The is a

Bo-Bo-Bo A Bo-Bo-Bo or Bo′Bo′Bo′ (UIC classification) is a locomotive with three independent two-axle bogies with all axles powered by separate traction motors. In the AAR system, this is simplified to B-B-B. The Bo-Bo-Bo configuration is of ...

wheel arrangement In rail transport, a wheel arrangement or wheel configuration is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed under a locomotive. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and c ...

AC electric locomotive type operated by

Japanese National Railways The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pref ...

(JNR) in Japan from 1961 until the 1980s. 81 locomotives were built by

Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...

and

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...

between 1961 and 1965.

Variants

* EF70-0: Numbers EF70 1 – 81 * EF70-1000: Numbers EF70 1001 – 1007 renumbered from EF70 22 to 28 in 1968 File:JNR EF70 21 Toyama 19830830.jpg, First-batch type EF70 21 in 1983 File:JNR ef70 55 tsuruga2ku.jpg, Second-batch type EF70 55 in 1984

Design

The Class EF70 was developed for use through the steeply graded Hokuriku Tunnel on the

Hokuriku Main Line The Hokuriku Main Line ( ja, 北陸本線, ) is a 176.6 kilometer railway line owned by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) connecting the Maibara Station in Maibara, Shiga, with the Naoetsu Station in Joetsu, Niigata. The section betwee ...

, and was designed to be capable of hauling 1,300 tonne freight trains on a 10‰ gradient and passenger trains at up to . The locomotives had two PS100A

pantographs A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen. If a line dr ...

, but normally operated with only the rear pantograph raised. Locomotive numbers EF70 22 onward (built from 1964) incorporated minor design changes, including two roof-mounted headlights replacing the original centrally-mounted single headlight, and changes to the cabside window design.

History

In 1968, seven locomotives, EF70 22 to 28, were modified for use on sleeping car services, and were renumbered EF70 1001 to 1007. With the introduction of

Class EF81 The Class EF81 is a six-axle Bo-Bo-Bo wheel arrangement multi-voltage AC/ DC electric locomotive type operated on passenger and freight services in Japan since 1968. , 44 locomotives remained in service, operated by JR Freight, JR East, and JR ...

multi-voltage AC/DC electric locomotives, many of the Class EF70 locomotives became surplus, and numbers 61 to 81 were transferred to

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

in 1980 to replace Class ED72 and Class ED73 AC locomotives, but they themselves were soon replaced. By 1984, only a small number of the class remained in service on the Hokuriku Main Line, with most of the class removed from service coinciding with the March 1985 timetable revision. All of the class except EF70 1 were officially withdrawn in March 1986, and EF70 1 was finally withdrawn in March 1987.

Preserved examples

, two members of the class are preserved: EF70 57, together with camping carriages at a youth facility in

Hakusan, Ishikawa is a city located in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 113,375 in 43246 households, and a population density of 290 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . It is the second-most populous city in Ishik ...

, and EF70 1001 at the

Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park The is an open-air railway museum located in Annaka, Gunma, Japan. It is operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), and was opened on 18 April 1998 on the site of the former Yokokawa motive power depot alongside the Shinetsu Main Line ...

Gunma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima ...

. The camping facility where EF70 57 is preserved closed in March 2013, and cutting up of the camping coaches commenced in February 2016. File:EF70-57.JPG, Preserved EF70 57 in August 2014 File:EF70-1001.JPG, Preserved EF70 1001 in April 2007

Classification

The EF70 classification for this locomotive type is explained below. * E: Electric locomotive * F: Six driving axles * 7x: AC locomotive with maximum speed exceeding

References

{{Japanloco 20 kV AC locomotives Electric locomotives of Japan Bo-Bo-Bo locomotives 1067 mm gauge locomotives of Japan Railway locomotives introduced in 1961 Hitachi locomotives Mitsubishi locomotives