JNR Class ED54

The JNR Class ED54 was a Japanese DC electric locomotive operated by the Japanese National Railways from October 1926 to November 1948.
==History==
The ED54 was an early electric locomotive used on Japan's rail network. The locomotives were imported with the mass electrification of the Tōkaidō Main Line and Yokosuka Line, in anticipation of the extension of the line's electrification to Numazu.
Two locomotives were built in 1926; the locomotives's electrical equipment was built by Brown Boveri and the mechanical equipment by the Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works. They were originally classified as the Class 7000 and numbered 7000 and 7001, but were reclassified to Class ED54 when a rule regarding the standardization of locomotive names was enacted in 1928.
When the locomotives arrived at Yokohama Port, the locomotives were assembled and tested locally. 7000 was sent to Tamachi Rolling Stock Depot on 5 May 1926, while 7001 was sent there on 12 June 1926. Operations of both locomotives began in October 1926; the locomotives operated on the Tōkaidō Main Line for their entire service lives. While the locomotives were better at higher speeds than other locomotives thanks to their innovative Buchli drive system and were manufactured of very high quality parts, they were notorious for their poor weight distribution and were known to shake violently at high speeds.
The locomotives were moved from Tamachi to Kōzu in 1931, then to Numazu in 1934 and finally moved back to Tokyo Rolling Stock Depot in 1941. With newer domestically-produced electric locomotives taking over services, the ED54s were put out of service and officially withdrawn from service in November 1948, having been stored at Ōmiya Works since 1946.
No ED54s have been preserved; ED54 1 was scrapped in 1950, while ED54 2 was moved to a siding within Ōmiya Works. The locomotive was a leading candidate to be preserved at the then-upcoming Ome Railway Park but was scrapped in the mid-1960s.
==Design==
The ED54s featured large box-shaped bodies with large top-mounted headlights.
==Specifications==
The ED54s used a Buchli drive system, an uncommon drive system for Japanese locomotives. MT20 traction motors were used on the locomotives.
==Trivia==
*It is believed by many Japanese railfans that the number "54" on a locomotive is jinxed. The ED54 is usually taken as a prime example of this supposed jinx due to its performance issues; other locomotives attributed to this jinx were the Class C54 steam locomotive and the Class DD54 diesel locomotive.
Category:JR Group trains
Category:Electric locomotives
Category:B-B locomotives
Category:Narrow-gauge
Category:Narrow-gauge locomotives
Category:Brown Boveri locomotives
Category:SLM locomotives
Category:Japanese locomotives
Category:Built in 1923