JNR Class 9600

JNR Class 9600
9608 preserved at the Ōme Railway Park in September 2015.
Technical specifications
Designer(s)	Kiichi Asakura
Manufacturer(s)	JGR's Kokura Works, Kawasaki Sharyō, Kisha Seizō
Build date	1913 – 1926
Total produced	770 + 54 derivative (total 824)
Classification	2-8-0
Dimensions	54 ft 4 in × Unknown × 12 ft 6 in
Rail gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Service information
Years in-service	1913 – 12 March 1976
Running numbers	9600 – 9699, 19600 – 19699, 29600 – 29699, 39600 – 39699, 49600 – 49699, 59600 – 59699, 69600 – 69699, 79600 – 79669
Disposition details
Preserved	42 + 3 derivative (total 45, 1 semi-operational)
Number scrapped	728 + 51 derivative (total 779)

The JNR Class 9600 is a 2-8-0 Consolidation-type superheated steam locomotive built for the JNR from 1913 to 1976.

History

The 9600s were used mainly as freight locomotives and could be considered to be the quintessential Japanese steam locomotive of the time, matching performance with Japanese ingenuity. The locomotives were retired in 1976, and were among the longest serving steam locomotives in Japan.

Six more locomotives were built for use on private railways around Japan, with 39 more manufactured for use by the Taiwan Railways Administration as the Class DT580 and 9 more as the Class 80 for the Sakhalin Railway. Some locomotives were taken over by the Chinese Railways after the Japanese's defeat during the Pacific War and never returned to the Japanese; the locomotives were named the Class KD5, with some later rebuilt as the Class KD55.

Forty-two 9600s have been preserved around Japan; while technically none are operational, locomotive 49671 has been modified to run on compressed air and could be considered operational in a sense. Three locomotives are preserved outside Japan, all of which being KD5/KD55 or DT580 class locomotives.

Number 39685, built in 1919, was preserved outdoors in Chūō-ku, Saitama from 1972, but was scrapped in September 2016 due to the prohibitive cost of restoration.

Preservation

Main article: Preservation

Forty-two locomotives have been preserved.

Trivia

• These locomotives are popularly known as Kyūroku, Kunroku (96 in Japanese) or The Old Man of the Mountain among railfans.
• This locomotive class is featured in the 2018 video game "Railway Empire".

Gallery

No. 9608, oldest surviving example of the class, on static display at Ome Railway Park.

References

• Wikipedia.org

Yubari Railway motive power
Steam locomotive	1 • 6 • 7 • 9 • 11 • 21
Diesel locomotive	DD1000
Diesel railcar	KiHa 1 • KiHa 200 • KiHa 250 • KiHa 252 • KiHa 300