The is a
Bo′Bo′+Bo′Bo′
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 ...
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 ...
multi-system AC/
DC two-unit 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 ...
in Japan since 1997.
Operations
The locomotives are built at the
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 ...
factory in
Fuchū, Tokyo
file:FuchuCityHall2023091.jpg, 260px, Fuchū City Hall
is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western Tokyo, western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. Fuchū serves as a regional commercial center and a commuter town for workers in cent ...
. Initially, they were all based at
Sendai
is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan.
...
depot for use on long-distance container trains from the Tokyo area to
Hokkaido
is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...
via the
Tohoku Main Line, replacing DC
Class EF65s south of
Kuroiso, pairs of AC
Class ED75s north of Kuroiso, and pairs of AC
Class ED79s through the
Seikan Tunnel.
In 2004, locomotives EH500-25 and EH500-27 were loaned in turn to Moji depot in
Kitakyushu
is a Cities of Japan, city located in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. As of June 1, 2019, Kitakyushu has an estimated population of 940,978, making it the second-largest city in both Fukuoka Prefecture and the island of Kyushu after the city of Fuk ...
for trials. From 2007, a number of EH500s were transferred to Moji depot for use on 1,300 tonne freight trains between
Honshu
, historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...
and
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 ...
through the
Kanmon Tunnel, replacing ageing AC
Class ED76
The is a Bo-2-Bo wheel arrangement AC electric locomotive type operated on passenger and freight services in Japan since 1965, originally by Japanese National Railways (JNR), and later by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), Kyushu Railway ...
s and dual-voltage
EF81-300s and EF81-400s.
, the fleet totalled 82 locomotives (EH500-901 and EH500-1 to EH500-81).
12 locomotives, EH500-45 to EH500-50 and EH500-67 to EH500-72, are based at Moji Depot, and the other 70 members of the class are based at Sendai.
Variants
* EH500-901: Prototype
* EH500-1 – 2: Pre-series 1st batch
* EH500-3 – 9: Full-production 2nd batch
* EH500-10 –: 3rd batch
EH500-901
The prototype, EH500-901, was delivered to Sendai depot in September 1997 for extensive testing on the
Tohoku Main Line and
Kaikyo Line until March 1999.
The livery is red and grey with black cab surrounds.
It joined the rest of the Class EH500 fleet for use on revenue services from the start of the March 2000 timetable revision.
"
Kintaro Kintaro may refer to:
* , legendary child, a folk hero from Japanese folklore; a fictionalized version of Sakata no Kintoki, samurai from the Heian period
* ''Kintarō'' doll, a toy offered to Japanese children during the ''Tango no Sekku'' holida ...
Eco-Power" logos were added to the sides from December 2002.
1st batch: EH500-1 and EH500-2
Two pre-series locomotives, EH500-1 and EH500-2, were delivered in March 2000.
These locomotives are finished in a livery of maroon and grey with black cab surrounds.
2nd batch: EH500-3 to EH500-9
Built from March 2000 to January 2001. The headlamps were moved to a higher position to reduce problems of blockage by snow.
New "Kintaro Eco-Power" logos were added to the sides.
File:JRF EH500-8 Tohoku-Line.jpg, EH500-8 in February 2022
File:EH500-3 Omiya Works 20070526.JPG, Inner end of EH500-3 undergoing overhaul in May 2007
3rd batch: EH500-10 onward
Locomotives from EH500-10 (delivered in August 2001) onward are painted in a revised colour scheme using bright red instead of the earlier maroon colour. The black colour around the cab windows was also discontinued.
Locomotives numbered EH500-15 onwards have narrower surrounds on the front-end headlight boxes, and the front-end white band is also correspondingly slightly thinner.
Classification
The EH500 classification for this locomotive type is explained below. As with previous locomotive designs, the prototype is numbered EH500-901, with subsequent production locomotives numbered from EH500-1 onward.
* E: Electric locomotive
* H: Eight driving axles
* 500: AC/DC locomotive with AC motors
See also
*
JNR Class EH10
*
JR Freight Class EH200
*
JR Freight Class EH800
References
{{Toshiba
1500 V DC locomotives
20 kV AC locomotives
Electric locomotives of Japan
EH500
1067 mm gauge locomotives of Japan
Railway locomotives introduced in 1998
Toshiba locomotives
Multi-system locomotives
Bo′Bo′+Bo′Bo′ locomotives