EC40 - EC40

In the early days of AC electrification, the vehicles were mainly direct-type AC locomotives that used AC commutator motors, and the power supply frequency was often 162/3Hz or 25Hz. However, since the 1950s, advances in rectifiers have led to the development of rectifier-type AC electric locomotives that use commercial frequencies, and commercial frequency AC electrification has progressed worldwide. In Japan, the first electric locomotive was the 10000 series (later the EC40), imported from Germany in 1912 for the Abt system section of the Usui Pass between Yokokawa and Karuizawa on the Shinetsu Line, and in 1919, an improved version of this, the ED40, was the first domestically produced. After that, electrification was promoted mainly in sections with high traffic volumes and slope sections such as the Tokaido Line, Chuo Line, and Joetsu Line, and locomotives were made more powerful as traffic volumes increased.

*Some of the terminology that mentions "EC40" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…初期の交流電化方式では，車両は交流整流子電動機を使用した直接式交流機関車と呼ばれるものが主体で，電源周波数も162/3Hzや25Hzが多く使用されたが，1950年代以降は，整流器の進歩によって，商用周波数を用いた整流器式の交流電気機関車が発達し，世界的に商用周波数の交流電化が進んだ。　日本では，信越線の横川～軽井沢間の碓氷峠のアプト式区間用として，1912年にドイツから輸入した10000形(のちのEC40)が最初の電気機関車で，19年にはこれを改良したED40が初めて国産された。その後，東海道線や中央線，上越線など輸送量の多い線区やこう配区間などを中心に電化が進められ，輸送量の増加とともに機関車も大出力化された。…

※「EC40」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報