#3617· JNR DD15
JNR Class DD15
🇯🇵 Japan ·built by Nippon Sharyo· from 1961· diesel snowplough locomotive type operated in Japan
4 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. DD15 14: もんじゃ (Monja)· Public domain
- 2. DD15 37 Otaru Museum 20090830: DAJF· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 3. JNR DD15 17: 100yen· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 4. JNR DD15 37: 100yen· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The Class DD15 (DD15形) is a four-axle Bo-Bo wheel arrangement diesel-hydraulic locomotive type operated in Japan as a self-propelled snowplough unit since 1961 by the national railway company Japanese National Railways (JNR), and later by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West). A total of 50 locomotives were built between 1961 and 1966, and as of 1 April 2016, 6 locomotives remain in service.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 65 years ago, in 1961.
- 746 kW is about 9 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 10 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 13.6 m long: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
- Still in service after 65 years.
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 1961–1966
- in service from
- 1961
- status
- in service
- number built
- 50
- kind
- Diesel-hydraulic
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- builders
- Nippon Sharyo
- operators
- Japanese National Railways, East Japan Railway Company, West Japan Railway Company
- top speed
- 70 km/h
- power
- 746 kW
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- length
- 13.6 m
- weight
- 62 t
- Dutch name
- JNR DD15
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q11421756, Wikipedia: JNR Class DD15 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.