The JNR Class EF81 is a Japanese dual-current electric locomotive operated by the Japanese National Railways and its successor companies since 1968.
History[]
The EF81 was developed specifically as a dual-current development of existing JNR electric locomotives. Developed for use on the Sea of Japan coastal route, a total of 156 locomotives were manufactured from 1968 to 1979 by Hitachi and Mitsubishi in four different batches. A number of specifications changed during development.
The locomotives, when initially put into service, were mainly used for long-distance passenger trains, and would later come to replace existing electric locomotives on those lines such as the EF58, EF70, ED71 and ED75. Due to its versatility, the EF81 would become the main locomotive used to haul long distance passenger trains and sleeper trains. The EF81 would come to be most famous for pulling the Twilight Express service, being painted in an emerald green paintscheme with yellow accents to match the passenger cars they pulled; they were also painted in a number of other paintschemes.
When the JNR was privatized and split into seven different companies in 1987, JR East, West, Kyushu and Freight took ownership of the 156 EF81s; JR East took ownership of 78 locomotives, JR Freight 56, JR West 16 and JR Kyushu 6. An additional eight locomotives were built from 1989 to 1992, bringing the total up to 164 locomotives. Withdrawals of the class commenced in 1992.
Despite its age, the EF81 remains in active service; JR Freight, JR East and JR West all operate EF81s, with JR East operating the most with 11 locomotives. Five locomotives have been preserved.
Design[]
The EF81s featured large box-shaped bodies with two circular headlights mounted on top. The locomotives feature an expanded equipment bay due to dual-voltage equipment.
EF81 451 and 452 feature the same basic design but with lower-mounted rectangular headlight fixtures.
Specifications[]
The EF81s 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 were used on the locomotives.
Preservation[]
The following Class EF81 locomotives have been preserved:
| Number | Manufacturer | Equipment manufacturer | Date manufactured | Date retired | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EF81 1 | Hitachi | Hitachi | 21 December 1968 | 31 March 2004 | Toyama Locomotive Depot, Toyama, Japan | Stored on siding |
| EF81 63 | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | Mitsubishi Electric | 28 June 1972 | 1 August 1993 | JR Freight Central Training Center, Tokyo, Japan | Painted in JR Freight paintscheme; used for training purposes, rarely open for public viewing |
| EF81 103 | Hitachi | Hitachi | 21 May 1974 | 30 April 2015 | Kyoto Railway Museum, Kyoto, Japan | Painted in Twilight Express livery |
| EF81 138 | 21 May 1974 | 30 April 2015 | The Hirosawa City Rail Park, Ibaraki, Japan | Displayed near various other locomotives and trainsets | ||
| EF81 10 | 27 June 1969 | 2012 | Hoshiai Ganka, Saitama, Japan Hakuba Mini Train Park, Nagano, Japan |
Cab ends only; both preserved in different locations |
The following Class EF81 locomotives were preserved in the past but have since been scrapped:
| Number | Manufacturer | Equipment manufacturer | Date manufactured | Date retired | Last location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EF81 5 | Hitachi | Hitachi | 2 June 1969 | 30 March 2007 | Hiroshima Rolling Stock Depot, Hiroshima, Japan | Painted in "test" paint scheme; scrapped December 2009 |
| EF81 24 | Mitsubishi Heavy Industries | Mitsubishi Electric | 21 August 1969 | 1 June 2007 | Ōmiya General Rolling Stock Center, Saitama, Japan | Scrapped at unknown date |
Gallery[]
