The is a class of 1,500 V DC electric locomotives formerly operating in Japan.

History

A total of 25 Class EF63 locomotives were built between 1962 and 1976 exclusively for use as

bankers A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

(U.S. "helpers" or "pushers") on the steeply-graded

Usui Pass The is a mountain pass that lies between Nagano and Gunma prefecture in Japan. It has served as one of the major transportation routes in central Japan since at least the eighth century. Road The pass on the ancient Tōsandō highway was des ...

section of the

Shinetsu Main Line The Shinetsu Main Line ( ja, 信越本線, ) is a railway line, consisting of three geographically separated sections, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in Japan. It was originally one continuous line connecting and via . S ...

between and . They replaced the Class ED42 electric locomotives previously used on the rack-and-pinion line between these two stations. The prototype, EF63 1, was produced in 1962 by Toshiba for testing before full production of the class started in 1963 spread between manufacturers Kawasaki, Mitsubishi and Toshiba. The class was equipped with a number of special safety features to cope with the unique conditions of operating on the 66.7

‰ Per mille (from Latin , "in each thousand") is an expression that means parts per thousand. Other recognised spellings include per mil, per mill, permil, permill, or permille. The associated sign is written , which looks like a percent si ...

, 6.67 %

gradient In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p is the "direction and rate of fastest increase". If the gradi ...

of the Usui Pass. These included independent dynamic brakes on all six axles (hence the large louvres along the bodysides for heat dissipation), magnetic adhesion brakes operating directly on the rails, and mechanical locking brakes. Small wheels attached to the centre bogie were used to measure the train speed and apply the brakes in the case of run-away. The class used the same 425 kW MT52 traction motors used on the EF62s and also the EF70s. The entire class was based at Yokokawa depot, and they were always used in pairs at the Yokokawa end of trains travelling in both directions, and were capable of operating in multiple with Class EF62 locomotives and a wide range of EMU types (including 115, 185, 189, 489 series) – hence the impressive array of jumper cables and connectors on the Karuizawa ends of the locos.Their Karuizawa ends had

dual coupling Different types of railroad rolling stock have different couplers depending on the purpose and type of equipment being used and its intended destination. European rolling stock tend to use buffers and chain couplers while American rolling stock use ...

, the Yokokawa ends had normal Janney coupling though. Trains ascending the incline from Yokokawa were driven by the driver in the rearmost cab of the EF63 pair at the rear of the train, with the driver in the front cab of the train acting only as signal look-out. Locos EF63 5 and EF63 9 were written off after a runaway derailment also involving two EF62s in 1975, and EF63 24 and EF63 25 were additionally built in 1976 to replace these two. In 1978, EF63 11 and 13 were specially turned out to work an imperial train over the Usui Pass. Following privatization of JNR, the entire fleet was transferred to JR East operation with the exception of EF63 1 and 14 operated by JR Freight. The closure of the Yokokawa to Karuizawa section of the Shinetsu Main Line in September 1997 coinciding with the opening of the new

Nagano Shinkansen The is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), connecting Tokyo with in the Hokuriku region of Japan. The first section, between and in Nagano Pr ...

marked the end of the careers of the EF63 locomotives. Before their final withdrawal, however, a number of locos (EF63 18, 19, 24, and 25) were repainted into original brown livery following their last overhauls in 1997. Incidentally, these locomotives were delivered in standard blue livery from new.

Locomotive histories

Source:

Batch differences

Preserved examples

* EF63 1

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 (brown livery) * EF63 2

Karuizawa Station is a railway station in the town of Karuizawa, Nagano, Japan, operated jointly by the JR Group company East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the third-sector railway operator Shinano Railway. Lines Karuizawa Station is served by the JR ...

* EF63 10 Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park, Gunma * EF63 11 Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park, Gunma (operational) * EF63 12 Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park, Gunma (operational) * EF63 13 Cab section only at Omiya Works * EF63 15 Nagano depot * EF63 18 Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park, Gunma (brown livery) * EF63 19 Nagano depot (brown livery) * EF63 22 Privately preserved * EF63 24 Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park, Gunma (operational) * EF63 25 Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park, Gunma (operational) EF63 24 and 25 are currently used to provide driver training sessions to members of the public at the

on a short stretch of track electrified at 750 V DC (rather than the normal 1,500 V). EF63 11 and 12 are kept as operational spares. All other preserved examples are kept as static exhibits. File:EF63-1.JPG, EF63 1 preserved at Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park in brown livery File:Japanese-national-railways-EF63-2-20110907.jpg, EF63 2 preserved at Karuizawa Station, September 2011 File:EF63-13 of JNR.jpg, The cab section of EF63 13 File:Japanese-national-railways-EF63-24-20140518.jpg, EF63 24 at the Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park, May 2014

Notes

References