Locomotive Wiki
Advertisement

The JNR Class ED76 is a Japanese AC electric locomotive operated by the Japanese National Railways and its successor companies since 1965.

History[]

The ED76 was designed as a versatile AC electric locomotive for use on the JNR. The locomotive was introduced as an improvement on the ED73 locomotives which had been used in Kyushu for some time.

From 1965 to 1979, 139 locomotives were manufactured based on the ED75, the de facto AC electric locomotive in use at the time. The locomotives were split into two subseries; the -0 subseries for use in Kyushu and the -500 subseries for use in Hokkaido, the latter being developed in 1968. In Kyushu, the locomotives were used to pull passenger trains thanks to their SG3B-S steam generators; these locomotives also replaced the older ED72 and ED73 locomotives in Blue Train operations. In Hokkaido, the locomotives pulled both freight and passenger trains and were mainly used on the Hakodate Main Line.

Withdrawals commenced in the 1980s; by the JNR's privatization and division in 1987 nearly half the locomotives had been withdrawn from service. JR Kyushu, JR Hokkaido and JR Freight inherited ownership of the remaining ED76s, with JR Kyushu receiving the bulk of the locomotives, with a total of 36 locomotives. JR Hokkaido retired their locomotives on 31 March 2001, while JR Kyushu retired their locomotives in November 2012. Ten locomotives remain in service, all with JR Freight. One locomotive has been preserved; one additional locomotive, ED76 91, was preserved in the past but has since been scrapped.

Design[]

The ED76s featured large box-shaped bodies with dual large circular headlights mounted on the top of the cars.

Specifications[]

The ED76s used a nose suspension drive system with MT52 traction motors; the use of the nose suspension drive was due to maintenance problems involving the Quill drive, so all locomotives after the earlier EF70 would use the nose suspension drive. This however came at the cost of keeping the rated rotation speed of the traction motors low.

Preservation[]

The following Class ED76 locomotives have been preserved:

Number Manufacturer Equipment manufacturer Date manufactured Date retired Location Notes
ED76 505 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Mitsubishi Electric 9 August 1968 10 February 1987 Mikasa Railway Memorial Hall, Mikasa, Hokkaido, Japan Displayed indoors in same compound as 59609, C12 2 and DD13 353, cab open for public viewing; PCB-related equipment removed in 2014
ED76 1 Hitachi Hitachi 1 September 1965 3 February 1987 Kyushu Railway History Museum, Kitakyushu, Kyushu, Japan Cab only; displayed under shelter, preserved with cabs of EF30 3 and KuHa 481-246
ED76 509 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Mitsubishi Electric 7 September 1968 10 February 1987 Otaru City General Museum, Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan First half only; PCB-related equipment removed in August 2023 and locomotive cut in half

The following Class ED76 locomotives were preserved in the past but have since been scrapped:

Number Manufacturer Equipment manufacturer Date manufactured Date retired Last location Notes
ED76 91 Toshiba Toshiba 18 June 1976 25 January 2010 Hita Tenryosui no Sato Genki no Eki, Ōita, Kyushu, Japan Displayed under shelter coupled to passenger cars ORoNe 15 3005 and SuHaNeFu 14 5; scrapped August 2021 due to deterioration
JR Group motive power
JNR Diesel prototype DB10DC10DC11DD10
4-axle diesel DD11DD12DD13DD14DD15DD16DD17DD20DD21DD40DD41DD42DD50DD51DD53DD54DD90DD91DD92DD93
5-axle diesel DE10DE11DE15DE50
6-axle diesel DF40DF41DF50DF90DF91 (gen 1)DF91 (gen 2)DF92DF93
Shinkansen 911912
Narrow-gauge diesel Ke DB10Ke DB11
Early 2/4-axle freight electric AB10EB10ED10ED11ED12ED13ED14ED15ED16ED17ED18 (gen 1)ED18 (gen 2)ED19ED23ED24
Early 4-axle passenger electric ED50ED51ED52ED53ED54ED55ED56ED57
Early 6-axle freight electric EF10EF11EF12EF13EF14EF15EF16EF18
Early 6-axle passenger electric EF20EF50EF51EF52EF53EF54EF55EF56EF57EF58EF59HEF10HEF50
Early 8-axle electric EH10EH50HEH50HEH150
Early Abt rack rail electric EC40ED40ED41ED42
Acquired from private railways ED20ED21ED22ED25 (gen 1)ED25 (gen 2)ED26 (gen 1)ED26 (gen 2)ED27 (gen 1)ED27 (gen 2)ED28 (gen 1)ED28 (gen 2)ED29 (gen 1)ED29 (gen 2)ED30 (gen 1)ED31ED32ED33ED34ED35ED36ED37ED38Ke ED10DeKi 1RoKo 1DeKi 501RoKo 1000
DC 4-axle ED60ED61ED62ED63ED95
AC 4-axle ED44ED45ED70ED71ED72ED73ED74ED75ED76ED77ED78ED79ED90ED91ED93ED94
DC 6-axle EF60EF61EF62EF63EF64EF65EF66EF67EF90
AC 6-axle EF70EF71
Dual-current ED30 (gen 2)ED46ED92EF30EF80EF81
Other AH100
JR Group Dual-current electric ED500EF500EF510EH500
DC electric EF200EF210EH200
DC EMU M250
AC electric EH800
Diesel DD18DD19DB500DD200DF200ENR-1000
Hybrid HD300
Advertisement