The is a four-axle

Bo-Bo B-B and Bo-Bo are the AAR wheel arrangement, 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′B ...

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 since 1972. A total of 65 locomotives were built between 1971 and 1975, and , one locomotive remains in service, operated 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).

Variants

A total of 65 locomotives were built between 1971 and 1975. * Class DD16-0: 65 locomotives built between 1971 and 1975 * Class DD16-300: 4 locomotives converted from DD16-0 locomotives between 1979 and 1983 to become self-propelled snowplough units

Design

The Class DD16 was designed to replace the Class C12 and C56 steam locomotives on non-electrified rural lines where locomotives with a low

axle load The axle load of a wheeled vehicle is the total weight bearing on the roadway for all wheels connected to a given axle. Axle load is an important design consideration in the engineering of roadways and railways, as both are designed to tolerate a m ...

were required. The design featured an offset centre-cab arrangement using the same DML61Z diesel engine used in the

Class DD51 The is a B-2-B wheel arrangement diesel-hydraulic locomotive type operated in Japan since 1962. 649 locomotives were built between 1962 and 1978 by Kawasaki Sharyo, Hitachi, and Mitsubishi. The class was designed for mainline passenger and fre ...

locomotives, derated from to .

History

The first two locomotives, DD16 1 and 2, were built at the

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) Nagano factory, and these were tested on the

Koumi Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It links Kobuchizawa Station in Hokuto, Yamanashi with Komoro Station in Komoro, Nagano, and extends 78.9 km (49.0 mi) through the mountains with a total ...

and

Iida Line The is a Japanese railway line connecting Toyohashi Station in Toyohashi, Aichi with Tatsuno Station in Tatsuno, Nagano, operated by Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). The line links eastern Aichi Prefecture and southern Nagano Pr ...

. Between 1979 and 1983, four locomotives (DD16 2, 5, 4, and 13) were converted at JNR's Nagano and Matto workshops to become self-propelled snowplough units, numbered DD16 301 to 304, with the addition of bogie snowplough units on either end. File:JRE-DD16-300.jpg, Snowplough unit DD16 303 in service on the Oito Line in February 1991 With the closure of many rural lines and discontinuation of rural freight services in the 1980s, many of the class were withdrawn from operation and scrapped. With the privatization of JNR in April 1987, just ten Class DD16 locomotives remained in service, transferred to operation by

JR Group The Japan Railways Group, commonly known as the or simply JR, is a network of railway companies in Japan formed after the Corporate spin-off, division and privatization of the government-owned Japanese National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987. ...

operating companies. By 1 April 1995, seven locomotives were still in service, with four (DD16-0 and DD16-300) operated by

(JR East), two (DD16-0) operated by

Kyushu Railway Company The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle (JR Kyushu), Beetle hydrofoil service across th ...

(JR Kyushu), and one (DD16-300) operated by

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). File:DD1620 Omiya Works 19991023.jpg, JR East DD16 20 in October 1999 at Omiya Works, where it was used as a works shunter, repainted in "Hokutosei" blue livery File:DD16 36 Omiya Works 19940810.jpg, JR East DD16 36 in August 1994 at Omiya Works, where it was used as a works shunter, repainted in "Hokutosei" maroon livery File:DD16 62.jpg, JR Kyushu DD16 62 at Kagoshima Depot in August 1998 , one locomotive, DD16 11, remains in service, operated by JR East.

Preserved examples

, seven Class DD16 locomotives are preserved. * DD16 1: Preserved at Nagano General Rolling Stock Center in Nagano * DD16 7: Preserved in operational condition at Wakasa Station on the Wakasa Railway * DD16 15: Preserved at the Mikasa Railway Parek 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 ...

* DD16 17: 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 ...

* DD16 31: Preserved inside the "Memorial Ship Hakkoda" in

Aomori , officially Aomori City (, ), is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,945 in 136,781 households, and a population density of 321 people per squa ...

* DD16 64: Preserved in

Nōgata, Fukuoka is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 55,151 in 27684 households, and a population density of 890 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Nōgata is locat ...

* DD16 303: Preserved in Nagano * DD16 304: Preserved at the Tsuyama Railroad Educational Museum in

Tsuyama, Okayama is a city in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. In February 2023, the city had an estimated population of 97,507 in 45,653 households and a population density of 190 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Tsuyama is located in nort ...

. File:DD16 wakasa.jpg, DD16 7 on the Wakasa Railway File:JNR DD16 15.JPG, DD16 15 at the Mikasa Railway Park in May 2007 File:DD16 17 Otaru Museum 20090830 (1).jpg, DD16 17 at the Otaru Museum in August 2009 File:Trains in Hakkoda-maru.JPG, DD16 31 inside the "Memorial Ship Hakkoda" in Aomori in September 2014 File:DD16 20 THSRMWS 1.jpg, DD16 20 in Taiwan in August 2009, where it was used on the Taiwan High Speed Line

Classification

The DD16 classification for this locomotive type is explained below. * D: Diesel locomotive * D: Four driving axles * 16: Locomotive with maximum speed of 85 km/h or less

References

{{Jrkyushuloco Diesel–hydraulic locomotives of Japan DD16 DD16 DD16 Bo-Bo locomotives 1067 mm gauge locomotives of Japan Railway locomotives introduced in 1971 Kawasaki diesel locomotives Nippon Sharyo locomotives