The is a class of 1,500 V DC electric locomotives formerly operating in Japan.

History

A total of 25 Class EF63 locomotives were built between 1962 and 1976 exclusively for use as

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(U.S. "helpers" or "pushers") on the steeply-graded

Usui Pass The is a mountain pass that lies between Nagano Prefecture, Nagano and Gunma Prefecture in Japan. It has served as one of the major transportation routes in central Japan since at least the eighth century. Road The pass on the ancient Tōsa ...

section of the

Shinetsu Main Line The is a railway line, consisting of three geographically separated sections, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It was originally one continuous line connecting and via . Since the opening and later extension of ...

between and . They replaced the Class ED42 electric locomotives previously used on the rack-and-pinion line between these two stations. The prototype, EF63 1, was produced in 1962 by Toshiba for testing before full production of the class started in 1963 spread between manufacturers Kawasaki, Mitsubishi and Toshiba. The class was equipped with a number of special safety features to cope with the unique conditions of operating on the 66.7

‰ The phrase per mille () indicates parts per thousand. The associated symbol is , similar to a per cent sign but with an extra zero in the divisor. Major dictionaries do not agree on the spelling, giving other options of per mil, per mill, pe ...

, 6.67 %

gradient In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function f of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p gives the direction and the rate of fastest increase. The g ...

of the Usui Pass. These included independent dynamic brakes on all six axles (hence the large louvres along the bodysides for heat dissipation), magnetic adhesion brakes operating directly on the rails, and mechanical locking brakes. Small wheels attached to the centre bogie were used to measure the train speed and apply the brakes in the case of run-away. The class used the same 425 kW MT52 traction motors used on the EF62s and also the EF70s. The entire class was based at Yokokawa depot, and they were always used in pairs at the Yokokawa end of trains travelling in both directions, and were capable of operating in multiple with Class EF62 locomotives and a wide range of EMU types (including

115 115 may refer to: *115 (number), the number *AD 115, a year in the 2nd century AD *115 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC *115 (Hampshire Fortress) Corps Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers, a unit in the UK Territorial Army *115 (Leicestershire) Field ...

185 Year 185 ( CLXXXV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lascivius and Atilius (or, less frequently, year 938 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 185 for this ...

, 189,

489 series The was a limited express electric multiple unit (EMU) train type introduced in March 1972 by Japanese National Railways (JNR) in Japan, and later operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR-West) until 2 ...

) – hence the impressive array of jumper cables and connectors on the Karuizawa ends of the locos.Their Karuizawa ends had

dual coupling Different types of railroad rolling stock have different couplers depending on the purpose and type of equipment being used and its intended destination. European rolling stock tend to use buffers and chain couplers while American rolling stock use ...

, the Yokokawa ends had normal Janney coupling though. Trains ascending the incline from Yokokawa were driven by the driver in the rearmost cab of the EF63 pair at the rear of the train, with the driver in the front cab of the train acting only as signal look-out. Locos EF63 5 and EF63 9 were written off after a runaway derailment also involving two EF62s in 1975, and EF63 24 and EF63 25 were additionally built in 1976 to replace these two. In 1978, EF63 11 and 13 were specially turned out to work an imperial train over the Usui Pass. Following privatization of JNR, the entire fleet was transferred to JR East operation with the exception of EF63 1 and 14 operated by JR Freight. The closure of the Yokokawa to Karuizawa section of the Shinetsu Main Line in September 1997 coinciding with the opening of the new

Nagano Shinkansen The Hokuriku Shinkansen () is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line connecting Tokyo with Tsuruga in the Hokuriku region of Japan. It is jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West). The fir ...

marked the end of the careers of the EF63 locomotives. Before their final withdrawal, however, a number of locos (EF63 18, 19, 24, and 25) were repainted into original brown livery following their last overhauls in 1997. Incidentally, these locomotives were delivered in standard blue livery from new.

E43000

The TCDD E43000 is a twin-cab six-axle

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 ...

electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a Battery (electricity), battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime mover (locomotive), ...

used previously by the

Turkish State Railways The State Railways of the Republic of Turkey (), abbreviated as TCDD, is a government-owned national railway company responsible for the ownership and maintenance of railways in Turkey, as well as the planning and construction of new lines. TCDD ...

and currently by

TCDD Taşımacılık TCDD Transport or Turkish State Railways Transport (, reporting mark TCDDT) is a government-owned railway company responsible for the operations of most passenger and freight rail in Turkey. The company was formed on 14 June 2016, splitting off ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. The locomotives were designed by

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 ...

and built by

TÜLOMSAŞ TÜLOMSAŞ () was a locomotive and wagon builder in Turkey. It was the main locomotive supplier of the Turkish State Railways and was one of the two companies that designed and assembled locomotives in Turkey along with EUROTEM. The company headq ...

at their Eskişehir shops. The locomotive is based on the JNR Class EF63 electric locomotive in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, built by Toshiba. The Turkish State Railways ordered 45 locomotives as part of the railways electrification program of the late-1980s early-1990s.

Locomotive histories

Source:

Batch differences

Preserved examples

* EF63 1

Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park The is an open-air railway museum located in Annaka, Gunma, Japan. It is operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), and was opened on 18 April 1998 on the site of the former Yokokawa motive power depot alongside the Shinetsu Main Line, w ...

, Gunma (brown livery) * EF63 2

Karuizawa Station is a railway station in the town of Karuizawa, Nagano, Japan, operated jointly by the JR Group company East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the Public–private partnership#Japan, third-sector railway operator Shinano Railway. Lines Kar ...

* EF63 10 Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park, Gunma * EF63 11 Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park, Gunma (operational) * EF63 12 Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park, Gunma (operational) * EF63 13 Cab section only at Omiya Works * EF63 15 Nagano depot * EF63 18 Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park, Gunma (brown livery) * EF63 19 Nagano depot (brown livery) * EF63 22 Privately preserved * EF63 24 Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park, Gunma (operational) * EF63 25 Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park, Gunma (operational) EF63 24 and 25 are currently used to provide driver training sessions to members of the public at the

on a short stretch of track electrified at 750 V DC (rather than the normal 1,500 V). EF63 11 and 12 are kept as operational spares. All other preserved examples are kept as static exhibits. File:EF63-1.JPG, EF63 1 preserved at Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park in brown livery File:Japanese-national-railways-EF63-2-20110907.jpg, EF63 2 preserved at Karuizawa Station, September 2011 File:EF63-13 of JNR.jpg, The cab section of EF63 13 File:Japanese-national-railways-EF63-24-20140518.jpg, EF63 24 at the Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park, May 2014

Notes

References

* * {{Toshiba Electric locomotives of Japan Bo-Bo-Bo locomotives 1500 V DC locomotives Preserved electric locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1962 Toshiba locomotives Kawasaki locomotives 1067 mm gauge locomotives of Japan