. The bids for each item were written on a ledger in front of the objects, if you wanted something really badly you had to keep going back and topping up your bid! I think I got a Burberry tie for £20! I say that "I think" because I had to leave before the end of the party to go and catch the 21.30 Southampton train. One of the highlights of the evening was the announcement that £40,000 had been raised for this project so far through the various contacts and that the money would be handed over to the NRM after this evening. Significantly over 2000 Japanese railfans had given money to the fund. A register of their names was handed to Andrew Scott for safe keeping.

Ray and our transport contractor Andrew Goodman were there to greet me at Southampton station with the news that the ship was just twenty minutes off docking at Berth 43. This is one of the deep see berths where we have all, I am sure, seen photographs of past glorious times showing three and four funnelled Cunard and White Star Liners lined up in abundance!

We met up with the BBC Close Up North film crew on the quayside and chatted over progress since our last working together on the quayside at Hakata Port in Western Japan after the loading ceremony in March. Moveright International's newly extended low-loader specially prepared for this project arrived on the quayside with some of the smart grey paint still wet!

The huge Wallenius Wilhelmsen vessel loomed out of the darkness towards us like a massive orange twelve story hotel. Soon it was securely tied up and after we had seen the oblique rear loading ramp lowered and the rear door raised we all retired to our lodgings and slept soundly in anticipation of tough but exciting and eventful day in store. We were not to be disappointed!

At 07.00 we met up again at the berth. The BBC crew and I were allowed into the main vehicle deck of the vessel. It was about the size of two football pitches end-to-end, and our Shinkansen car was sitting in the centre at the far end looking quite tiny and insignificant in such a cavernous place. The car was sitting on rubber tyred versions of rail bogies suitable for manoeuvring these vehicles on and off such ships. The actual rail bogies were three decks further down stored on a flat trailer.

The BBC did a short interview about how it felt to be reunited once again. The shipping company Wallenius Wilhelmsen were waiting for the tide to drop sufficiently for the extra long load to be able to drive off the ship onto the ramp with no fear of 'bottoming'. The Japanese VIPs from JR-West, JR-Central and from Mitsui (the shippers), and Wallenius Wilhelmsen arrived to witness the occasion. The two JR-West engineers who had been sent to oversee the correct assembly of body and bogies were introduced to us. At 08.30 the time was judged to be right, and in brilliant sunlight the very first Japanese Bullet Train to ever touch British soil emerged to a crowd of well wishers and press. It was a truly impressive moment and pleasing for me personally. Up to that point I had been the only NRM person to have seen the finished product after the preparation at Hakata, and all impressions that my colleagues had gained had been through my eyes and the available photographs. Here at last was proof for all to see, that this is indeed a very beautiful and impressive object.

The vehicle was taken straight up to the Queen Elizabeth II Terminal, where the craning and assembly of the car was to take place as well as the little handover ceremony planned for later in the day. The two 70 tonne cranes arrived as well as the bogies on their flat trailer. We positioned Andrew Goodman's new trailer and the cranes appropriately. We then lifted and placed the bogies at the right centre distance and in their correct position on the rails of Andrew's trailer. We were grateful for the splendid Japanese graphics attached to the bogies which showed us exactly what went where and which way round they were to go. Typical thorough attention to detail that they are so good at!

The cranes then turned their attention to the spreader beams and heavy lifting strops that we had hired for the occasion, and after a little hiccup with one of the cranes, which was only a fortnight old, we were able to start. The crane driver had to get his owner's manual out to see how to enable the on- board computer to allow the crane to slew!

The JR-West engineers pointed out to us that we would have to unbolt the bolster supports on the temporary road bogies. There were thirty two 20 mm diameter bolts attaching the car body to the road wheels. They must have been expecting a rough sea on the journey, especially when it turned out later in the day that Shinkansen car bodies are not in any way attached to their bogies in service!

The lift was trouble-free and went well and soon the car was being very carefully lowered the last few inches down on to the bogies. Great care had to be taken to centralize the air suspension units above the bolster into the pockets on the underside of the body. As the weight came off the lifting gear the first real problem of the day became apparent. The clearance between the underside of the equipment fastened below the floor of the car was less than had been thought and it was clear that the body of the car was resting on the deck of the trailer in at least two places. Andrew had already anticipated this being a problem and had placed two lengths of 20 mm thick steel under the wheels of the front bogie.

