ED500

[velotrain]

Realizing that the Meitetsu Deki 500 designation seemed to have been skipped, I tried a search. 

One of the results was the Wiki entry for ED500.

 

 

"The Class ED500 was a single Bo-Bo wheel arrangement dual voltage AC/DC electric locomotive built experimentally by Hitachi in Japan in 1992.^[1] The design was derived from the DC Bo-Bo-Bo wheel arrangement Class EF200 also built by Hitachi, and was intended to replace Class ED75 locomotives on Tohoku Main Line freight services. The locomotive was loaned to JR Freight for testing until 1994,^[1] but the design was not selected for full production due to problems with restarting a single Bo-Bo wheel arrangement locomotive on the 25‰ gradients of the Tohoku Main Line and in the Seikan Tunnel.^[2] The Class EH500 articulated Bo-Bo+Bo-Bo design was ultimately chosen instead."

 

 

I have to think they actually mean 2.5 %.

[Kabutoni]

The ED500 stands out from the rest because of its matte black paint scheme:

 

 

And it looks like a polished and rounded EF200:

 

It's really no wonder such a small engine would have trouble restarting with heavy freight trains on gradients with a simple Bo+Bo arrangement. IIRC, in Tōhoku it is/was common to have ED7x engines in double traction for heavy freight trains anyway.

 

I have to think they actually mean 2.5 %.

 

2.5% = 25‰