JGR Class 7150

JGR Class 7150
7150 Taishō in August 2010
Technical specifications
Designer(s)	Shinshiro Watanabe
Serial number(s)	1
Manufacturer(s)	HCR's Temiya Works
Build date	1895
Total produced	1
Classification	2-6-0
Dimensions	12,383 mm × Unknown × 3,394 mm
Rail gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Valve gear	Stephenson
Cylinders	2
Boiler pressure	7.0 kg/cm²
Fuel type	Coal
Heating area	44.6 m²
Service information
Years in-service	1895 – 1947
Running numbers	7150 (originally 30)
Disposition details
Preserved	1
Number operational	None
Number scrapped	None

The JGR Class 7150 (originally the Hokkaido Colliery and Railway Company Class H) is a 2-6-0 Mogul-type steam locomotive operated by the Japanese Government Railways from 1895 to 1947.

History

The Class 7150 was an early steam locomotive operated in Japan. The type was intended to be used by the Hokkaido Colliery and Railway Company, with the locomotive intended to be based on the older Class A locomotives used at the time. One locomotive was designed by Shinshiro Watanabe and built by the Hokkaido Colliery and Railway Company's Temiya Works, under the supervision of a Saburo Matsui; this was the second domestically-produced Japanese locomotive, after the JGR's Class AE. As with the previous domestically-produced locomotive, parts were imported in from the United States but the locomotive was assembled locally; a total of ten months were taken to construct the locomotive.

The locomotive was classified as a Class H locomotive; to commemorate Japan's victory in the Sino-Japanese War, the locomotive was given the name of Taishō (lit. "great success"), with the same words embossed on the locomotive's cab. After the Railway Nationalization Act was passed in 1909, the locomotive was reclassified the Class 7150 and its name dropped. The locomotive was retired from service on the Hokkaido Colliery and Railway Company in 1918 and sold to the Yubari Railway as motive power, where it served until 1947 and was retired again. While out of service, two researchers, Yoneo Oguma and Eiichi Shimazaki, helped to preserve the locomotive; it was moved to Hokkaido University's garden, where it sat until 1962. In 1962 it was moved to the Temiya Hokkaido Railroad Memorial Hall, now known as the Otaru Museum. The locomotive was designated a quasi-railroad monument in 1964 and upgraded to full railroad monument status in 2010.

Today, 7150 remains at the Otaru Museum on display. The locomotive is repainted and restored to look more like its original appearance, although replacement parts had been fabricated over time. The locomotive is noted as being the oldest domestically-produced steam locomotive in Japan still in existence.

Preservation

The following Class 7150 locomotives have been preserved:

Number	Manufacturer	Date manufactured	Serial number	Date withdrawn	Location	Notes
7150 Taishō	Temiya Works	15 September 1895	1	August 1918 (HCR/JGR) October 1954 (Yǔbari)	Otaru City General Museum, Otaru, Hokkaido, Japan	Displayed in roundhouse, cab open for public viewing; oldest domestically-manufactured steam locomotive preserved in Japan, ex-Yǔbari Railway