China Railways DF
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The DF () was a type of diesel-electric locomotive used in the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. It was first introduced in 1958 and was produced until 1974. It was the first common mixed-traffic diesel-electric locomotive in China and was used for both passenger and freight services. The DF3 () is an upgraded model of the DF.


History

The DF design was based on a 1958 built prototype, the Julong, which was essentially a
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
TE3 The ТE3 (Russian language, Russian: ''ТЭ3''; ) is a Soviet Union, Soviet diesel-electric locomotive, built in Russia and Ukraine to 5 ft and 1520 mm gauge railways, 1520 mm gauge. It is a two-unit Co’Co’+Co’Co’ machine. Total diesel pow ...
and was built with Soviet technical assistance. The DF used a 10-cylinder opposed piston engine of type 10E207. This was a copy of the Soviet 2D100 design, itself a copy of the
Fairbanks Morse Fairbanks, Morse and Company was an American manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Founded in 1823 as a manufacturer of weighing scales, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, coffee grinders, radios, far ...
38D8 ¾. Like the TE3s, the DFs were designed to be used in pairs, back to back, but appear to have spent most of their lives working singly, hardly a problem when there were wyes everywhere to turn
steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
. DF and DF3 were used in many parts of China but by the late 1980s, more modern diesels, such as the
DF4B The DF4 () is a type of diesel–electric locomotive used in the People's Republic of China. It has been in production since 1969 and is still produced as of 2007 by several local companies. It is the most common locomotive in China and is used f ...
, had ousted them from primary routes. Some hung on in CNR service until the mid-1990s but few, if any, made it beyond the millennium. A number of redundant locos were bought by industrial and local railway operators, including the Heihe Local Railway in northern Heilongjiang. Heihe's had finished by 2008 and it's highly unlikely that any remain in service.


Named locomotive

* DF3-0058 was named "
Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 unti ...
"


Manufacturers

DFs have been manufactured by several factories: *
Dalian Locomotive Works CRRC Dalian Co., Ltd. (), often abbreviated as DLoco, is a company located in Dalian, Liaoning Province, China, producing railway locomotives, multiple units and diesel engines. The factory was established in 1899 during the period of constructio ...
* Qishuyan Locomotive Works * Datong Locomotive Works * Chengdu Locomotive Works


Preservation


Static preservation

* DF-1205: is preserved at Jiagedaqi Locomotive Depot,
Harbin Railway Bureau China Railway Harbin Group, officially abbreviated as CR Harbin or CR-Harbin, formerly, Harbin Railway Administration is a subsidiary company under the jurisdiction of the corporatized China Railway (formerly the Ministry of Railway). The railway ...
. * DF-1206: is preserved at Liuzhou Railway Vacational Technical College * DF-1301: is preserved at
China Railway Museum The China Railway Museum () is a Chinese museum preserving locomotives that have operated on the railways of the People's Republic of China. The museum offers a total exhibition space of and eight exhibition tracks. The museum is located in ...
. * DF-2058: is preserved at Yunnan Railway Museum. * DF-2207 is in
Luohu District Luohu District is a district of Shenzhen, China, located north of the New Territories of Hong Kong, east of Futian District, southeast of Longgang District, southwest of Pingshan District, and west of Yantian District. It is one of the oldest p ...
,
Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...
.


Other vehicles

* JL-0001: made by Dalian Locomotive Works in September 1958. However, the JL Locomotive was scrapped in 2000s. * 3 DFs belong to
Yunnan Smelter Yunnan; is an inland province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces of Guizhou, Sichuan, ...
: DF-2026, DF-2012, DF-1683. * At least 4 DFs in
Guangxi Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằn ...
: Nanning Chemical Factory have DF-1227 and DF-1210; Nanning Huqiu Steel Market have DF-1587; DF-1846 was located in . File:China Railways DF 1301.jpg, DF-1301 at China Railway Museum. File:China Railways DF 1846 20100708 02.JPG, DF-1846 in Guilin East Railway Station. File:China Railways DF2207 20170922.jpg, DF-2207 is in
Luohu District Luohu District is a district of Shenzhen, China, located north of the New Territories of Hong Kong, east of Futian District, southeast of Longgang District, southwest of Pingshan District, and west of Yantian District. It is one of the oldest p ...
,
Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...
.


Vietnam Railways D16E

These three DF Locomotives were imported from China and were numbered 2006 -2008. The main photo above depicts D16E - 2008 outside the Yen Vien Locomotive Workshop. They were apparently used for Yen Vien - Dong Dang freights and were rated at 1800 hp but were down rated to 1600 hp in VN service. It would appear that at least one locomotive has survived (at least up to 2004) and is stored at the back of a shed in Yen Vien. There is a suggestion also that the original 3 were somehow cannibalised when parts became scarce.


See also

* China Railway DF4, the successor model of DF


Notes


References

{{Locomotives of Vietnam DF Diesel–electric locomotives of Vietnam Co′Co′ locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1958 Standard-gauge locomotives of China Standard-gauge locomotives of Vietnam CRRC Dalian locomotives Qishuyan locomotives CRRC Datong locomotives