The JNR Class ED62 was a Japanese DC electric locomotive operated by the Japanese National Railways and later the Japan Freight Railway Company from 1974 to October 1996.
History[]
The ED62 was designed as a locomotive to replace older electric locomotives used on the Iida Line, which were built in the early 1900s and were in dire need of replacement.
Between 1974 and 1979, all eighteen ED61 locomotives were converted at JNR's Nagano Works, with equipment such as regenerative brakes removed from the locomotive; the first locomotive, ED62 1, converted from ED61 3, was completed in 1974 and subsequently tested. The locomotives's wheel arrangement was also modified from B-B to B-1-B to reduce the axle load and allow them to be used on the Iida Line, which was unable to withstand the weight of newer electric locomotives. Their snowplows were also removed but these were later reinstalled.
Used to pull freight trains on the Iida Line, the locomotives replaced the older ED19s. ED62 15 was used to pull a commemorative train for the 30th National Tree Planting Festival in 1979. Freight operations were abolished on the Iida Line in 1983, so the locomotives were moved to Hamamatsu Rolling Stock Depot; they would later replace the ED60s in this area, while ED62 10 was used on the Ōito Line. Some locomotives were relocated to Numazu in 1984. When the JNR was privatized and split in 1987, JR Freight took ownership of the ED62s; ED62 17 was later painted in JR Freight's corporate colors. All locomotives were withdrawn from service by around October 1996.
No ED62s have been preserved. ED62 1, ED62 14 and ED62 17 were preserved in the past but all have since been scrapped.
Design[]
The ED62s featured large box-shaped bodies with large headlights mounted on the roof.
Specifications[]
The ED62s used a Quill drive system. MT49A traction motors were used on the locomotives.
Preservation[]
The following Class ED62 locomotives were preserved in the past but have since been scrapped:
Number | Manufacturer | Equipment manufacturer | Date manufactured | Date retired | Last location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ED62 1 | Toshiba | Toshiba | 1958 | 17 February 1987 | Nagano General Rolling Stock Center, Nagano, Japan | Ex-ED61 3, stored on siding; scrapped February 2016 |
ED62 14 | May 1959 | 24 November 1984 | Sakuma Rail Park, Shizuoka, Japan | Ex-ED61 16, displayed outdoors; park closed November 2009, scrapped July 2010 | ||
ED62 17 | Kawasaki Sharyō | Kawasaki Denki | June 1959 | 29 March 2002 | Ōmiya Locomotive Depot, Saitama, Japan | Ex-ED61 18; scrapped March 2021 |