JR Freight announces EF210-301 and EH800-901

[miyakoji]

Quiet in here... so in Hobidas's newsfeed we find this article about new purchases by JRF:

 

http://rail.hobidas.com/news/info/article/133031.html

 

 

On the 11th, JRF announced that they're having 2 new locos built, EF210-301 and EH800-901.

 

EF210-301 will be for use on the Sanyo Main Line between Seno and Hachihommatsu where the steep grade currently requires the use of pusher locos at the back end of the train.  It will have a new type of coupler with a silicon buffer.  It will look like current EF210s although it will have a yellow line on the body.  It's expected to be delivered on September 3rd.

 

EH800-901 will be a prototype for testing in the future dual-use Seikan Tunnel.  It will be dual current, although not 20kV AC / 1500V DC, but rather 20kV / 25kV AC.  It will be equipped with shinkansen DS-ATC (digital ATC) signaling gear.  It is expected to be delivered in autumn of 2012.

 

To clarify, it seems that the EF210-301 is not going to have enough power alone to pull those currently dual-loco'd freights, but will be participating in the role of the orange EF67s as a pusher.  I'd have though they'd like to do away with that, but perhaps 1500VDC just isn't enough juice to create that much tractive effort?  Typically 900 subseries indicates test prototype (see EH800 below), but although this seems to be a production subseries, they're only having 1 built at this time.

 

I'm guessing EH800-901 will be 1067mm, but I'm not sure.  Obviously it looks like an EH500.  It seems early for the arrival of this loco (I thought the work in the tunnel would take longer), but then how long did they test HD300-901, like 2 years?

 

JRF pdf with the same content: http://www.jrfreight.co.jp/common/pdf/news/201207-03.pdf

[Sacto1985]

There are rumors that the EH800 will use the 1435 mm track gauge at 25 kV power. There's a reason for this: it will run on the wider track gauge as the Hokkaido Shinkansen service when the tracks are upgraded to dual-gauge 1067 mm/1435 mm before 2015, when the Tohoku Shinkansen line is extended from Shin-Aomori Station to the new Shin-Hakodate Station. I've heard JRF will use special freight cars that can "fit" 1067 mm freight cars, and they will run the 1435 mm gauge freight trains through the Seikan Tunnel possibly as fast as 200 km/h (124 mph)!!

[Davo Dentetsu]

It sounds like a rather uneconomical plan to me.  But I guess they know what they're doing...

[Sacto1985]

It sounds like a rather uneconomical plan to me.  But I guess they know what they're doing...

 

If I remember correctly, the JR Freight trains through the Seikan Tunnal have a maximum speed of 120 km/h, only slightly slower than the Super Hakuchō limited express train that travels between Aomori and Hakodate at 130 km/h through the tunnel. Because the Hokkaido Shinkansen train from Shin-Aomori to Shin-Hakodate stations will likely travel at way over 200 km/h through the Seikan Tunnel, that's why JR Freight had to update their freight trains so they could travel as fast as 200 km/h through the tunnel to reduce interference with the Shinkansen trains.

[miyakoji]

I still haven't seen anything definitive about this thing's guage.  There's an English Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EH800 .  There's not even a Japanese one, just a mention on the page for JR Freight's rolling stock.  The English page says this will operate between Higashi-Aomori and Goryōkaku.  My feeling is that it's 1067mm, but wasn't the train-on-train thing going to put complete 1067mm freight consists on special 1435mm flat cars to be pulled at 130+ or 160+ km/h?  Are they still going to do that?

[bikkuri bahn]

AFAIK that's what I thought about the train on train concept, being able to go faster through the tunnel than 1067mm gauge equipment.  The test model/mockup is still at Naebo Works.

[miyakoji]

two short videos of EF210-301 at Kawasaki's factory:

 

 

 

nothing on EH800-901 yet

[bikkuri bahn]

Ah, from the railfan perspective, the EF210's on the senohachi pushers are definitely a minus- you can swing a dead cat and hit an EF210 on the Tokaido/Sanyo Line, they are so ubiquitous- seeing an EF66 at the head of a freight is cause for minor celebration.  A few weeks ago I was on the grade in the early AM hours just to photograph few of the orange colored locos before they become history.  At least JRF could paint the EF210's a distinctive color.

