The JNR Class C12 is a 2-6-2T Prairie-type side tank steam locomotive built for the JNR from 1932 to 1947.
History[]
The C12s were used mainly as freight locomotives and was the main steam locomotive in service when it came to freight-hauled passenger service in Japan for a time. The locomotives were retired in 1959. Seven more were built for the Taiwan Railways Administration as Class CK120 locomotives; some C12s were leased from the JNR as the PL51 and PL131 types for use in China and Vietnam. During World War II, two C12s, C12 94 and C12 168, were sent to Indonesia by the Rikuyu Sōkyoku, the head of Indonesia's transportation operations at the time. They were renumbered C32 01 and C32 02.
Thirty-one C12s have been preserved around Japan; one member of the class, C12 66, is operational and is based at the Mōka Railway. Two C12s are preserved in other countries; PL51 class locomotive 131-428 is preserved at Da Lat Station in Vietnam, while CK120 class locomotive CK124 is preserved in an operational state in Taiwan. Both C32 locomotives were scrapped due to being incompatible with Indonesia's loading gauge at the time, being only used as switcher locomotives in Sidotopo, Surabaya.
Preservation[]
- Main article: Preservation
Thirty-one locomotives have been preserved.
Gallery[]
