JGR Class 3800

JGR Class 3800
Nippon Railway 201 (later JGR 3800) at an unknown date
Technical specifications
Serial number(s)	3653 – 3655, 3659
Manufacturer(s)	Dübs & Co.
Build date	1898
Total produced	4
Classification	4-6-2T
Dimensions	10,953 mm × 2,426 mm × 3,734 mm
Rail gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Valve gear	Stephenson
Cylinders	2
Boiler pressure	12.7 kg/cm²
Fuel type	Coal
Heating area	94.6 m²
Service information
Years in-service	1898 – 1922
Running numbers	3800 – 3803 (originally 201 – 204)
Disposition details
Preserved	None
Number scrapped	4

The JGR Class 3800 (originally the Nippon Railway Class Db3/6) was a 4-6-2T Pacific-type side tank steam locomotive operated by the Japanese Government Railways from 1898 to 1922.

History

The Class 3800 was an early steam locomotive operated in Japan. The type was manufactured for the Nippon Railway, with four locomotives manufactured by Dübs & Co. in Scotland and delivered in 1898. The locomotives were classified the Class Db3/6 on the Nippon Railway and numbered 201 through 204.

The locomotives were reclassified as the Class 3800 in 1909 when a formal rule regarding standardized classification of locomotives was enacted; the locomotives were thus renumbered 3800 through 3803. These were mostly used to haul coal to and from the Jōban coalfield. In their later careers all locomotives were located in Sendai. The locomotives were all retired by 1922; despite being extremely powerful for their size the locomotives were apparently prone to derailments due to design oversights and that the boiler was designed to use low quality coal, resulting in poorer performance. No Class 3800s have been preserved.

The Class 3800 is the only known example of a 4-6-2 tank locomotive in Japan.