The 500 series locomotives are a group of
diesel-electric and
diesel-hydraulic locomotives bought either new or second-hand by the
Korean State Railway
The Korean State Railway (), commonly called the State Rail () is the operating arm of the Ministry of Railways of North Korea and has its headquarters at P'yŏngyang. The current Minister of Railways is Chang Jun Song.
History
1945–195 ...
from the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. The series includes several types of locomotive, all numbered in the 내연5xx range. The exact assignment of running numbers is not known, nor is the total number of units imported - or even all the types included in this series. However, the following are known:
*
ТЭМ1 - Diesel-electric. Soviet-made derivative of the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
ALCO RSD-1. Around 20 units imported in the early 1990s. 내연569 is operational in the
Namp'o
Nampo (North Korean official spelling: Nampho; ), also spelled Namp'o, is the second largest city by population and an important seaport in North Korea, which lies on the northern shore of the Taedong River, 15 km east of the river's mouth. ...
area.
*
ТЭМ2 - Diesel-electric. Further development of the ТЭМ1. Number imported is not known, but at least two – 내연587 is operational in the
P'yŏngyang area in a livery like the ТЭМ1s, and another has been seen painted in the North Korean standard light blue over dark green colours.
*
ТГМ3Б - Diesel-hydraulic. Eleven imported new from the USSR in 1972–73.
Very similar to the
SM15-class of the
Polish State Railways. At least one converted to electric operation via pantograph.
*
ТГМ4 - Diesel-hydraulic. Two imported new in 1985.
* ТГМ4Б
Л - Diesel-hydraulic. Two imported new in 1991.
*
ТГМ8Э - Diesel-hydraulic. Export version of ТГМ6, same as
JŽ series 744. A total of nine were imported new - 4 in 1986 and 5 in 1990.
Some second hand broad gauge () units are operation around Rajin since the conversion of the
Hongŭi Line from
Tumangang
Tumangang-rodongjagu ( ko, 두만강로동자구) is a neighbourhood in Sonbong, Rason, North Korea, near the China–North Korea–Russia tripoint where the borders of the three countries converge. It is also the closest town in North Korea to ...
on the
DPRK-Russia border to
Hongŭi, and of a section of the
Hambuk Line
The Hambuk Line is an electrified standard-gauge trunk line of the Korean State Railway in North Korea, running from Ch'ŏngjin) on the P'yŏngra Line to Rajin, likewise on the P'yŏngra line.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama n ...
from Hongŭi to
Rajin to dual (standard and broad) gauge, completed in 2013.
Numbering
* 내연565 - ТЭМ1
* 내연567 - ТЭМ1
* 내연569 - ТЭМ1
* 내연573 - ТГМ8Э
* 내연587 - ТЭМ2
Gallery
ТЭМ1-1696.JPG, Russian ТЭМ1. Some North Korean units wear the same livery.
File:ТЭМ2-5030.JPG, Russian ТЭМ2. Some North Korean units wear the same livery.
File:DieselLoco tgm3.jpg, A ТГМ3 of the Soviet Railways.
File:6D-0039-Ekran-Samara.jpg, A Russian ТГМ6; the ТГМ8Э is an export variant of this type.
References
{{DPRKloco
Diesel-electric locomotives of North Korea
Diesel-electric locomotives of the Soviet Union
Railway locomotives introduced in 1958
Standard gauge locomotives of North Korea
5 ft gauge locomotives