Recently I’ve picked up a couple of new Greenmax trains, the Tōkyō Metro Tōzai Line Series 05 (seen above) and Tōkyū Corporation Series 6000. The models are very similar in a sense, although the prototype trains are different in a number of ways. Both operate well, and look good from a distance, although not quite as good close-up in some ways.

The Tōkyū Railway Series 6000 is a relatively recent (2008) train, formed of six-car sets, operating on the surface Tōkyū Ōimachi Line on the south side of Tōkyō. The Tōkyō Metro Series 05, on the other hand, is a subway train dating from 1988 (but still in service), operating on an east-west axis underground route through the center of the city (it goes above ground away from the center). Both trains operate on narrow gauge track, from overhead 1500 Volt DC catenary, and are 2.8m wide, 20m long. The one difference is height, but not in the way you might expect: the subway train is actually 4.0m high, while the 6000 is 3.6m.

As models go, both are nicely detailed on the exterior sides, and operate well. They are a bit louder than the typical Kato, but this is due to the wheels, not the motor. Both models have poor end detail and completely lack any interior detail, which is a bit odd, as both support interior lighting kits. The 6000 series has a more interesting roof, but that’s largely due to the prototype having a ribbed, rather than flat, surface.


End detail on 05 Series (left) and 6000 Series (right)


Tōkyō Metro 05 series: bare interior showing truck mount post, and cab side showing detail on doors and windows

Both models have working head and tail lights, and come equipped with truck-mount Rapido couplers. The 6000 series cost about US$275 for a six-car train, which is a single set. The 05 Series comes in a base 4-car set and two three-car expansions (all three in the “small” size Greenmax box) and cost US$220 just for the basic set, and a total of about US$475 for all ten cars. Clearly, there’s a premium for the subway train due to the length, although the cost per car is about the same if you get the full set. To be honest I find the 6000 series a much more visually interesting model.


6000 Series

Note in the picture above, and the one of the 05 Series at the top, the plastic hump in the center of the interior. This isn’t the motor, as neither of these is the motor car. It’s just that for some reason, likely rigidity, the floor in all the cars is raised in the center, away from the truck mounts.

Both are, per the included instruction sheet, compatible with Tomix, not Greenmax, narrow interior lights, either the Warm White 0734 set (available in a six-pack as 0738) or the White 0733 (0737) set. For a car of 05 series era, the Warm White may be more prototypical, but I’m not sure. And both come with destination signs and other stickers (I think they’re stickers; I haven’t tried applying them yet).

Neither model is “DCC Ready” (Greenmax models never are), and while I haven’t taken either apart, the abrupt stops makes it unlikely that they’re flywheel-equipped.

They’re good models. Not as good as a Kato perhaps (and the lack of a finished interior is particularly annoying on a model that supports interior lighting), and a bit pricy. But they run well, and the Tōkyō Metro Tōzai Line Series 05 is a key model for me, operating as it does on one of the major lines in the city, and having been in service there for more than twenty years.

Tags: Greenmax, Subway Train