#pendolino

[valtionrautatiet-official]

An introduction to VR multiple units, part 2: Sm3

The Sm3 Pendolino. Sähkömato (electric worm) or muovipulkka (plastic sleigh). The temperamental italian lady. Our only actual high-speed train so far. Fast and beautiful – but also unreliable and gives an uncomfortable ride.

An Sm3 at Seinäjoki station, summer 2023, on a decidedly non-high speed connecting service between Seinäjoki and Vaasa – a line which has a 120 km/h speed limit. My photo.

The story of the Sm3 begins in the early 1990s, when our leaders decided we needed high-speed trains to compete with flying and cars, but they didn't want to invest in actual high-speed lines. The answer was a body-tilting train, which supposedly could operate on existing tracks on higher speeds. At the time, there were three options of these in production: the Italian Pendolino, the Swedish X2000 and the Spanish Talgo Pendular. The Pendolino was already in service (unlike the X2000, which would have otherwise probably been a better choice, being designed for similar weather conditions) and it was cheaper than the Talgo Pendular. Thus in 1992 we ordered two six-carriage Pendolino sets, with options for 23 additional sets.

The Finnish Pendolino, later designated Sm3, was not in fact based on an existing design, but a sister class of the Italian ETR 460, which only entered in service in 1994, the same year the first Pendolino set arrived in Finland for testing.

A pair of Sm3's at Helsinki central station in the original livery, summer 2010. My photo.

The first two Sm3's entered service between Helsinki and Turku in late 1995. Although the reasoning for buying them was that they could operate without the need to build new high-speed lines, much of the rail line between Helsinki and Turku had to be rebuilt to accommodate the new trains. After just three months, the Sm3's had to be withdrawn from service due to not coping with Finnish winter. While the problems were mostly solved, the Sm3 was have remained problematic through-out their entire careers.

Despite the issues during testing, in 1997 VR ordered eight additional six-carriage sets, which were delivered in 2000-2002. Eight more were ordered in 2002, and delivered in 2004-2006, bringing the total number built to 18.

The original plan was for the Sm3's to be able to operate at speeds of up to 250 km/h. In practice the top speed proved 220 km/h, and it could be achieved only on specifically-built high-speed tracks between Kerava and Lahti (opened in 2006). While on the route between Helsinki and Turku travel time was supposed to be cut to less than 1½ hours, this was never achieved. The body-tilting system, which was to make the high speeds possible, never worked properly and in the end we decided to simply lock them permanently in upright position. With the arrival of the double-decker Intercity carriages, which could be operated at speeds up to 200 km/h, today the Pendolino's operate according to the same timetables as the Intercities.

Interior of the second-class section of an Sm3. My photo from 2014.

Of the six carriages of a Pendolino set, carriage 1 was originally a first-class car (after 2006 ekstra class) with a meeting room at one end. Carriages 2 and 4-6 are second (eko) class ones, white carriage 3 is the restaurant car. Carriage 2 has seats and a toilet for disabled passengers (however, the wheelchair lift is in carriage 3), while carriage 6 has a compartment for passengers with pets.

The two prototype units, 7001 and 7002, were somewhat different from the mass-produced ones, and the 7002 was withdrawn from service in 2015 as a source of spare parts for the 7001. However, the 7001 was also withdrawn in 2021.

Units 7013 and 7016 crashed at Tampered station in December 2021. Both were seriously damaged, and the decision was taken to use the undamaged carriages of both units to create a single working six-carriage unit. Thus only 15 Sm3 Pendolinos remain in service today.

There has been some talk that the new Sm7 units could replace the Sm3's when delivered... but the Sm7's top speed of only 160 km/h makes a direct replacement unlikely.

[dreamdancerdotfile]

(x)

[damanascosta]

Offerta estiva, 1 domanda alle sibille, 2 al pendolino. Cartomanzia e pendolo insieme nella stessa inserzione per il periodo estivo. ✨️

[musicalsiphonophore]

happy pride month to the 390119 🏳️‍🌈

[gripen-sys]

DAILY TRAIN!! - 390/119!

[parrotandpalm]

Non farmi troppe domande. Soluzioni ai silenzi? Cosa succederà domani? Vivremo mai su Marte? Queste e altre simpaticissime domande che puoi fare a questo nuovo meraviglioso gioiello. Ponigli una domanda - poi fai girare i dadi, la testa del serpente indicherà la risposta al tuo dilemma. Un secondo giro di dadi mostrerà l'intensità della risposta alla domanda guardando il numero indicato sul lato del dado. Non è MAGICO? 135.00 - e risponde a tutto, o quasi! Per ordini, info e spedizioni scrivetemi su whatsapp +393484712749 ☎️ 🌈
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#parrotandpalm #instajewelry #createurfrancais #magicjewelry #inspiration #precious #shoppingonline #jewelry #instaphoto #picoftheday #instadaily #pendolino #turin #shop #torinocentro #shopping #parrotandpalmstoretorino #accessories #ethicaljewellery #ootd #outfitoftheday #cute #cool #chic #inspiration #amazing #beautifuldestinations #details #lucky #instalove (presso Parrot and Palm) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn6roCeNz5b/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[chechula]

I spend 5 hours on the train last day.  Great sunny day outside and very old golden retriever in the luggage area ♥

[icuggidelcalcetto]

Le Stelle di Zodiac (28/11/22)

[prussianmemes]

i'm sorry čd but the whole concept of having high speed capable locomotives and then only running them at slightly higher speeds than standard locomotives is beyond parody to me.

[mist-the-wannabe-linguist]

Proč mě bůh nenávidí

[the-time-lord-oracle]

Contrasts at Rugby, with a Duchess, class 86 and Pendolino showing the changing face of the station.