There then ensued one of those moments in any really big job when everybody on the team applies their mind to the problem and a veritable volcano of different ideas and suggestions came spewing forth! This is a really dangerous moment for those in charge because often the ideas are not thought fully through and great traps are being unwittingly set for the immediate future! This is also not an easy time to be wired for sound and to have a TV camera lens pushed very close to your face whilst trying to appear composed. Andrew listened to all the ideas which ranged from lifting the whole car off completely and back onto the road bogies, to inflating the air suspension of the car using some pipes that had just arrived from Japan, in a container at the NRM that morning! He did his customary "I'm just going outside ... I may be some time!" and then returned fifteen minutes later with his plan to solve the problem. He had located and bought 6 metres of 50m square steel bar at a stockists in Southampton and arranged for it to be cropped in half. Then he had diverted one of the company's other lorries, which was working in the area, to turn round and collect the steel from the stockists, then deliver it to us at the docks. (To think that I just thought mobile phones were things that annoyed me in trains!)

After what seemed an age, and the VIPs had all disappeared for lunch at the Institute of Oceanography nearby, the steel duly arrived. We had been fed and watered thanks to the ministrations of George and Margaret Rutter of the Southern Group of Friends of the NRM. They were magnificent as ever in acting as our support crew throughout the whole day and we are grateful to them for turning out so loyally!

The weight was taken off the car at the offending end and the bogie was then jacked up with its wheels clear of the deck sufficient to slide the steel bar into place underneath. This was done on both sides and when the weight was finally released from the crane we were all relieved to see that there was just over an inch of daylight (sorry, 25 mm) under the lowest point of the car.

Whilst the Moveright team anchored the bogies down to the lorry, the rest of us set about attaching the two banners that had been kindly supplied by the shippers Mitsui. One was a general description but the other announced itself as "Your only chance to overtake a Japanese Bullet train bound for York". Tiredness had started to set in for me by then and I had inadvertently not sorted out which banner went on which side. Of course I got them transposed and no fewer than twelve of the onlookers came up at the end of the job and told me I had got them on the wrong sides. I vainly pointed out that it was meant to be a joke aimed at pedestrians rather than motorists who should really be watching where they were driving, rather than reading signs on the sides of trains! Certainly Andrew Scott was unconvinced!

That work was finished five minutes before the planned ceremony at 16.00. Our Japanese colleagues were truly unimpressed by this brilliant show of brinkmanship! I pointed out that we knew that they would have had the job completed twenty four hours before the ceremony but they were in Britain now, and I was sorry, but they would have to endure us doing it our own special way!

The ceremony was a formal signing and hand-over of ownership of the car to the NRM. Andrew Scott and Mr Hirano, Vice-President of JR-West, made speeches and exchanged gifts. The NRM received a piece of Darlington manufactured railway line from the early British-built Japanese Railway, and the keys to the Series Zero Bullet Train. Andrew asked if this gave him free access to ALL Japanese Bullet Trains! Mr Hirano received one of the new super-detailed Hornby streamlined Duchess locomotives to add to his collection.

The ceremony continued with a Photocall for the black-hand gang in front of the nose of the Shinkansen and concluded with a ceremonial smashing of a bottle of champagne (again thanks to George Rutter!) across the 'bows'. This was well received by all and we retired to the departure lounge of the Cunard QEII terminal where all enjoyed a cold collation and drinks courtesy of Wallenius Wilhelmsen and the NRM. When we left weary and content that evening we were convinced that the only remaining work was the reconnection work by the Japanese engineers for two hours before the police escort would arrive to accompany the extraordinary load to Wroughton.

We made a leisurely start at 09.00 on Tuesday and as the Japanese engineers went about their work, I set about shortening all the untidy banner strings that had been hurriedly tied the day before. I was summoned by the engineer to be shown that the traction motor power cables had been trapped during the assembly between the traction motor cooling duct and the motor casing. They were very unhappy. I managed to crawl into the gap and release two of the three trapped cables, but the last one just would not come. Thanks to Ray we managed to get a jack under the bolster and tip the body ever so slightly to relieve the pressure. Then I got a rope around the heavy current cable to two of Andrew's team outside who with one gigantic heave freed the cable from the trap. That was twenty minutes before the police escort arrived to get us under way. Not very Japanese timing.

Thus ended the second of the three phases of this adventure of getting the Shinkansen car to the NRM. The next phase, the journey to York followed by the rail movement on Railtrack is the real test! As I said yesterday several times, "The first 6000 miles is the easy part!"

