The was a

B'B' B-B and Bo-Bo are the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and British classifications of wheel arrangement for railway locomotives with four axles in two individual bogies. They are equivalent to the B′B′ and Bo′Bo′ classifications i ...

wheel arrangement In rail transport, a wheel arrangement or wheel configuration is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed under a locomotive. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and c ...

diesel-hydraulic locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...

type operated in Japan as a self-propelled rotary snowplough unit from 1961 to 2015 by the national railway company

Japanese National Railways The , abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

(JNR), and later by

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

(JR East).

West Japan Railway Company , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, ...

(JR West), and

Hokkaido Railway Company The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to by its official abbreviation: . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a smart ...

(JR Hokkaido).

Design

Based on the earlier Class DD13 6th-batch locomotives, the Class DD14 was a single-end-cab design with a rotary snowplough unit at the cab end. It was the first diesel-powered rotary snowplough built by JNR. The locomotives had two diesel engines. One engine could be used for propulsion with the other driving the rotary snowplough unit, giving a snow-clearing capacity of approximately 3,000 tonnes per hour, or the unit could be operated in multiple with a second locomotive allowing both engines to drive the rotary snowplough, giving a snow-clearing capacity of approximately 4,000 tonnes per hour. File:DD14 317.jpg, Snowplough detail of DD14 317, October 2001 File:JR East DD14-334.jpg, A pair of DD14s with their snowplough units detached, March 2008

Variants

* DD14-0: 8 locomotives built between 1961 and 1965 by Kisha Seizō * DD14-300: 35 locomotives built between 1966 and 1979 by Kisha Seizō and

Kawasaki Heavy Industries is a Japanese Public company, public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, Heavy equipment (construction), heavy equipment, aerospace and Military, defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headquartered in Minato, To ...

History

By 2005, only nine locomotives remained in service, all operated by JR East. The last remaining locomotives in service, DD14 327 and 332, based at JR East's Nagaoka Depot, made their final run on 24 February 2014.

Fleet list

Preserved examples

, three Class DD14 locomotives are preserved in Japan, with one locomotive sold to

Taiwan High Speed Rail Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) is a high-speed railway network in Taiwan, which consists of a single line that runs approximately along the western coast of the island, from the capital Taipei in the north to the southern city of Kaohsiung. Its c ...

(THSR) in Taiwan. * DD14 1: Preserved at the Mikasa Railway Museum in

Mikasa, Hokkaido is a city located in Sorachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of 1 October 2020, the city has an estimated population of 8,040, and the density of 27 persons per km2. Geography The total area is 302.64 km2. It is bordered on three sides ...

* DD14 312: Preserved privately in

Kitami, Hokkaido is a Cities of Japan, city in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the most populous city and the commercial center in the subprefecture, although the subprefecture capital is Abashiri, Hokkaido, Abashiri. Kitami is physically in th ...

* DD14 323: Preserved at the Otaru Museum in

Otaru, Hokkaido is a city and port in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan, northwest of Sapporo. The city faces Ishikari Bay and the Sea of Japan, and has long served as the main port of the bay. With its many historical buildings, Otaru is a popular tour ...

* DD14 331: Owned by THSR in Taiwan File:JNR DD14 1.JPG, DD14 1 at the Mikasa Railway Museum, May 2007 File:JNR DD14 312.JPG, DD14 312 in August 2009 File:JNR DD14 323.JPG, DD14 323 at the Otaru Railway Museum, July 2007 File:TSHR DD14 331.jpg, DD14 331 in Taiwan, August 2008

Classification

The DD14 classification for this locomotive type is explained below. * D: Diesel locomotive * D: Four driving axles * 14: Locomotive with maximum speed of 85 km/h or less

References

{{Japanloco Diesel–hydraulic locomotives of Japan DD14 DD14 DD14 Kawasaki diesel locomotives 1067 mm gauge locomotives of Japan B-B locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1961 Snow removal Kisha Seizo locomotives