JNR Class EF60

The Class EF60 (EF60形) was the first Japanese second-generation DC electric locomotive type with six driven axles (classes EF60 to EF67), and the first versions used the same MT49 390 kW traction motors as the ED60 and ED61 designs. A total of 143 locomotives were built between 1960 and 1964 by Kawasaki, Tōshiba, Tōyō & Kisha, and Mitsubishi. The class was split between 129 freight locomotives (classified EF60-0) designed to supersede the mammoth EH10s on Tōkaidō and Sanyō Main Line freight, and 14 passenger locomotives (EF60-500) to replace EF58s on sleeping car trains on the Tōkaidō and Sanyō Mainlines.

The third-batch build of locos (EF60 84 to 129 and EF60 512 to 514) had up-rated traction motors and differed slightly in having twin headlamps (like the EF65 and other later types) rather than the single large headlamp on earlier versions. Unlike the ED60s, these locos were designed to operate singly rather than in pairs, and so cab-end gangway doors were not included. The EF60-0s initially appeared in the standard all-over brown livery, but were repainted into blue from 1965 onward.

The role of the EF60-500s at the head of the premier Blue Trains was short-lived, however, with the arrival of more powerful EF65s in 1965, and they too found themselves transferred to freight duties. From the late 1970s, EF60s were to be seen on the Chūō, Takasaki, and Ryōmō Lines in the Kantō region, and some locos were transferred to the Hanwa Line and Kisei Mainline in the Kansai region from the mid-1980s.

Withdrawals commenced in the 1980s, and all members of the class were withdrawn from regular operations in 1986, ahead of privatization. Two locos survived into JR days: EF60 19 owned by JR East for special event use, and EF60 503 by JR West. Eight early-built locos were converted to EF61-200s between 1977 and 1979 for use as bankers on the steeply-graded "Senohachi" section of the Sanyō Mainline between Seno and Hachihonmatsu. Three more later-built EF60s were more extensively rebuilt in 1982 to become EF67 class banking locos (numbers EF67 1 to 3) for use on the same section.

Build details

Banker conversions

EF61-200 conversions

Eight Class EF60 locomotives were converted between 1977 and 1979 to become Class EF61-200 banking locomotives for use on the "Senohachi" section of the Sanyo Main Line.^[1]

EF67 conversions

Three Class EF60 locomotives were converted between 1982 and 1986 to become Class EF67 banking locomotives for use on the "Senohachi" section of the Sanyo Main Line.^[1]

Preserved examples

• EF60 19 Preserved at JR East's Takasaki Depot in operating condition (occasional mainline use), repainted in 2007 into standard blue/cream livery (previously special white livery with blue/red stripes)
• EF60 47 No. 2 cab section only, on display inside JR East's Ōmiya Works, brown livery
• EF60 123 Plinthed in front of Ashikaga Station (JR Ryōmō Line), standard blue livery
• EF60 501 Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park, Gunma, in tokkyū blue livery
• EF60 503 Formerly preserved at JR West's Miyahara Depot (cut up November 2008^[2])
• EF60 510 Preserved at JR East's Ōmiya Works in tokkyū blue livery^[3]

• 
  EF60 19 in "American Train" livery in 1988
• 
  EF60 19 in "Yasuragi" Joyful Train livery in September 2005
• 
  Cab end of EF60 47 inside JR East Omiya Works in May 2008
• 
  Preserved EF60 123 in front of Ashikaga Station in August 2016
• 
  EF60 501 at the Usui Pass Railway Heritage Park in August 2004
• 
  Preserved EF60 510 at Omiya Works open day in October 2011

See also

• Japan Railways locomotive numbering and classification

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to JNR EF60.

Japanese Railway Locomotives
Steam locomotives	150 160 860 2120 3380 3900 5100 5500 7010 7100 7170 8150 8620 9600 B20 C10 C11 C12 C50 C51 C52 C53 C54 C55 C56 C57 C58 C59 C60 C61 C62 C63 D50 D51 D52 D60 D61 D62 E10
Diesel locomotives	DD11 DD13 DD14 DD15 DD16 DD17 DD18 DD19 DD20 DD50 DD51 DD53 DD54 DE10 DE11 DE15 DE50 DF50 DF200 HD300
Electric locomotives	EB10 ED10 ED18 ED60 ED61 ED62 ED70 ED71 ED72 ED73 ED74 ED75 ED76 ED77 ED78 ED79 EF15 EF30 EF50 EF51 EF52 EF53 EF55 EF56 EF57 EF58 EF59 EF60 EF61 EF62 EF63 EF64 EF65 EF66 EF67 EF70 EF71 EF80 EF81 EH10 ED500 EF200 EF210 EF500 EF510 EH200 EH500 EH800 Chichibu DeKi 100 Chichibu DeKi 200 Chichibu DeKi 300 Chichibu DeKi 500 Meitetsu DeKi 300 Meitetsu DeKi 400 Meitetsu DeKi 600 Meitetsu Class EL120 Seibu E31 Seibu E851 Toei E5000