What's Japans best freight locomotive?

[The Birmingham train spotter]

Japan has a wide collection of diesel and electric locomotives but which one is the best?

Some of the most well known are the EF66 and EF65 6-axle Bo-Bo-Bo wheel arrangement DC electric locomotives, the five-axle C-B wheel arrangement diesel-hydraulic locomotive DE10, and the six-axle Bo-Bo-Bo wheel arrangement multi-voltage AC/DC electric locomotive type EF81.
 

But which one is the best?

Edited August 1, 2021 by disturbman
edited for legibility and images removed as not from poster

[roadstar_na6]

Each loco is the best for its field of operations I guess 🙂

[The Birmingham train spotter]

1 minute ago, roadstar_na6 said:

Each loco is the best for its field of operations I guess 🙂

I completely agree with you there 

[Das Steinkopf]

As noted by roadstar_na6 each locomotive is the best for it's particular field of operation, for DC power the EF65-2000, EF66's and EF210's are great on the Sanyō and Tōkaidō Honsen running relatively fast freight trains, the EH200 and EF64-1000's are great as hill climbers winding their way up along the mountainous Chūō Honsen, the later are being progressively replaced by EF210-300's along the Tokaidō Honsen and I dare say at some point on the Chūō,the AC/DC locomotives also have their own qualities as well.

[disturbman]

Honestly, I'm not sure there is a "best", what would be the metric? It might be better to ask which freight locomotive(s) each users prefer, and why. We had a few interesting answers in the Shinkansen thread.

[Yavaris Forge]

Personally my favorites are both the EF15 and ED75 but they are hardly the best in their categories: The EF15 is too slow at just 65km/h and the ED75 is too weak with its 1900kW and was often seen doubled up in front of heavier trains.  But in general I think that there is no single metric to judge by as locomotives tend to be constructed with different tasks in mind even if it's all freight work.

Sure, you can go by power: that would be the EH200 at 4,520 kW I think, but that locomotive is useless on AC tracks where an EH500 type would be more useful, so the EH200 isn't the best loco for all of Japan. But do you really need an AC/DC loco if you're just running DC Tokaido/Sanyo services?

So maybe we should look closer at single aspects to find several "best" locomotives, because where would be the fun in modelling if there was just one type of locomotive running around in Japan? 😄

[Socimi]

If i had to define a "best" freight locomotive for evry category in my opinion, i'd do a list pretty much like this:

 

Electric locomotives:

-best "universal" locomotive: EF81 - quadri-voltage locomotive, yet as powerful as comparable DC and AC-only locomotives (such as EF65s and EF70s).

-best fast freight locomotive: EF200 - 110Km/h max speed like the predecessor EF66 and the successor EF210, but more powerful than both.

-best "heavy haul" locomotive: EH200 - at 6000hp is the most powerful electric locomotive in Japan.

-best "compact" locomotive: ED79 - packs 2500hp in just 14 meters.

Overall "best": EF81

 

Diesel locomotives:

-best "mainline" locomotive: DF200 - the fastest and most powerful Japanese diesel locomotive in service.

-best "shunter": DE10 - extremely versatile: designed for shunting, yet can also run light mainline services.

Overall "best": DD51 - best of both worlds - a mainline locomotive with the visibility of a shunter.

 

Honorable mentions:

HD300 - altough expensive, hybrid technology now seems a natural choice for slow-speed shunting duties.

M250 Series Super rail cargo - with a maximium speed of 130Km/h it's Japan's fastest freight train, plus, it's one of the world's only freight EMUs.

Edited August 1, 2021 by Socimi

[roadstar_na6]

What about ya boy D51? 🤔

[marknewton]

D52, hands down. 😉

[JR East]

Hi, 

 

My favourite, just because I love its look is the EH500. 

[Kamome]

For JRF, I like the EH500s as I see them everyday hauling freight in Kyushu but enjoyed watching the EH200 pulling tankers through Tokyo. Also nice to see the odd ED76 or EF81-400 here too.

 

So it's more a question of favourite than best. 

 

My picks purely on aesthetics rather than performance.

 

SL - C59

Diesel -DD54

Electric -  EF30, EF55 but way too many I like.

 

(Just realised it said Freight so scrub EF55 and C59) Perhaps the C56

Edited August 2, 2021 by Kamome

[Szdfan]

Asking railfans which locomotive is “best” is like asking which one of your children is “best.”

 

We all have our favorites and preferences, but how do you define “best?”

 

[cteno4]

Szdfan, you have it all wrong, my best is of course the best — others just don’t have a say in the matter! 😜

 

jeff

[The Birmingham train spotter]

Didn't expect this to Explode but I'm surprised

[gavino200]

The EH-200 is the best. In every way!!

[Kamome]

Yes @The Birmingham train spotter you definitely need an EH200 and some tankers in model form.

[The Birmingham train spotter]

I.agree with you on that one