The JR East Class DD19 was a diesel-hydraulic locomotive operated by the East Japan Railway Company from 1992 to 2008.
History[]
The DD19 was designed as a dedicated snow-clearing locomotive, being one of a number of dedicated snow-clearing locomotives operated by the JNR. Intended to replace the DD14s used for snow clearing purposes, the DD19 was designed to be more powerful than the DD14s and could run on its own without assistance. Intended to run on the Yamagata Shinkansen, existing locomotive DD17 1 was converted to standard gauge and renumbered DD19 1; the conversion was completed on 31 January 1992 at JR West's Takatori Works.
Now located at the Yamagata Rolling Stock Depot, DD19 1 mainly served the Itaya Pass to remove snow from the surrounding areas. Usage of the DD19 was rare due to it only being used during heavy snowfall, but it was very effective at its work. Being based on a dated design (DD19 1 was converted from DD17 1 which was in turn converted from DD51 507) the locomotive was showing its age and was withdrawn from service in spring 2008 and scrapped.
Design[]
The DD19 featured a semi-streamlined design, being painted in red with silver accents.
Specifications[]
The DD19 was fitted with two V12 prime movers, designated the DML61Z. Much of the locomotive's equipment is reused from DD51 507.