The Besshi Mine Railway Class 1 was a 0-4-0WT Switcher-type narrow gauge well tank steam locomotive operated by the Besshi Mine Railway and other railway companies from June 1893 to 1944.
History[]
The Class 1 was an early steam locomotive used in Japan. The locomotives were manufactured by Krauss at their Sendling factory in Germany; a total of ten locomotives, numbered 1 through 10, were manufactured irregularly from 1892 to 1901 in five irregular batches (4 in 1892, 2 in 1894, 1 in 1896, 2 in 1891 and 1 in 1901). These ten locomotives were classified internally as their "series 27" locomotives, of which there were 717 manufactured for use throughout the world; internally the five batches of locomotives were given internal designations of 27ii, 27ss, 27yy, 27zg and 27zq. These were the only locomotives of this type to operate in Japan.
Operations of the class began in May 1893 with the opening of the first section of the Besshi Mine Railway. At some point, No. 1 was renumbered No. 6 and No. 4 was renumbered to No. 1. 5 to 7 were withdrawn from service in June 1912 and resold to the Iyo Railway, where they operated as the Class Kō 6 and renumbered 15 through 17; they were withdrawn as early as December 1917. All three were resold to various railways and rebuilt 15 was resold to a factory in Karafuto and was resold a number of times before being withdrawn in 1950, while 16 and 17 were sold to Kusunoki Seisakushō for rebuilding in 1919 (it is not known where 15 was rebuilt). 16 was resold to the Sasebo Railway to become their No. 3 locomotive; when the railway was nationalized on 1 October 1936, the locomotive came under the ownership of the Japanese Government Railways and was renumbered Ke 96. Ke 96 was used until regauging works were completed in 1944 and scrapped in May 1948. 4 and 9 were resold to a coal mine, while the remaining locomotives remained on the mining railway until their withdrawal in 1959.
1 (ex-4) has been preserved.
Preservation[]
The following Class 1 locomotives have been preserved:
| Number | Manufacturer | Date manufactured | Serial number | Date withdrawn | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Besshi Mine Railway 1 | Krauss | 1892 | 2682 | February 1956 | Besshi Copper Mine Memorial Museum, Niihama, Ehime, Japan | Displayed under shelter, originally No. 4 |
References[]
| Iyotetsu motive power | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam | Kō 1 • Kō 2 • Kō 3 • Kō 4 • Kō 5 • Kō 6 (gen 1) • Kō 6 (gen 2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diesel | Botchan Ressha • DB-1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||