The was a

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 ...

DC electric locomotive type operated by

JR Freight , or , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It provides transportation of cargo nationwide throughout Japan. Its headquarters are in Shibuya, Tokyo near Shinjuku Station. The Japan Railways Group was foun ...

on freight services in Japan from 1992 until its retirement on 28 March 2019.

Overview

The Class EF200 was developed to replace Class EF66 electric locomotives on heavy freight services on the Tokaido Main Line and

Sanyo Main Line is a former Japanese electronics manufacturer founded in 1947 by Toshio Iue, the brother-in-law of Kōnosuke Matsushita, the founder of Matsushita Electric Industrial, now known as Panasonic. Iue left Matsushita Electric to start his own busi ...

west of Tokyo. It is equipped with six FMT2 traction motors, giving a total power output of . Ultimately, the class was deemed to be over-specified and unnecessarily expensive, and the order was terminated after the delivery of 20 full-production locomotives. The subsequent

Class EF210 The is a Bo-Bo-Bo wheel arrangement Direct current, DC electric locomotive type operated by Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight) on freight services in Japan. The locomotives are built at the Kawasaki Heavy Industries Rolling Stock Compan ...

was instead chosen as the standard design for hauling freight services on the Tokaido Main Line and Sanyo Main Line. Originally designed to haul freight trains, problems of insufficient power supply capacity to the

overhead line An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, Electric multiple unit, electric multiple units, trolleybuses or trams. The generic term used by the International Union ...

s, meant that the class was initially limited to hauling trains.

Operations

, the fleet consists of 12 locomotives (EF200-2 – 7, 10, 15, and 17 – 20), based at Suita Depot in Osaka. They are used primarily on 1,300 t freight trains west of Tokyo on the Tokaido and Sanyo Main Lines.

Variants

* EF200-900: Prototype locomotive EF200-901, built 1990 * EF200-0: Full-production locomotives EF200-1 – 20, built 1992–1993

History

The prototype locomotive, EF200-901, was delivered in March 1990 for extensive testing. The first full-production locomotives were delivered to Shin-Tsurumi Depot in Tokyo in 1992, entering revenue service on the Tokaido Main Line and Sanyo Main Line from the summer of that year. In 1992, the Class EF200 was awarded the

Laurel Prize The is an award presented annually in Japan since 1961 by the Japan Railfan Club. It is awarded for railway vehicles that entered service in the previous year and voted by the selection committee as having the most outstanding functional and des ...

, presented annually by the Japan Railfan Club. From 1 April 1999, the entire class was transferred from Shin-Tsurumi in Tokyo to Suita Depot in Osaka. Between 2006 and 2009, the entire fleet was repainted into a new livery similar to that used for the later

locomotives. EF200-901 was similarly repainted in 2007. From 2007, the class was power-derated to match the power output of the older Class EF66 locomotives. In 2011, one class member, EF200-1, was withdrawn. During fiscal 2015, eight members of the class were removed from regular duties, leaving 12 members in service. The final service of the Class EF200 took place on 28 March 2019, as EF200-18 hauled its last freight train from the Hatabu yard in

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to the Suita freight terminal 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 ...

. File:1992-8-23-ef200-4.JPG, EF200-4 in original livery in August 1992 File:Takashima line EF200.jpg, Prototype locomotive EF200-901 in revised livery in August 2013

Preserved examples

The prototype locomotive, EF200-901, was withdrawn in March 2016 and moved to the

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 ...

Mito factory in

Hitachinaka, Ibaraki 250px, Hitachinaka city hall is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 154,663 in 64,900 households and a population density of 1547 persons per km2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 ...

, in October 2016, where it was restored to its original livery.

Classification

The EF200 classification for this locomotive type is explained below. As with previous locomotive designs, the prototype was numbered EF200-901, with subsequent production locomotives numbered from EF200-1 onward. * E: Electric locomotive * F: Six driving axles * 200: DC locomotive with AC motors

References

External links

JR Freight website
{{Jrfloco 1500 V DC locomotives Electric locomotives of Japan EF200 Bo-Bo-Bo locomotives 1067 mm gauge locomotives of Japan Railway locomotives introduced in 1990 Hitachi locomotives