JNR Class EF57

Class EF57

300px Preserved EF57 7, October 2008

Type and origin Power type Electric Builder Hitachi, Kawasaki Build date 1939–1943

Specifications AAR wheel arr 2-C+C-2 UIC class (2'Co)(Co'2) Gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Driver diameter 1,250 mm (4 ft 1 in) Length 19,920 mm (65 ft 4 in) Width 2,810 mm (9 ft 3 in) Height 4,091 mm (13 ft 5 in) Loco weight 110.82 t Electric system(s) 1,500 V DC Traction motors DC

Performance figures Maximum speed 95 km/h (59 mph) Power output 1.56 MW (2,090 hp) Tractive effort 9,500 kgf (93,160 N; 20,940 lbf)

Career Operators JNR Number in class 172 Disposition One preserved, remainder scrapped

The Class EF57 (EF57形) of 2-C+C-2 wheel arrangement DC electric locomotives was a development of the previous JNR Class EF56. The 15 EF57s were built between 1939 and 1943 by Hitachi and Kawasaki.

Introduced on Tōkaidō Line passenger services, they were seen at the head of expresses such as the Tsubame, complete with train headboard mounted precariously on the front of the cab decks. With the introduction of the newer semi-streamlined EF58s on Tōkaidō Line services, the EF57s were transferred to the Tōhoku Main Line. At the same time, their steam-heating boilers were removed and replaced by electric-heating generators.

The class remained in use on long-distance express trains on the Tōhoku Main Line until the 1970s.

Preserved examples

Only one member of the class is preserved: EF57 7 in a park in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture.

See also

• Japan Railways locomotive numbering and classification