Red Flag 6-class Locomotive
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Red Flag 6-class ( ''Pulg'ŭn'gi''-6) is a two-section, permanently coupled
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), ...
built by the
Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works The Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works () in P'yŏngyang is North Korea's largest manufacturer of railway equipment. Established in November 1945 in Sŏsŏng-guyŏk, P'yŏngyang near the P'yŏngyang Railway University and the Korean State ...
and used by the
Korean State Railway The Korean State Railway is the operating arm of the Ministry of Railways of North Korea (), commonly called the State Rail () and has its headquarters at Pyongyang, P'yŏngyang. The current Minister of Railways is Chang Jun-song. History 19 ...
for heavy freight trains on mountainous lines.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō),


Description

As the electrification of the
Korean State Railway The Korean State Railway is the operating arm of the Ministry of Railways of North Korea (), commonly called the State Rail () and has its headquarters at Pyongyang, P'yŏngyang. The current Minister of Railways is Chang Jun-song. History 19 ...
's network continued into the 1980s, the Red Flag 1 and Red Flag 2 class locomotives were the dominant type in service under the wires. However, with the electrification of steep mountain lines, it was realised that a more powerful locomotive was needed. Therefore, the
Kim Chong-tae Electric Locomotive Works The Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works () in Pyongyang, P'yŏngyang is North Korea's largest manufacturer of railway equipment. Established in November 1945 in Sosong-guyok, Sŏsŏng-guyŏk, P'yŏngyang near the P'yŏngyang Railway Univers ...
began design work on an articulated locomotive to operate freight trains on the difficult mountainous sections. Using the Red Flag 2 class as a starting point, the Red Flag 6 (붉은기6, ''Pulg'ŭn'gi''-6) class was developed. The result was a permanently coupled
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 ...
articulated locomotive with eight capacitors, made up of two sections; these sections are single-cab versions of the Red Flag 2. The Red Flag 6 class is thus an articulated descendant of the Škoda Type 30E, which had formed the basis for the design of the Red Flag 1 and Red Flag 2 after North Korea bought a licence to build the type, including technology transfer, from
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
. The first prototype was shown in 1981. Numbered in the 6000 series, production of the new design began in 1986, and was put into service in 1987 to haul freight trains on the
P'yŏngra Line The P'yŏngra Line is an electrified standard-gauge trunk line of the Korean State Railway in North Korea, running from P'yŏngyang to Rason, where it connects with the Hambuk Line.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), I ...
. These four-bogie, eight-axle articulated units are long, weigh and produce . They have a maximum speed of and can pull . Trial runs with passenger trains were undertaken, but the type is now mainly used on east-west freight trains on the P'yŏngra Line. The first prototype received a cream over red paint scheme, but production units are painted in the standard light blue over dark green livery.


Named locomotives

There are three known named Red Flag 6 locomotives: * Light (광명호, ''Kwangmyong-ho'') - one locomotive, painted in cream over blue with a white stripe, named personally by
Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il (born Yuri Kim; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader of North Korea from Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung, the de ...
, symbolising the bright future of students and youth, * Thousand-ri of liberation No.1 (광복의천리길1호, ''Kwangbokuicholligil1-ho'') - one known locomotive, *Thousand-ri of liberation No.2 (광복의천리길2호, ''Kwangbokuicholligil2-ho'') - one known locomotive, painted in light green over dark green.


References

{{DPRKloco Locomotives of North Korea Kim Chong-tae Works locomotives 3000 V DC locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1981 Bo′Bo′+Bo′Bo′ locomotives