Home at last! The Shinkansen arrives at the NRM (or how I slept properly for the first time in weeks!)

This concluding part of the story covers the final leg of the journey from Wroughton to York with special reference to the very last mile which had to be undertaken on Railtrack, as with all rail vehicles coming to the NRM. This movement however, was most unusual for several reasons. This would be the very first (and only!) time that a Shinkansen Series Zero would travel on Britain's East Coast Main Line. Also the exceptional width of the Bullet Train, (nearly a metre more than the UK loading gauge) meant that the passage of the vehicle would foul over twenty infrastructure items which were positioned close to the chosen route.

Right at the very start of this project, when we were discussing whether to accept the Japanese offer of the Series Zero, we knew that it was just not going to be viable to attempt to bring the car from Japan without Railtrack's full backing. One of the key documents in persuading other organisations to come on board and help us with the proposed move was a letter from Railtrack's Director of Standards and Safety. This gave enthusiastic support, and suggested that Railtrack could not turn their back on the story of a vehicle with such a spectacular unbroken safety record.

There were several issues that had to be addressed before we could plan the movement in detail.

All road to rail movements at present start the journey from Thrall Europa or 'The Carriage Works' as it is still affectionately known. It is vital that we do our best not to disrupt that company's production and repair of freight wagons. The road vehicle access to the rail unloading site at Thrall is tortuous to say the least. The exceptional size of the Shinkansen on its trailer meant that we knew that we were going to have great difficulties getting the low loader into position to roll the vehicle down onto the tracks.

Obviously the Bullet Train was going to fit correctly on to the tracks at York and during restoration, and we had gone to a lot of trouble to get the car's wheels machined in Japan to the correct profile for Britain. Achieving compatibility of the couplings and braking systems however was a different matter and needed a radical approach! We know that there is no longer any such thing as 'a Class 9 move'. That is an unbraked vehicle attached to the rear of a locomotive. We saw the last of those in 1991 when we moved the trains of NRM vehicles through the three consecutive Friday nights, from York to Swindon and back for the 'NRM on Tour' exhibition. At the very least there has to be what is called a 'fitted head' of braked vehicles for every unbraked vehicle. Effectively the unbraked vehicle is sandwiched between the locomotive and other braked vehicles with a brake pipe connecting the two outer elements. Our investigations of the air braking system and its auto-couplings had showed us that there was no way that we would be able to get the brakes operational once we were in the UK. Also the journey from Thrall to the NRM's Great Hall involved three reversals of direction which would have meant 'running round' the Shinkansen three times. We decided that the only proper way to do this was with a locomotive at either end of the Bullet Train with a flexible pipe linking the two locomotives. EWS carry out all our yard-to-yard moves, and they were approached to see if they would carry out this special job, which they readily agreed to do.

The Shinkansen couplers are a variation of the Tightlock couplers that we see on multiple units in the UK. As well as coupling the vehicles the air connections are automatically linked as the two components come together and lock. What we had to do was to design an adapter that would make the transition between the Japanese and UK couplers whilst satisfying all UK regulations. I had already arranged for two spare Shinkansen auto couplers to be shipped to UK, so that we could adapt them, yet still retain the auto-coupling feature. I submitted my design (which I had been told must be able to withstand a direct pull of 35 tons!) with the appropriate calculations. We got approval from EWS and had two sets made, one for each end of the car.

We made up a 30 metre high pressure flexible air pipe to pass through the car and link up to the flexible pipes on the buffer-beam of both locomotives.

There was a sticky moment when the draft contract came through from EWS stating that there were several conditions to be met before they could formally agree. I had to supply copies of the wheel profiles, as well as ultrasonic examinations of the axles, which I was able to supply in Japanese! They also insisted on a full 'fitness to run' certificate for the vehicle as well as the TOPS number and the Rolling Stock Library reference for the vehicle. As the last two items were about as likely to materialize as hen's teeth, I sent them a copy of the letter from Railtrack's Safety Standards Directorate about wanting to be associated with the project and it seemed to do the trick!

The price that Railtrack had given us for the proposed move included the removal of over 25 line-side telephones, speed restriction signs, point levers and various other items that were positioned 'foul to gauge'. Ray Towell and I were able to walk the route with Railtrack and Jarvis engineers, in order to mark up with aerosol paint all the items which we knew would have to be removed, and then re-instated once the Bullet Train had passed.

