JGR Class 1240

JGR Class 1240
Nippon Steel 9 (ex-Fuji Minobu 2) in February 2017
Technical specifications
Serial number(s)	52339 (1240) 37943 – 37945 (Fuji Minobu) Unknown (Kōsaka)
Manufacturer(s)	Baldwin Locomotive Works
Build date	1912, 1919
Total produced	1 + 6 derivative (total 7)
Classification	0-6-0T
Dimensions	6,843 mm × 2,258 mm × 3,378 mm
Rail gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Valve gear	Walschaerts
Cylinders	2
Boiler pressure	12.6 kg/cm²
Fuel type	Coal
Heating area	40.2 m²
Service information
Years in-service	1919 – 1936
Running numbers	4
Disposition details
Preserved	1 derivative
Number operational	1
Number scrapped	6

The JGR Class 1240 (originally the Shingu Railway Class 4) is a 0-6-0T Switcher-type side tank steam locomotive operated by the Japanese Government Railways from 1919 to 1936.

History

The Class 1240 was an early steam locomotive operated in Japan. The type was ordered by the Fuji Minobu Railway and Kōsaka Railway, with six locomotives built by Baldwin Locomotive Works. The locomotives was assigned the Class 1 on the Fuji Minobu Railway and numbered 1 through 3 and numbered 2 through 4 on the Kōsaka Railway; the locomotives on the Kōsaka Railway were built to 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge. What would later be christened the Class 1240 was a single locomotive built for the Shingu Railway in 1919, also by Baldwin. The locomotive was classified the Class 3 and numbered 4 on the railroad.

After the Shingu Railway was acquired in 1934 by the JGR, the locomotive was reclassified as the Class 1240 and renumbered as such on documents but not on the locomotive; the locomotive did not survive for much longer and was scrapped in 1936. The remaining locomotives on the private railroads would also fall under this class but were never officially reclassified. In their later lives the locomotives were used on small industrial railroads. Today, only one locomotive, Fuji Minobu Railway 2, survives today. After retirement from the Fuji Minobu Railway, the locomotive was transferred to the Nippon Steel Works and renumbered 9. After it was retired from service there, the locomotive was transferred to the Meiji Mura museum in 1974 and restored to operating condition. The locomotive remains at Meiji Mura today in operating condition, operating alongside Class 160 locomotive 165 in its guise as Nagoya Railway 12.

Preservation

The following Class 1240 locomotives have been preserved:

Image	Number	Manufacturer	Date manufactured	Serial number	Date withdrawn	Location	Notes
	Nippon Steel 9	Baldwin Locomotive Works	June 1912	37944	July 1936 (Fuji Minobu Railway) 1973 (Nippon Steel)	Meiji-mura, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan	Under overhaul, overhaul expected to take two years; ex-Fuji Minobu Railway

Gallery

Shingu Railway 4 (later JGR 1240) at an unknown date

Trivia

• Baldwin's model number for this locomotive was 6-18-D.

References

Fuji Minobu Railway motive power
Steam locomotive	1 • 10
Electric locomotive	200 • 210

Shingu Railway motive power
Steam locomotive	1 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7
Diesel multiple unit	KiHa 201 – 205