The JNR Class ED23 was a Japanese DC electric locomotive operated by the Japanese National Railways from 1927 to 1958.
History[]
The ED23 was an early type of electric locomotive used on the Japanese National Railways. One locomotive was produced by Metropolitan-Vickers in the United Kingdom in 1927 utilizing electrical equipment sourced from the Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works. Initially known as the Class ED56, the ED56 entered service in 1927 hauling passenger trains on the Tōkaidō Main Line.
Due to a number of factors, including poor rearward visibility and the special control system, the ED56 was rebuilt into a freight locomotive and reclassified as the Class ED23 in 1940 at the newly-built Ōmiya Works. It was then placed into service on the Kurihama Branch of the Yokosuka Line. The locomotive was taken out of service in 1958 with the closure of the branch line and was scrapped in 1960.
Design[]
The ED23 featured a box-shaped body. When built, the ED56 featured a protruding cab in a vague D-shape; these features were lost when the ED56 was rebuilt.
Specifications[]
The ED23 feature resistor-controlled traction motors and a steel body construction. It featured series, parallel and series-parallel methods of speed control.