[miroslav-hashlerka]

Děkuju moc všem za re-blogy 😊 zrovna pracuji na takových intro popiscích všech mých hlasatelů, myslím že to by bylo pěkné ☺️

[lwieserce]

Autistic energy is going to be off the charts today i'm meeting w a friend after the genshin live and she will have to handle me screaming about witnesssing focalors & arlecchino models for the first time (probably.)

[lolregio]

gdyby polregio mialo pieniadze na tabor inny niz polskiej produkcji:

[macography]

We interrupt our irregularly scheduled Conwy trip-posting to bring you Pride Pendolino!

[claire-starsword]

Shining Soul 2 - NPC bios translation

Prologue and playable characters here

There is sadly nothing on the NPCs in the guide book so these are from the old website mostly.

King Marcel

The king of Klantol Kingdom.

He was born to the distinguished lineage of Saint Christoph who founded the country in this island, 200 years after that disaster.

Being a miraculous child who possessed Soul Power from the light since his birth, Marcel was loved by the population as proof of the country's peace.

I don't remember any saints being mentioned in this or the previous game, so that might a random guy introduced here. Also I'm having trouble to understand if it's the country founding that was 200 after the first Soul game, or Marcel's birth. I feel 200 years is little time for everyone to say the war is so so distant past, but at the same time places from the previous game like Beast Mountain are still pretty much unchanged. Though the maps of both games don't exactly have the best continuity so perhaps that shouldn't count.

Queen Yvonne

She supports the worrywart king from behind the scenes, and also cares for the protagonists' well being like a kind mother figure.

She's always serene, and there are not many things that can break her composure.

Princess Kokotto [Camille in the english version]

A cheeky girl always acting on her own.

Royal Magician - Samuel

A close aide to the king who works in the castle.

He's kind and very knowledgeable. A very good advisor to the king.

He's indispensable to Klantol Kingdom.

Deathheart [Deatharte in the english version, which to be fair is basically the same thing]

The gallant and skillful captain of the knights under King Marcel's command.

Extremely loyal and honest.

Has a sturdy physique thanks to his training to protect the castle, and acts as an opponent to the the fighting tournament's participants.

This translation note is better right off at the start: Bo-ken (冒険) means adventure in japanese. The character's name is however always written in katakana (ボーケン), like pretty much every name in the Shining Series.

Traveler - Boken the Adventurer

Boken who loves adventure.

If you ask him "why is your name Boken?" he'll answer with great vigor, "Because I love adventure!"

The answer kinda misses the point, but given how lively he sounds, no one really cares about that.

Weapon Seller - Morgan

It is said that he used to be a strong warrior. It was back then that he got the injury in his eye.

Now he runs the weapon shop at Klantol's castle town. He's a tough man who does look the old warrior part.

Armor Seller - Volv

Having an unusual hobby among woman of collecting defensive equipment, she seeks legendary artifacts of this kind, and has traveled through a bunch of different lands.

Because of that, her body is well trained and tanned. More than beautiful, it feels more suitable to say she's rad.

Right now she has opened an armor shop at Klantol's castle town.

Item Seller - Irma

She's gentle and kind of a goofy character.

Seems that her husband just disappeared without a trace one day.

She often leaves her two daughters taking care of the shop, and goes to drink at the bar. Apparently she has a crush on the bartender.

Item Shop Daughters - Rin and Ran

Irma's twin daughters. Rin was born first, and Ran second. Rin acts mature for her age, while Ran is more lively.

Storage Manager - Pendolino

Daughter of the family who has run the storage for generations.

Her very earnest and meticulous personality is written plainly in her face.

In this world, storages are a very demanding business. Because of that she has no time to pursue romance.

Pendolino is apparently a train. Do these writers just go looking for the most random european names possible for these characters? Likely. It's either that or the next one:

Blacksmith - Kraft

The dwarf Kraft is a blacksmith with much pride in his craft.

With his unique talents, he can craft anything using only a hammer.

He always says, "as long as I have the materials there is nothing I can't craft."

Valuer Stella

A mysterious girl with a mysterious ability to appraise items.

Looking at items with a magnifying glass, she can instantly tell their origin, abilities, bonus stats and more.

She makes a living out of that ability but, perhaps because she's quiet and shy, she doesn't speak much with other people unless it's necessary.

Curiously, Stella is the only NPC besides Boken who looks identical to her counterpart in the first game, although as far as I know the NPCs there aren’t named.

Makes it kinda weird that the first game’s guide book calls her a woman (女性), while here she’s referred to as girl (少女). Given Boken’s existence in both games as well, I don’t think we’re supposed to think too hard if they’re the same character or not. Boken’s just a constant of the universe.

Old man of the bar - Jensen

The bartender who seems to know more than he lets on. There's a rumor that he used to be a warrior, but he doesn't look the part now.

While at times he says it's troublesome to have Irma always coming to drink at the counter, in reality he's not that displeased.

The bachelor Jensen with a past shrouded in darkness, and the lonely post-separation Irma. How will this turn out.

Girl of the bar - Angela

It seems that she was abandoned by her mother when she was still too young to understand anything.

Jensen adopted her during his travels and let her work in the lodging, and yet she seldom talks about herself, so not even he knows the truth about her.

Despite that, they have still bonded as father and child.

Minstrel - Fender

He loves music, and travels to heal the world with his songs.

Right now he's staying at the bar at Klantol's castle town, healing the hearts of warriors and travelers.

His music and poetry bring peace and calm to the people, and he can make friends with anyone.

Curiously, the Colosseum guy doesn't have a bio in the website, but is pretty much the only NPC to have one in the guide book. Hope you're ready for more fantastic names.

Arms

The receptionist of the arena. Excels in skills to control beasts and monsters. He's very earnest and hot blooded.