The JGR Class 7450 (originally the JGR Class V) was a class of 2-6-0 Mogul-type steam locomotives operated by the Japanese Government Railways from 1889 to 1924.
History[]
The Class 7450 was an early type of steam locomotive used in Japan. The type was ordered by the Ministry of Railways (JGR), with a total of four being manufactured and delivered from Kitson and Company of Leeds, England in 1889. These were initially classified as Class V and numbered 130, 132, 134 and 136, but were later reclassified as E2 and renumbered 94 through 97.
Introduced for use on steeply-graded lines, they were the first tender locomotives in Japan to be equipped with side water tanks to increase factor of adhesion. The tanks extended from the driver's cab to just above the leading pair of driving wheels. The lower half of these were cut off from just above the second pair of driving wheels to the frontmost to allow access to the valve gear. Both of these upper and lower edges were rounded, a characteristic feature of this class. The tenders of these locomotives were small, four-wheeled tenders.
The locomotives were reclassified as Class 7450 locomotives in 1909 when a formal rule regarding standardized classification of locomotives was enacted; the locomotives were thus renumbered 7450 through 7453. The locomotives were initially used on the Tōkaidō Line, particularly around Kyoto and Otsu; in their later careers they were used as shunting locomotives at Umekoji. All locomotives were retired by 1924, with none sold to private operators.
No locomotives have been preserved.
Gallery[]
