The is a class of

Bo-Bo-Bo A Bo-Bo-Bo or Bo′Bo′Bo′ (UIC classification) is a locomotive with three independent two-axle bogies with all axles powered by separate traction motors. In the AAR system, this is simplified to B-B-B due to the system only taking powered ...

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–electric locomotives operated by

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) in Japan from 1957 until 1983.

Variants

DF50-0

The first batch of 65 locomotives was built between 1957 and 1962 with Sulzer 8-cylinder 8LDA25A 1,060 hp diesel engines. Production was shared between Kisha Seizō,

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...

, and Nippon Sharyō. File:JNRDF50 1 sul.jpg, DF50 1 on a passenger service in 1979 File:JNRDF50 65 sul.jpg, DF50 65 on a freight working in 1982

DF50-500

A later batch of 73 locomotives was built between 1958 and 1963 with

MAN A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...

V6 V22/30 1,200 hp diesel engines. Production was shared between

Hitachi () is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...

, Kawasaki, and

Toshiba is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...

. File:JNRDF50 573 MAN.jpg, DF50 573 on a passenger service in Shikoku in 1979

Operations

Class DF50 locomotives were intended for use on both passenger and freight services, and included a

steam generator Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

for train heating. They operated on the following lines, including use hauling " Blue Train"

sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the main American innovator and owner of sl ...

services. *

Hokuriku Main Line The Hokuriku Main Line () is a railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with Tsuruga Station in Tsuruga, Fukui. The line formerly extended as far as Naoetsu Station in ...

Sanin Main Line The is a railway line in western Japan, which connects Kyoto and Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is the major railway line of the San'in region, approximately paralleling the Japan Sea, crossing Kyot ...

Dosan Line The is a railway line in Shikoku, Japan, operated by the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects Tadotsu Station in Tadotsu, Kagawa, Tadotsu, Kagawa Prefecture, Kagawa, and Kubokawa Station in Shimanto, Kōchi (town), Shimanto, Kōchi ...

(

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

) * Kisei Line * Nippo Line (

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's Japanese archipelago, four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa Island, Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Ryukyu Islands, Islands ...

) In later years, operations were restricted to Kyushu and Shikoku, with the remaining locomotives withdrawn in 1983, except for DF50 1, which later passed into

JR Shikoku The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four Prefectures of Japan, prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Jap ...

ownership.

Livery

The locomotives were initially painted in all-over maroon with stainless steel bands, but were subsequently repainted into the standard JNR diesel locomotive livery of vermillion and grey.

Preserved examples

Three Class DF50 locomotives were preserved. * DF50 1: Preserved at The Railway History Park in Saijo, Ehime * DF50 4: Preserved in a park in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

* DF50 18: Formerly preserved at the

Modern Transportation Museum The was the corporate museum operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West) in Minato-ku, Osaka, Japan. It opened on 21 January 1962, next to Bentencho Station on the Osaka Loop Line. The collection included steam locomotives, electric locomo ...

, Osaka, but moved to 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 ...

in March 2015 File:Railway History Park in Saijo, Ehime (17488294672).jpg, Preserved DF50 1 at The Railway History Park in Saijo in May 2015 File:DF50 tsuyama.JPG, Preserved DF50 18 at the Tsuyama Railroad Educational Museum in May 2016

Classification

The DF50 classification for this locomotive type is explained below. * D: Diesel locomotive * F: Six driving axles * 50: Locomotive with maximum speed exceeding 85 km/h

References

{{Jrshikokuloco Diesel–electric locomotives of Japan Hitachi locomotives Kawasaki diesel locomotives Kisha Seizo locomotives Mitsubishi locomotives Toshiba locomotives Bo-Bo-Bo locomotives 1067 mm gauge locomotives of Japan Railway locomotives introduced in 1957 Nippon Sharyo locomotives