[miyakoji]

Yeah, that's true.  But the EF67s must have a little life left ahead of them, there's only this one EF210-300 under construction, as far as I've heard.

 

And definitely agreed on the livery.  No idea why this is just getting a yellow stripe.

[westfalen]

Ah, from the railfan perspective, the EF210's on the senohachi pushers are definitely a minus- you can swing a dead cat and hit an EF210 on the Tokaido/Sanyo Line, they are so ubiquitous- seeing an EF66 at the head of a freight is cause for minor celebration.  A few weeks ago I was on the grade in the early AM hours just to photograph few of the orange colored locos before they become history.  At least JRF could paint the EF210's a distinctive color.

I set aside a day of my trip to Japan last year for the same reason.

 

I wonder if the EF210 is to replace an EF67 or just provide an extra engine to cater for increased traffic. Going by my photo of EF67 1's builders plates she was built in 1966 and rebuilt in 1984, so the older ones are getting on in years.

[keitaro]

pdf for those interested

 

http://www.mlit.go.jp/common/000193032.pdf

[miyakoji]

EF210-301 arrives, with PQ wheelset at east end of loco:

 

by aomonoya, passing Suma Station:

 

by insatsuyahobbybox, at Kawasaki's factory and Hyogo Station

[Davo Dentetsu]

Very tidy.  Can't wait to see how the EH800 will turn out.

[miyakoji]

Looks like EF210-301 is off for testing in Kanto.  Why don't they just drive it there?

 

http://railf.jp/news/2012/09/23/193000.html

[mamochan]

My guess they want to make sure it gets there in case something goes wrong.  It hasn't been tested to ensure reliability yet ^^

[bikkuri bahn]

May also not be authorized to run on JR East tracks, perhaps a slightly different ATS system(?).  Not a through train locomotive after all.

[Densha]

From the guy who recently presented us the HD300-3 video, here is the first locomotive of the EH800 series:

 

[Nick_Burman]

Now, is it 1067mm or 1435mm gauge??  Looks like 1067mm...

 

Cheers NB

[Densha]

It's testing on the same tracks as the HD300-3 did on 4 November, so I assume it's 1067mm. I can't see if there's actually a third rail (not electrified but for normal gauge of course), but I don't think so.

At least the brakes work...

[Krackel Hopper]

I think the headlight placement is really interesting.

 

The placement is low, like the EH500 (1st edition)

 

They changed the placement of the EH500 headlights to a higher spot just under the windows (2nd & 3rd editions)

 

If they changed the EH500 headlights, why put them back down low on the EH800?

[Davo Dentetsu]

I think the headlight placement is really interesting.

 

The placement is low, like the EH500 (1st edition)

 

They changed the placement of the EH500 headlights to a higher spot just under the windows (2nd & 3rd editions)

 

If they changed the EH500 headlights, why put them back down low on the EH800?

 

Tunnel would be easier to light up, so placement probably isn't as important as locos that tend to be overground?

[Densha]

And more videos:

 

 

 

Some pics here:

http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/ko8251_ko_yu/62287975.html

 

Seems they just put it into JRF livery. Looks pretty good.

And it seems so quiet in the video, it's from quite a distance so I'm not 100% sure but it seems much more quiet then the electric locos over here.

[yakumo381]

EF210-301 in action at Tengingawa last week. Pictures taken during my holiday in Japan. Will post some more JR pics later this month when I get back home from India. :)

[Densha]

Is it pushing at the end of a train? Because the tail lights are on...

 

Also, I still find the livery to resemble the Blue Trains.

[westfalen]

EF210-301, like its older stable mates the EF67s, is used exclusively in pusher service, you'll never see it on the front of a train unless there are unusual circumstances.