KuMoNi 83 series

KuMoNi 83 series
KuMoNi 83006 in April 2025
Technical specifications
Manufacturer(s)	JNR's Hamamatsu Works, JNR's Hatabu Works, JNR's Kōriyama Works, JNR's Morioka Works, JNR's Nagano Works, JNR's Ōi Works, JNR's Takatori Works
Type of locomotive	Electric multiple unit
Constructed	1966 – 1975
Number built	54 cars
Dimensions	20,000 mm × Unknown × Unknown
Gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Power supply	Pantograph
Electric system(s)	1,500 V DC
Traction system	Resistor control
Service information
In service	July 1966 – March 1989
Formation	Single car
Number in service	None
Fleet numbers	KuMoNi 83000 – KuMoNi 83029, KuMoNi 83101 – KuMoNi 83103, KuMoNi 83800 – KuMoNi 83820
Scrapped	1985 – 1989
Preservation information
Preserved	1 car
Number scrapped	53 cars

The KuMoNi 83 series is a series of fifty-four electric tractor units operated by the Japanese National Railways and its successor the West Japan Railway Company from July 1966 to March 1989.

History

The KuMoNi 83 series was an early tractor unit used by the Japanese National Railways. The locomotives were designed to complement the KuMoYu 141 series tractor units used for hauling baggage trains; the conversions were done due to a need for a dedicated tractor unit with the partial electrification of the Chūō East Line and the full electrification of the Jōetsu Line.

Fifty-one surplus 72 series cars were selected for the modifications, with conversion works taking place at JNR's various plants from 1966 to 1975. When rebuilt the trains generally retained the bodies of their passenger counterparts although some got modifications over time. These were split into two different subseries, the -0 and -800 subseries. The -800 subseries cars were the first to enter service, doing so in July 1966 on the Chūō East Line; the -0 subseries cars entered service in 1967 on the Takasaki and Jōetsu Lines. Between 1969 and 1970, three KuMoYuNi 81 series baggage cars were converted into the KuMoNi 83-100 series cars and renumbered KuMoNi 83101 through KuMoNi 83103.

The cars were most often used coupled between 72 or 165 series consists. The KuMoNi 83-100 series cars were mainly used on the Iida Line but were withdrawn between 1983 and 1984 due to the line's upgrading works. Due to a reduction in dedicated baggage and mail train services with the 14 March 1985 timetable revision, many KuMoNi 83 series cars were withdrawn from service and replaced with 143 and 147 series tractor units, while KuMoNi 83803 was relocated to Ōfuna Works to perform switching duties. Freight operations were reduced further with the 3 March 1986 timetable revision, with now only a single round trip train between Osaka and Himeji; these services were abolished with the 1 November timetable revision the same year.

When the JNR was privatized and split into seven different companies, four cars, KuMoNi 83005, KuMoNi 83026, KuMoNi 83027 and KuMoNi 83815, were in service; JR West assumed ownership of all four cars. Three of the cars were converted into KuMoHa 84 series cars for use on the Uno Line, while one car, KuMoNi 83815, remained unmodified and was withdrawn in March 1989 and scrapped. The three KuMoHa 84 series cars were withdrawn in 1996 and scrapped. One car, KuMoNi 83805, was rebuilt into KuYa 497-1 at Ōi Works on 31 March 1987, one day before JNR's privatization and division, and used by their research and development arm, the Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI), until March 1996. KuYa 497-1 was scrapped in the mid-2000s.

Only one KuMoNi 83 series car has been preserved, KuMoNi 83006. After withdrawal the car was used by RTRI for developmental purposes until it was sold to Toshiba in 2008 and located at their Fuchū Plant for tests. KuMoNi 83006 was then purchased in 2020 alongside KuHa 103-525, also used by Toshiba for testing, and relocated to the Poppo-no-oka park in Chiba in April 2020, where it currently resides.

Design

The KuMoNi 83 series cars generally took the same design as the cars they were converted from.

Specifications

The -0 ands -800 subseries cars were modified from 72 series cars, which in turn were modified from 63 series cars. The -800 subseries cars feature low roofs, allowing them to be used on smaller tunnels such as those on the Chūō Main Line.

The -100 subseries cars feature significantly different performance from the -0 and -800 subseries cars. They cannot be coupled to JR's "new performance trains".

Preservation

The following KuMoNi 83 series cars have been preserved:

Car number	Manufacturer	Date manufactured	Date retired	Previous sets	Location	Notes
KuMoNi 83006	Nippon Sharyo	1946	1986	N/A	Poppo-no-oka, Isumi, Chiba, Japan	Ex-MoHa 72107, Ex-MoHa 63373; formerly located at Toshiba's Fuchū Plant and Railway Technical Research Institute, moved to Poppo-no-oka in April 2020