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JNR Class C57

Class of 201 Japanese 4-6-2 locomotives

JNR Class C57 Taiwan Railways Class CT270
C57 180 at Aizu Wakamatsu Station in 2007
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Kawasaki Heavy Industries Rolling Stock Company, Kisha Seizō, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Hitachi Build date 1937–1947 (201 for JNR), 1953 (14 for TRA)
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-2 Pacific Gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Driver dia. 1,750 mm (5 ft 9 in) Length 20,280 mm (66 ft 6 in) Height 3,945 mm (12 ft 11.3 in) Loco weight 67.50 t (66.43 long tons; 74.41 short tons) Total weight 115.50 t (113.68 long tons; 127.32 short tons) Fuel type Coal Firebox: ​  • Grate area 11.4 square metres (122.7 sq ft) Boiler pressure 227.5 psi (1,569 kPa) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 41.4 square metres (445.6 sq ft) Cylinders two Cylinder size 500 mm × 600 mm (20 in × 24 in) Valve gear Walschaerts
Performance figures Maximum speed 100 km/h (62 mph) Power output: ​  • Starting 1,290 PS (1,270 hp)  • Continuous 1,040 PS (1,030 hp) Tractive effort 12,820 kg (125.7 kN) Factor of adh. 10,330 kg (101.3 kN)
Career Retired December 1975 (Japan) 28 February 1983 (Taiwan) Disposition Four operational among 32 preserved, remainder scrapped

The Class C57 (C57形) is a type of 4-6-2 steam locomotive built in Japan from 1937 to 1947. A total of 201 Class C57 locomotives were built and designed by Hideo Shima.^[1][2] Another 14 Class C57 locomotives were built for export to Taiwan in 1942 and 1953.^{[citation needed]}

The class was withdrawn from regular passenger service in December 1975.^[2] The locomotives were numbered C57 1–C57 201 in Japan the TRA CT270 were numbered CT271–CT284.

Preserved examples and Static Display[edit]

As of 2014^[update], 32 Class C57 locomotives have been preserved in Japan, of which two, C57 1 and C57 180, are preserved in working order.^[3]

In Taiwan, locomotive number CT273 is preserved in working order.^{[citation needed]}

C57 1[edit]

As of 2014, C57 1 was operated by JR West and based at Shimonoseki Depot.^[3] As of 2018, it makes regular runs on the Yamaguchi line between Shin-Yamaguchi and Tsuwano^[4] The service was suspended following the July 2018 heavy rains, with C57 1 making guest appearance as the leisure train locomotive at the Kyoto Railway Museum during the forced break. The service is set to resume at the end of September 2018.

C57 180[edit]

C57 180 was restored to working order by JR East, and hauls special event trains on JR East lines mainly between Niigata, Aizu-Wakamatsu, and Kōriyama.

CT271[edit]

CT271 was imported to Taiwan in 1943 as C57 1, and renumbered CT271 in 1949. Although involved in an accident in 1957, it was repaired and returned to service until it was withdrawn in 1983 and stored at a roundhouse in Chiayi until 1991 when the roundhouse was demolished. Keelung City applied to Taiwan Railways for preservation of CT271, and it was returned to Keelung Station in June 1991 and moved to Lover Lake Park, where it was publicly unveiled on October 25, 1994. Restoration of CT271 began in 2014 and completed in 2015.

CT273[edit]

CT273 was imported to Taiwan in 1943 as C57 3, and renumbered CT273. It was withdrawn in 1983, and restored by the Taiwan Railway Administration in June 2014. ^[5]

• 
  C57 11
• 
  C57 26 in Gyoda, Saitama, July 2011
• 
  C57 128 in Otsu, Shiga, October 2013
• 
  C57 186 in Koganei, Tokyo, November 2011
• 
  C57 201 in Asahikawa, Hokkaido
• 
  CT271 at Lovers Lake Park
• 
  CT273 in Yilan, Taiwan

See also[edit]

• Japan Railways locomotive numbering and classification
• JNR Class C55
• JNR Class C59

References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to C57 steam locomotives.