JNR Class EF57

The EF57 class of 2Co+Co2 wheel arrangement locomotives was a development of the previous EF56 class. The 15 EF57s were built between 1939 and 1943 by Hitachi.

Introduced on Tōkaidō Line passenger services, they were seen at the head of expresses such as the “Tsubame”, complete with train headboard mounted precariously on the front of the cab decks. With the introduction of the newer semi-streamlined EF58s on Tōkaidō Line services, the EF57s were transferred to the Tōhoku Line. At the same time, their steam-heating boilers were removed and replaced by electric-heating generators.

The class remained in use on long-distance express trains on the Tōhoku Line until the 1970s. Only one member of the class is preserved: EF57 7 in a park in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture.

Models

An N gauge model of the EF57 was made by Micro Ace in 2000 (A1503, EF57-5), and the same loco was included in the 10/43 series “Hakkōda” express set (A1560) released in 2006, albeit in the later electric heat style (with cabside indicator lights). The Kato catalogue also includes an N-gauge EF57 model (#3003), although this is no longer in production.