The China Railways DFH1 () was a type of 4-axle B'B' single-cab

diesel-hydraulic locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...

used on mainline passenger services; the DFH3 () was a later development of a similar design but with two driving cabs. The China Railways DFH4 () was a 6-axle high-powered freight and passenger locomotive, it did not reach mass production.

China Railways DFH1

The first prototype unit (NY1) (''neiran yeli chuandong'' meaning diesel-hydraulic transmission) was produced in 1959 at Sifang locomotive works, and given the name 'Weixing'. Locomotive design was similar to German diesel-hydraulic machines such as the

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- the machine had a pair of high-speed diesel engines, each driving a separate hydraulic torque converter based transmission resulting in low mass compared to contemporary diesel-electric machines. Series production began in 1964. The locomotive was used for passenger trains. The locomotives could be worked in multiple, and were often used in this way, with a cab at each end. They operated on the Beijing Shenyang passenger trains.

China Railways DFH3

The DFH3 shares the same twin engine and twin hydraulic transmission as the DFH1 but is a two-cab design. North Korean DFH3 923

The production of the DFH3 follows on from the DFH1. The class were used on passenger trains in

northeast China Northeast China () is a geographical region of China, consisting officially of three provinces Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The heartland of the region is the Northeast China Plain, the largest plain in China with an area of over . The regi ...

, by 2010 most had been displaced, and some are believed to being used in industrial service.

North Korea

Between 2000 and 2002, thirty second-hand DFH3 were imported by the

Korean State Railway The Korean State Railway is the operating arm of the Ministry of Railways of North Korea (), commonly called the State Rail () and has its headquarters at Pyongyang, P'yŏngyang. The current Minister of Railways is Chang Jun-song. History 19 ...

for operation in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, numbered 내연901 to 내연930, although 내연903 is a Beijing class locomotive. Many are still in their original Chinese livery of blue and white, but some have been repainted into several different liveries, including the standard North Korean light blue over dark green, along with non-standard schemes of white over green, green with a yellow stripe, and green with a white stripe.

China Railways DFH4

The Qishuyan Ziyang Diesel locomotive works manufactured six locomotives of type DFH4 between 1969 and 1981. The first unit was produced in 1969 with an overall machine with twin engine and hydraulic transmission. Two machines were produced in 1971 and 1974. Between 1975 and 1981 the Ziyang plant investigated the manufacture of further locomotives using the 12V200ZJ engine.东方红4型(DFH4)内燃机车
Donfang Hong (DFH4) Diesel locomotive,

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Preserved locomotives

One unit, locomotive number DFH1 4290 is an exhibit at the Beijing

China Railway Museum The China Railway Museum () is a Chinese museum preserving locomotives that have operated on the railways of the People's Republic of China. The museum offers a total exhibition space of and eight exhibition tracks. The museum is located in ...

, all other units have been destroyed东方红1型机车安家铁博
(information on the preservation of DFH1 4290), ''www.tieliu.com.cn'' except DFH1 4222 which is believed to be at the locomotive museum in Shenyang.Preserved Locomotives
, ''www.railwaysofchina.com'' The Beijing museum also stores DFH3 0009.

References