JGR Class 7850

JGR Class 7850
7852 at an unknown date
Technical specifications
Serial number(s)	3598 – 3603, 3615 – 3618, 17725 – 17726
Manufacturer(s)	Dübs & Co., North British Locomotive Company
Build date	1898, 1908
Total produced	12
Classification	2-6-0
Dimensions	14,459 mm × 2,286 mm × 3,673 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	92.1 m²
Service information
Years in-service	1904 – 1933
Running numbers	7850 – 7861 (originally 30 – 39, 122 – 123)
Disposition details
Preserved	None
Number scrapped	12

The JGR Class 7850 (originally the Kansai Railway Class 30) was a 2-6-0 Mogul-type steam locomotive operated by the Japanese Government Railways from 1898 to 1933.

History

The Class 7850 was an early steam locomotive operated in Japan. The type was ordered by the Kansai Railway, with a total of ten locomotives manufactured by Dübs & Co. in 1898. These were classified as the Class 30 locomotives, nicknamed Inazuma (lit. "lightning") and numbered 30 through 39. Another two locomotives were manufactured by Dübs's successor company, the North British Locomotive Company, in 1908; these were numbered 122 and 123.

The locomotives were reclassified as the Class 7850 in 1909 when a formal rule regarding standardized classification of locomotives was enacted; the locomotives were thus renumbered 7850 through 7859. Curiously, 122 and 123 were erroneously numbered as 7800 and 7801 at first despite being of a completely different class. This error was corrected in 1912 and 7800 and 7801 were renumbered 7860 and 7861; this meant that the Class 7800s would be the first (and only) JGR locomotive class where the lead locomotive of its class ended with a "2" rather than a "0".

The locomotives were used in Monji and Osaka throughout their service lives. The locomotives were retired by 1933, with none sold to private railroads. No Class 7800s have been preserved.

Gallery

Kansai Railway 17 at an unknown date