Class ED73 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() The first locomotive delivered, ED73 1, in 1962 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Class ED73 (ED73形) was a Bo-Bo wheel arrangement AC electric locomotive type operated by Japanese National Railways (JNR) in Kyushu, Japan, between 1962 and the 1980s. [1]
The Class ED73 design was broadly derived from the Class ED72 locomotives introduced a year earlier, but as the Class ED73 was primarily intended for use on freight services, it did not include a steam generator for train heating, and was therefore 3 m (9 ft 10 in) shorter than the Bo-2-Bo wheel arrangement Class ED72. [1] The DT119B bogies were also almost identical to those used on the full-production Class ED72 locomotives. [2]
A total of 22 locomotives were built by Toshiba between 1962 and 1963. [1] The first locomotives were delivered to Moji Depot in northern Kyushu. [2]
In the late 1960s, the entire class was modified with improved braking performance for use on express freight services, and the locomotives were renumbered in the ED73 10xx series. [1] The locomotive numbers were painted yellow at this time. [1] In later years, the class was also used on overnight sleeping car services, as these trains did not require steam heating. [1]
The class was withdrawn by the early 1980s. [1] No examples of the class have been preserved. [3]
The ED73 classification for this locomotive type is explained below.