JGR Class Ke 190

JGR Class Ke 190
Okinawa Prefectural Railway 14 (ex-JGR Ke 193) in April 1945
Technical specifications
Serial number(s)	1614 – 1616, 1665 (unconfirmed)
Manufacturer(s)	Avonside Engine Company
Build date	1911, 1913
Total produced	4
Classification	0-6-0
Dimensions	5,658 mm × 1,968 mm × 2,816 mm
Rail gauge	2 ft 6 in (762 mm)
Valve gear	Stephenson
Cylinders	2
Boiler pressure	9.8 kg/cm²
Fuel type	Coal
Heating area	17.4 m²
Service information
Years in-service	28 October 1912 – March 1945
Running numbers	1 – 4, later Ke 190 – Ke 193, then 11 – 14
Disposition details
Preserved	None
Number operational	None
Number scrapped	4

The JGR Class Ke 190 (originally the Senboku Light Railway Class SKT) was a 0-6-0T Switcher-type narrow gauge side tank steam locomotive operated by the Senboku Light Railway and later other railway companies from October 1912 to March 1945.

History

The Class Ke 190 was an early steam locomotive used in Japan. The locomotives were ordered by the Senboku Light Railway, a predecessor operator of what is now known as the East Japan Railway Company's Ishinomaki Line; a total of four locomotives were manufactured by the Avonside Engine Company in Bristol, England, with three built in 1911 and one in 1913. These were operated as the Class SKT and given numbers 1 through 4. The locomotives initially had no steam dome and a unique type of safety valve. In addition to these, four other locomotives were built for Ensuiko Sugar in Taiwan in 1910 and 1911.

When the Senboku Light Railway was nationalized on 1 April 1919, the locomotives came under the ownership of the Japanese Government Railways; they were reclassified the Class Ke 190 and renumbered Ke 190 through Ke 193. The locomotives ended service on the Senboku Light Railway on 23 May 1920 with the completion of gauge changing works on the line; the locomotives were resold to the Okinawa Prefectural Railways in January 1921 along with 13 passenger cars and 30 freight cars, with the Okinawa Prefectural Railways looking to expand their Kadena Line and requiring motive power for this effort. The four locomotives were struck off the JGR register in March 1921 and subsequently modified at Kokura Works to have a new boiler with a steam dome. These were used on the Okinawa Prefectural Railways until March 1945 with the line ceasing operations. Okinawa would ultimately lose all of its railways due to the effects of World War II; Okinawa would not regain a railway line until 2003 with the construction of the Okinawa Urban Monorail. There exists a notable photo of No. 12 buried in rubble taken by the US Army.

No Class Ke 190 locomotives have been preserved.

Gallery

References

Okinawa Prefectural Railways motive power
Steam locomotives	1 – 3 • 4 • 6 – 8 • 11 – 14 • 20
Diesel multiple unit	KiHa 1 • KiHa 11 • KiHa 21 • KiHa 31