We gave Railtrack several suggested dates to choose from which would give us time to get the various displays assembled in time for the grand launch of the project on 12 July 2001. Railtrack proposed a full possession, for up to seven hours, of the East Coast main line, from York Station to Skelton Junction, including the goods avoiding line and Thrall. This was to take effect from 00.30 hours on Sunday 24 June. All the parties were duly notified, including Thrall, EWS, Moveright International, Wroughton, British Transport Police and the BBC Close Up North film crew that had been following this saga from the start!

Allowing two possible spare days to cope with the unexpected, Andrew Goodman and Ray loaded the Bullet Train at Wroughton on Monday 18 June and set off early on the next day. It was fascinating to be able to follow the progress of the load up the road networks in the Midlands by listening to the traffic reports on the radio of hold-ups behind a huge slow moving train!

Our first real hiccup came as the lorry and low loader pulled into the lay-by just outside York that Andrew Scott and I had thought was the best place to wait prior to the triumphal entry into York City the next day in front of the BBC cameras and the press. The Police, who had provided an escort throughout the journey had other ideas and insisted that the lorry carried on to Thrall with no stop. For a while there was confusion until the BBC managed to persuade the Police to let the vehicle out onto the A59 once again for a little circular tour so that they could get their much anticipated shot of the arrival.

There is a lovely story of coincidence that was taking place at the same time as the debacle above. The reporter from the Northern Echo, who had come to Thrall to get a picture of the Bullet Train parked up, duly arrived at the appointed place to find no 'Bullet Train' (it had of course gone off on its trip round the block!) However as he stood there a low loader with Thomas aboard, came out of the Thrall plant. (Ray had brought Thomas round from the Station Hall where it had been taking part in a Railtrack safety exhibition which had just finished). The reporter decided that he had been victim of a 'wind-up' by his colleagues, and the Bullet Train was mythical! However it all worked out well in the end and most people got what they wanted.

At 7.00 pm on Friday, when we could be sure of not disrupting Thrall wagon production, the low-loader took Car 31-141 around the perimeter of the plant and ready to position for unloading at the back of the factory. There to our great surprise we found that the wagon traverser, which has in the past been a serious impediment to large loads getting into position, had been lifted clear of its tracks and placed well clear of the access point. This was an enormous help and contributed greatly to the ease with which the whole job was accomplished. The low-loader was positioned and a long railing ramp was constructed to allow the Shinkansen to be winched down off the lorry and on to Britain's railway network for the very first time. It was a moment to savour as the flanges ran off the ramp they momentarily sat up on the head of the rail before dropping firmly into place with a resounding bang. The Shinkansen had arrived and wanted us to know about it!

There was a magical moment just before sunset when we stopped for a moment to see the great red ball of the sun just going down over Poppleton Road, strangely reflected in the side of the gleaming paintwork of the 'Bullet Train'. It struck us that it looked so like the Japanese flag, that it must be a good omen for what was to come!

It was then moment-of-truth-time for the couplings, to assemble them and see if they fitted properly. We had taken one of the adaptors over to Knottingley Motive Power Depot a few days previously to try it on one of the pair of Class 66 locomotives, of the type that EWS had agreed to provide. This was to make sure that all was well, and we were delighted with the way it all came together. We retired about 23.00 hr in the knowledge that we were as ready as we could be for the big day tomorrow.

The work started at 20.00 hr on Saturday evening with the shunting of vehicles in the Great Hall to get it ready for receiving the Shinkansen. Once all was ready, we left Malcolm Bexton removing track infills and making the final preparations for sheeting etc. and we walked across to Thrall to await the start of the great adventure!

I remember asking Ray quietly as we stumbled across the tracks with our torches, how he felt about the next few hours. I really shouldn't have bothered as his response was totally predictable: "No problem boss!". My own personal state was far less confident; my mouth was dry and I felt exactly the same as I did before going in to sit my A-level exams!

The two Class 66 locomotives arrived in tandem from Doncaster spot on cue, just as the Railtrack occupation started, complete with their drivers, a traction inspector and also a fitter to help with the coupling up.

It was really difficult to get the first locomotive to place itself in exactly the right spot for the pin to slide through the coupling adaptor, but after several attempts accompanied by some choice epithets recorded for posterity by the TV cameras, we managed to get coupled. Then the locomotive drew away effortlessly with its precious load, clear of the first turn out, so that we could repeat the procedure at the nose end of the Shinkansen and couple up the second locomotive. (Once the cover on the nose is removed it reveals a neatly stowed emergency coupling with a little block and tackle, which is used to lower it into the correct position for coupling).

