KiHa 60 series

The KiHa 60 series was a short-lived low-capacity high-output express diesel multiple unit operated by the Japanese National Railways from 1960 to 1978.
==History==
The KiHa 60 series cars were designed in the late 1950s as a more powerful railcar; the pre-war DMH17 prime mover was the standard but featured a lower power output compared to others. As a result, most cars were fitted with two prime movers to increase pulling power. As such, a new engine, the DMF31, was developed; it was used in diesel locomotives such as the DD51 and DE10 to great success. It was then thought that a development of this engine could be used in these new powerful railcars, but the design had to be modified with horizontal cylinder banks as the engines were intended to be mounted underfloor. The DMF31HSA prime mover was thus developed with these features implemented. Three cars were built: KiHa 60 1 and 2 and KiRo 60 1, the latter being a first-class car.
The KiHa 60 series cars were intended to be JNR's next high-power diesel rail cars, equipped with an extremely powerful prime mover for a diesel railcar in Japan at the time; the prime mover allowed the cars to be just about as fast as the 181 series cars. These were immediately put to the test on the Kururi Line but the way the cars were designed resulted in numerous problems. The prime movers were not always in good shape or maintained properly, and the way the cylinder banks were laid out made the prime mover more difficult to lubricate than previous prime movers, while the new transmission often caused problems mainly due to the high-power prime mover. Fine speed control was also impossible due to the use of mechanical governors; with the technology available in Japan at the time, it was not yet possible to properly synchronize the high-output prime mover with the transmission, with further attempts ending in failure.
Due to these reasons, the KiHa 60 series cars had their engines replaced with a lower output prime mover as well as given a new transmission and sliding doors due to difficulty in obtaining spare parts for the sliding doors. These were also removed from regular service and from then used as substitutes for trailing cars during the summertime on lines in the Bōsō Peninsula. Further tests with the cars were planned, but were canceled due to the problems the cars were dogged with. KiRo 60 1 was downgraded to second class in 1968 and renumbered KiHa 60 101. After a short-lived career, the cars were completely retired from service in 1978. No KiHa 60 series cars have been preserved and they are often considered a failure.
==Design==
The KiHa 60 series use a squared-off design similar to many other railcars of the time, featuring a single top-mounted sealed beam headlights in a large headlight casing. The cars were initially painted with a Cream No.4 "Wheat" base coat with Red No.4 "Scarlet" accents, the standard livery for JNR's diesel express cars; these were later repainted to have a Cream No.4 "Wheat" base coat with Vermillion No.4 "Golden Red" accents.
==Specifications==
Construction is of steel. Their appearance is very similar to that of the KiHa 55 series cars. The interior of the cars feature ventilation in the form of fans and two abreast seating; by 1975 the ride experience was described as "uncomfortable" with "poor" seating upholstery.
The cars were initially equipped with a highly experimental DMF31HSA prime mover, a V12 with horizontal cylinder banks; this engine produced 395 HP (400 PS), notably the highest of any diesel railcar at the time. The engines were noted to be unreliable, so these were switched out to lower output DMH17H prime movers instead. The original prime movers had their power transmitted through an experimental 2-stage hydraulic transmission developed specifically for these cars. The initial transmission was noted to be unreliable; these were later switched out to a 2-speed hydraulic transmission.
==Gallery==
KiRo 60 1.jpg|Builder's photo of KiRo 60 1 (later KiHa 60 101)
Category:JR Group trains
Category:Diesel trainsets
Category:Niigata Tekkō locomotives
Category:Teikoku Sharyō locomotives
Category:Tokyu Car locomotives
Category:Scrapped locomotives