Locomotive Wiki
Advertisement

The JNR Class EF65 is a Japanese DC electric locomotive operated by the Japanese National Railways and its successor companies since 1965.

History[]

The EF65 was developed as a replacement for the previous EF60 locomotives, which were used to haul fast freight trains on flat lines. A total of 308 locomotives were built, the largest quantity of electric locomotives built for the JNR at that point. Mainly used to haul freight trains, they were also used to haul the famed Blue Train sleeper train services until they were discontinued in 2015.

When the Japanese National Railways was privatized and split into seven different companies in 1987, JR East, Central, West and Freight took ownership of the locomotives; only JR Freight operates EF65s as of 2021. Despite its age, the EF65 remains a mainstay of the Japan Railways network and can often be seen hauling freight trains. The existing locomotives have been undergoing numerous modifications to keep them up to date.

Design[]

The EF65s featured large box-shaped bodies with circular headlights mounted on the top of the cars.

Specifications[]

The EF65s used a nose suspension drive as opposed to the Quill drive of more recent locomotives; 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. MT52 traction motors are used on the locomotives.

Preservation[]

The following Class EF65 locomotives have been preserved:

Number Manufacturer Equipment manufacturer Date manufactured Date retired Location Notes
EF65 1 Kawasaki Heavy Industries Kawasaki Denki 14 January 1965 2 March 1987 Kyoto Railway Museum, Kyoto, Japan Prototype locomotive; displayed under shelter
EF65 520 Toshiba Toshiba 3 March 1966 15 March 2002 Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park, Gunma, Japan Displayed outdoors
EF65 535 28 March 1967 31 March 2013 Toshiba Fuchū Plant, Tokyo, Japan Ex-EF65 77, stored on siding next to ED31 3; can be seen from Musashino Line
EF65 1001 Kisha Seizō Tōyō Denki 15 October 1969 2008 JR Freight Central Training Center, Tokyo, Japan Remains on JR Freight register, used for training purposes; not open for public viewing
EF65 529 Nippon Sharyo Fuji Electric 24 March 1966 15 June 1993 Cab only, used for training purposes; not open for public viewing
EF65 536 Kisha Seizō Tōyō Denki 24 March 1967 2 December 1998 Kato Sekisui Factory, Saitama, Japan Ex-EF65 78, cab only; not open for public viewing
EF65 539 Kawasaki Heavy Industries Kawasaki Denki 29 July 1968 30 March 2005 Gunma, Japan Ex-EF65 81, front portion only; privately owned, exact location unknown

The following Class EF65 locomotives were preserved in the past but have since been scrapped:

Number Manufacturer Equipment manufacturer Date manufactured Date retired Last location Notes
EF65 5 Kawasaki Heavy Industries Kawasaki Denki 6 February 1965 25 January 1994 JR Freight Central Training Center, Tokyo, Japan Scrapped circa 1990s
EF65 33 Toshiba Toshiba 28 May 1965 10 February 1987 Yaizu Station, Shizuoka, Japan Acted as Beer Station Yaizu beer joint; scrapped 1998
EF65 59 16 November 1965 2 December 1998 Ōmiya General Rolling Stock Center, Saitama, Japan Scrapped circa 2000s
EF65 65 Kisha Seizō Tōyō Denki 6 December 1965 5 February 1987 JR Central Hamamatsu Works, Hamamatsu, Japan Last reliably seen 1988, presumed scrapped
EF65 110 2 October 1969 31 March 1998 Last reliably seen 1999, presumed scrapped
EF65 112 Nippon Sharyo Fuji Electric 2 October 1969 3 December 2007 Scrapped December 2007
EF65 75 12 August 1966 24 December 2003 Hiroshima Rolling Stock Depot, Hiroshima, Japan Scrapped end-December 2003

Gallery[]

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