We then set out at 3 ml/hr paying great attention to the behaviour of the couplings and running gear. All seemed well and we drew forward to wait under Water Lane bridge where the actual entry onto Railtrack-owned metals takes place. We waited for nearly an hour for the completion of the dismantling of infrastructure. Railtrack insisted that we should not set out on the journey until everything was down and clear all the way to the NRM.

Eventually we got under way and moved through the Down Departure sidings towards Skelton Junction where the BBC crew was waiting for us. After a very near miss with a cage round a signal gantry that we had failed to spot on the walk, we thought as we transferred to the down slow lines that we were past the worst. The BBC wanted me to talk to camera as the train was coming past them for the second time, now at least heading in the right direction towards the Museum. Just as I mused to the camera that it was now 03.15hr and we were going really well, I heard Ray shout loudly from the rear cab of the 66 and heard a rapid brake application. There was a point lock equipment box at low level which was foul to gauge and had been missed in our walking audit. Although the front of the train cleared it, the 'swing-over' with such a long vehicle ("mind the gap!") caused the box to foul. We ended up dismantling some of the side valances of the Shinkansen to get past the box. That will teach me to not count my chickens, especially on camera!

The rest of the journey was fairly uneventful as we transferred to the Down Fast and ran southwards. By now it was starting to become light and we eventually ran to the point outside the NRM where we reversed past signal 655 and back into the sidings at the back of Howarth Timber Co. There the EWS locomotives were detached and prepared for return to Doncaster whilst the 03 shunter positioned itself on the rear end of the Shinkansen. There was a slight further delay whilst the emergency coupling was retracted into the nose of the Shinkansen and the gleaming white nose cone replaced so that Car 22-141 would look its best as it arrived at its final resting place!

We then propelled into the NRM's car park by which time it was light enough for a couple of group photographs. Ray and I had both been worried about the height of the kerb in the car park which we knew, if all went well, only gave us half an inch clearance. Undulations in the track soon used all that up and we risked damage to the vehicle. Ray had some specially prepared strips of plywood that we placed under the wheels to tilt the car slightly as it rolled forward, and so the problem was solved.

There was a difficult moment when the swing-over of the body on the bend through the doorway of the Great Hall caused much less clearance than my calculations had indicated and we actually rubbed the rubber seal as we came through the door. I have to confess here and now that Andrew Scott had been saying to me for days before the job, that there was insufficient clearance and I wasn't the slightest bit worried about it. OK so we all make mistakes!

The final hurdle was the turntable! Remember that the one in the Great Hall is a seventy-foot table. The distance over the outer wheel-set flanges is the dimension which decides whether something will fit or not. We had twelve inches to spare with a massive overhang at each end over the floor! We carefully wound the table round by hand until the nose was lined up with the Channel Tunnel tracks and the fork lift truck was used to tow the car to its position.

The silver sheets were placed over the 'Bullet Train' and barriers placed around the ends. Ray and Trevor restored all the vehicles in the Great Hall and put the heavy turntable barriers back in place.

Andrew Scott produced two bottles of champagne from nowhere and we drank a well deserved toast to the project and the great achievement of the last few hours! It was 06.30 am!

Once the Shinkansen had arrived in Great Hall NRM staff and volunteers got to work with the final preparations prior to public display. Charlie Bird managed to get the interior lights working from the Museum's mains power supply and the Tuesday night team of volunteers installed the pantograph and removed the banners from the sides. Dave Burrows produced the rails for it to stand on in its new position, and the final chapter in this moving tale involved the rear of the car being slewed through about fifty feet to take up its final position. The display/design/interpretation team then set to work to get everything finished, ship-shape and looking wonderful for our great day on 12 July 2001. Since going on public display the Japanese Shinkansen has opened a new exciting chapter in the NRM's future.

The moving of this vehicle safely from the other side of the world to its place in the NRM, without hurting anyone, or sustaining any damage to the vehicle, has undoubtedly been the most difficult project I have ever been associated with in my life. I am delighted that the story has a happy ending, and I feel sure that one of the most common questions we are going to get from our visitors (as with the Chinese locomotive) is, "How did it get here?"

Well, now you know!