JNR Class C62

The Class C62 (C62形) is a type of 4-6-4 steam locomotive built by Japanese National Railways (JNR) in Japan. The C classification indicates three sets of driving wheels. The C62 was built with a 4-6-4 frame, upon which was mounted the boiler of the JNR Class D52 2-8-2 locomotives. The Locomotives were numbered C62 1-C62 49 (formerly D52 74/D52 455/D52 458/D52 399/D52 349/D52 461/D52 464/D52 446/D52 121/D51 119/D52 150/D52 445/D52 447/D52 145/D52 112/D52 127/D52 269/D52 375/D52 407/D52 225/D52 277/D52 222/D52 23/D52 233/D52 106/D52 226/D52 46/D52 49/D52 151/D52 85/D52 152/D52 227/D52 147/D52 82/D52 230/D52 93/D52 231/D52 358/D52 374/D52 141/D52 367/D52 352/D52 357/D52 345/D52 356/D52 353/D52 226/D52 366/D52 380/D52 104 .

Class C62 (Rebuilt : 49 : D52)
C62 3 hauling the Niseko tourist train in 1994
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderHitachi, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Rolling Stock Company, Kisha Seizō
Build date1948-1949 (Rebuild to Class C62)
Total produced49 (Rebuilt : 49 : D52)
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte4-6-4 Hudson
Gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Driver dia.1,750 mm (5 ft 9 in)
Length21,475 mm (70 ft 5.5 in)
Loco weight88.83 t (87.43 long tons; 97.92 short tons)
Total weight145.17 t (142.88 long tons; 160.02 short tons)
Performance figures
Tractive effort13,870 kg (30,580 lb) or
13,870 kgf (30,600 lbf) (?)
Career
Retired1971-1973

History

These were the largest and fastest steam passenger locomotives to run in Japan, and hauled the Tsubame (swallow) express on the Tōkaidō Main Line between Tokyo and Osaka. Only South Africa operated more powerful Cape gauge locomotives.[1] Forty-nine C62s were built from 1948 to 1949.[2] Five C62s hauled the Teine express in Hokkaido between Otaru and Hakodate after they were displaced by electrification of the Tōkaidō Main Line. Two locomotives were used to double-head trains on the 2.5% (1:40) grades between Otaru and Oshamambe where they were a popular tourist and railfan attraction until 1971.[1] The last examples in regular service were withdrawn in 1973.

A class C62 locomotive, C62 17, broke the speed record for a narrow-gauge steam locomotive on 15 December 1954 when it reached 129 km/h (80 mph) on the Tōkaidō Main Line. This locomotive was preserved in a park in Nagoya,[3] and later moved to the SCMaglev and Railway Park in Nagoya.[4]

The C62 has achieved a level of fame due in part to the manga/anime series Galaxy Express 999, in which the express is pulled by an advanced space locomotive that is built to replicate a C62.

The founders of Hudson Soft (rail fan brothers Yuji and Hiroshi Kudo) were fond of the C62 and other 4-6-4 locomotives,[5] so they named the company after them: 4-6-4 configuration locomotives are also known as Hudsons or Hudson-types. Japan picked up the term from the USA (where the first 4-6-4 built was named after the Hudson River), the C60, C61, and C62 used many American design elements and conventions in their designs, apparently including class names. Hudson Soft also named a number of products after the C62, including the development kit for the PC Engine,[6][7] and a chip (Hu62) that was used in a later version of the hardware.[8] It was also the code name for their console before they settled on PC Engine.[9]

Preserved examples

As of 2012, five Class C62 locomotives were preserved at various locations around the country.[10]

  • C62 1: Preserved at the Kyoto Railway Museum in Kyoto[10]
  • C62 2: Preserved in working order by JR West at the Kyoto Railway Museum [10] This locomotive wears a stainless steel swallow on its smoke deflector as a reminder of the era when it hauled the famous Tsubame express.[1]
  • C62 3: Preserved at JR Hokkaido's Naebo Works in Sapporo, Hokkaido[10]
  • C62 17: On display at the SCMaglev and Railway Park in Nagoya[4]
  • C62 26: On display at the Kyoto Railway Museum [10]
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See also

References
  1. Naotaka Hirota Steam Locomotives of Japan (1972) Kodansha International Ltd. p.8 ISBN 0-87011-185-X
  2. Inoue, Kōichi (1999). 国鉄機関車辞典 [JNR Locomotive Encyclopedia]. Japan: Sankaido. pp. 48–49. ISBN 4-381-10338-6.
  3. "静態保存蒸機C62 17の現況" [Current status of statically preserved C62 16]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine. Vol. 37 no. 295. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. November 2008. p. 61.
  4. "「リニア・鉄道館」ファーストガイド" ["SCMaglev and Railway Park" First Guide]. Tetsudō Daiya Jōhō Magazine. Vol. 40 no. 324. Japan: Kōtsū Shimbun. April 2011. pp. 20–33.
  5. http://www.meanmachinesmag.co.uk/upload/media/scans/HudsonRG_Part1.pdf
  6. ASSEMblergames.com (23 February 2011). "PC Engine development system - Hudson Soft C62 development unit" – via YouTube.
  7. "Arcade and Retro Podcast Episode 2 – Hudson Soft - Retro Asylum". retroasylum.com.
  8. "PC-FX (Platform) - Giant Bomb". Giant Bomb.
  9. "Hudson Entertainment, Inc. (Company)".
  10. Sasada, Masahiro (September 2012). 国鉄&JR保存車大全 [JNR & JR Preserved Rolling Stock Complete Guide]. Tokyo, Japan: Ikaros Publications Ltd. p. 133. ISBN 978-4863206175.
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