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JNR Class D51

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Class D51
JR East's D51 498 on the Joetsu Line, December 2008
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerHideo Shima
BuilderKawasaki Heavy Industries Rolling Stock Company etc
Build date1936-1951
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte2-8-2 Mikado
Gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Length19,730 mm (64 ft 9 in)
Loco weight76.8 t[1]
Total weight123.0 t
Performance figures
Maximum speed85 km/h (55 mph)*
Tractive effort184.3 kN
Career
Retired24 December 1975

The Class D51 (D51形) is a type of 2-8-2 steam locomotive built by the Japanese Government Railways (JGR), the Japanese National Railways (JNR), and various manufacturers from 1936 to 1945.[2] The Class D51 is popularly called "Degoichi" in Japanese.

Design

The design of Class D51 was based on the earlier Class D50, which was introduced in 1923. Wartime production featured some substitution of wood for steel parts like running boards, smoke deflectors and tender coal bunkers. A total of 1,115 D51 locomotives were built,[2] the largest number of locomotives in a single class in Japan. Early D51s built were known as "Namekuji type" (or "slug").

The specially built D51s that were left on Sakhalin (formerly Karafuto) by the retreating Japanese at the end of World War II were used until 1979 by Soviet Railways. One was left outside Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk railway station, and one is in running condition and is kept at the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk railway station. Additionally two wrecks were left to the north of the city.[3]

Classification

Main article: Japan Railways locomotive numbering and classification

The classification consists of a "D" for the four sets of driving wheels and the class number 51 for tender locomotives that the numbers 50 through 99 were assigned to under the 1928 locomotive classification rule.

Preserved examples

Over 170 Class D51 locomotives have been preserved in Japan. D51 498 has been restored by JR East and hauls special event trains on JR East lines.[4]

The following is a list of preserved locomotives as of September 2012.[5]

Operational

D51 200 at Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum, December 2011

Built in 1938 at the JNR Hamamatsu Works, locomotive number D51 200 is scheduled to be overhauled and restored to mainline operational condition for use on SL Yamaguchi and SL Kitabiwako services from fiscal 2017.[7]

Static preservation

  • D51 6 in Asahikawa, Hokkaido
    D51 6 in Asahikawa, Hokkaido
  • D51 51 ("Slug" type)
    D51 51 ("Slug" type)
  • D51 125 in Funabashi, Chiba
    D51 125 in Funabashi, Chiba
  • D51 170 in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto
    D51 170 in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto
  • D51 231 outside the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo in December 2014
    D51 231 outside the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo in December 2014
  • D51 286 in Otaru, Hokkaido
    D51 286 in Otaru, Hokkaido
  • D51 452 at Ome Railway Park, Tokyo
    D51 452 at Ome Railway Park, Tokyo
  • D51 470 in Gifu
    D51 470 in Gifu
  • D51 774 next to the former Taisha Station in Izumo
    D51 774 next to the former Taisha Station in Izumo
  • D51 792 in Kasugai, Aichi
    D51 792 in Kasugai, Aichi
  • D51 862 in Machida, Tokyo
    D51 862 in Machida, Tokyo
  • D51 1085 in Aridagawa, Wakayama
    D51 1085 in Aridagawa, Wakayama

Russian Class D51

Plinthed Russian D51-22 outside Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Railway Station Sakhalin Island, Russia
  • D51-1: Niigata Prefecture
  • D51-2: Hokkaido
  • D51-4: Sakhalin (Working order, but faces uncertain future due to re-gauging of the Sakhalin Railways to the Russian gauge)
  • D51-22: Sakhalin (Plinthed outside Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk railway station)
  • D51-23: Hokkaido
  • D51-25: Hokkaido
  • D51-26: Hokkaido
  • D51-27: Hokkaido
  • D51-28: Sakhalin (Dumped at Tomari)
  • D51 ? : Sakhalin (2 D51s Dumped north of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk at Dalny)

In fiction

In the television series Thomas & Friends, the character Hiro is based on the Class D51, and carries the number "51" on his tender. In the Transformers franchise, the Decepticon Astrotrain is depicted using a Class D51 as one of his alternate modes, the other being a space shuttle.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to D51.
  1. ^ Inoue, Kōichi (1999). 国鉄機関車辞典. Japan: Sankaido. p. 59. ISBN 4-381-10338-6. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help); templatestyles stripmarker in |title= at position 1 (help)
  2. ^ a b Hirota, Naotaka (January 1972). Steam Locomotives of Japan. Kodansha America, Inc. p. 74 & 78. ISBN 978-0870111853.
  3. ^ Steam and the Railways of Sakhalin Island - at International Steam Locomotives
  4. ^ a b JR全車輌ハンドブック2009. Japan: Neko Publishing. 2009. ISBN 978-4-7770-0836-0. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help); templatestyles stripmarker in |title= at position 1 (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Sasada, Masahiro (September 2012). 国鉄&JR保存車大全. Tokyo, Japan: Ikaros Publications Ltd. p. 133-135. ISBN 978-4863206175. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help); templatestyles stripmarker in |title= at position 1 (help)
  6. ^ JR East Takasaki Branch D51 498 website (in Japanese) (Translate to English: Google, Bing, Yandex)
  7. ^ "JR西日本、D51形200号機が本線運転復活へ". Mynavi News (in Japanese). Japan: Mynavi Corporation. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ 津山市 来月からD51の展示始まる. RSK News (in Japanese). Japan: Sanyo Broadcasting Co., Ltd. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
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