Red Flag 6-class locomotive

Red Flag 6

Type and origin Power type Electric Builder Kim Chong-t'ae Works  North Korea Build date 1987-

Specifications UIC class Bo-Bo+Bo-Bo Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) Length 33,000 mm (108 ft 3 in) Height 176 t (388,000 lb) Electric system(s) 3,000 V DC Current collection Pantographs Couplers AAR knuckle

Performance figures Maximum speed 100 km/h (62 mph) Power output 4,240 kW (5,690 hp)

Career Operators Korean State Railway Class 붉은기6 Pulg'ŭn'gi-6 Number in class ≥29 Numbers 6001-6029+

The Red Flag 6-class (Korean: 붉은기6 Pulg'ŭn'gi-6) is a 4,200 kW (5,600 hp)^[1] two-section, permanently-coupled electric locomotive built by the Kim Chong-t'ae Electric Locomotive Works and used by the Korean State Railway for heavy freight trains on mountainous lines.^[2]

Description

As the electrification of the Korean State Railway's network continued into the 1980s, the Red Flag 1 and Red Flag 2 class locomotives were the dominant type in service under the wires. However, with the electrification of steep mountain lines, it was realised that a more powerful locomotive was needed. Therefore, the Kim Chong-tae Electric Locomotive Works began design work on an articulated locomotive to operate freight trains on the difficult mountainous sections.^[2]

Using the Red Flag 2 class as a starting point, the Red Flag 6 (붉은기6, Pulg'ŭn'gi-6) class was developed.^[2] The result was a permanently-coupled Bo'Bo'+Bo'Bo' articulated locomotive with eight capacitors,^[3] made up of two sections; these sections are single-cab versions of the Red Flag 2. The Red Flag 6 class is thus an articulated descendant of the Škoda Type 30E, which had formed the basis for the design of the Red Flag 1 and Red Flag 2 after North Korea bought a licence to build the type, including technology transfer, from Czechoslovakia.^[2] The first prototype was shown in 1981.^[4]

Numbered in the 6000 series, production of the new design began in 1986, and was put into service in 1987 to haul freight trains on the P'yŏngra Line.^[5] These four-bogie, eight-axle articulated units are 33 metres (108 ft 3 in) long, weigh 176 tonnes (388,000 lb) and produce 4,240 kilowatts (5,690 hp). They have a maximum speed of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) and can pull 3,200 tonnes (7,100,000 lb).^[6] Trial runs with passenger trains were undertaken, but the type is now mainly used on east-west freight trains on the P'yŏngra Line.^[2] The first prototype received a cream over red paint scheme, but production units are painted in the standard light blue over dark green livery.

References

1. http://www.cchere.com/topic/3893100
2. Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), ISBN 978-4-10-303731-6
3. http://nk.joins.com/media/pic.asp?key=20010111104635100400425
4. http://ameblo.jp/gon-xiaodao/entry-11316160765.html
5. http://ameblo.jp/gon-xiaodao/entry-11118229009.html
6. http://www.cchere.com/article/3895102