The Class EF65 is one of the representative electric locomotives (ELs) in Japan. It was commissioned in 1965 as a new standard EL to replace the old model, Class EF60. A total of 308 units were built by Kawasaki heavy industries, Nippon Sharyo and so on.
The EF65 is a 1,500 V direct current (DC) EL for the 1,067 mm-wide tracks. It has six sets of 425 kW DC motors. The axis arrangement is Bo-Bo-Bo in UIC notation. There are three kinds of the Class EF65 ELs. They are Type P for passenger trains, Type F for freight trains and Type PF for both passenger and freight trains. The Type P has a special attachment to pull passenger coaches. The Type F has an attachment for double heading operation.
Today, most Class EF65 ELs have JRF (JR Freight) colored bodies. It is two-toned of light blue and deep blue; but there are some exceptions. For instance, in April, 2016, JRF launched a revival JNR colored EL, unit number 2139 of the Class EF65 (EF65-2139), as a rail-fans service. It was also two-toned, but painted ultramarine color with a cream colored stripe. JNR stands for Japanese National Railways, which was abolished and split into seven JR group companies in 1987.
The JNR colored EF65-2139 is very popular among rail-fans, since it has value as a rarity. The area in front of EF65-2139 was filled with a mass of people, when it was exhibited at Sumidagawa station yard for the 2016 Sumidagawa Station Freight Festival.
