Locomotive Wiki
Locomotive Wiki
Locomotive Wiki
8,302
pages
in: Tender locomotives, Six-coupled locomotives, 2-6-2 locomotives,
and 13 more

JNR Class C58 No. C58 363

Edit

Japanese National Railways No. C58 363 is a Class C58 2-6-2 Prairie-type steam locomotive built for the Japanese National Railways by Kawasaki Sharyō in February 1944. It is one of two operational Class C58 locomotives, the other being C58 239.

History[]

C58 363 was built by Kawasaki Sharyō; the locomotive was completed on 19 February 1944 at their Hyōgo Works, with a serial number of 2941. Entering service on 2 April 1944, C58 363 was assigned to Kamaishi Depot in Sendai; C58 363 was said to have been sent out from Hyōgo on 29 March 1944 but only reached Kamaishi some days later, likely due to the worsening war situation. On 4 September 1947 C58 363 was relocated to Sendai Depot; on 1 November 1960 C58 363 would be relocated again to Nagamachi Depot, before being relocated back to Sendai on 1 November 1961. C58 363 would then move around a number of depots, first moving to Rikuu-tō Ishinomaki Depot on 21 October 1965, then Kōriyama Depot on 12 February 1966 and then loaned to Shinjō Depot in July 1966; this was effectively a transfer as the locomotive was not returned, although the locomotive would later be officially transferred to Shinjō on 23 August 1966.

Some of C58 363's last official assignments were the pulling of a "Kirosuma" snow clearing formation set for training crew members at Akita Depot on 14 February 1971, with C58 363 pulling rotary snowplow Ki 624, a SuHaFu-class passenger car and MacLay snowplow Ki 919 in that order, and a special Kappa summer service on the Rikuu West Line from Shinjō to Sakata on 29 July 1972. C58 363 was taken out of service on 2 October 1972 and officially withdrawn on 1 December 1972; it was then moved to a siding at Fukiage Station. Following withdrawal, C58 363 was preserved at Fukiage Elementary School in Saitama. On 6 March 1987, a decision was made to restore C58 363 to operational condition as a "supporting project" for 1988's Saitama Expo; C58 363 was restored to the JNR register on 26 March 1987, with the locomotive transferred to Ōmiya Works for restoration, with the assistance of Sappa Boiler. Following JNR's privatization and split on 1 April 1987, C58 363 came under the ownership of the East Japan Railway Company (JR East); restoration work was completed on 26 December 1987, with the locomotive then removed from JR East's registers on 28 December 1987 and transferred to the Northern Saitama Tourism Foundation. Operation of the locomotive was entrusted to the Chichibu Railway.

C58 363's excursion career commenced on 15 March 1988 when it pulled the SL Paleo Express. Ownership of C58 363 was transferred to the City of Chichibu in January 2001 following the dissolution of the Northern Saitama Tourism Foundation in 2000; ownership would be transferred again in 2003, with the locomotive now directly owned by the Chichibu Railway. C58 363 suffered two separate derailments and malfunctions in 2012, with the locomotive taken out of service on 8 August 2012 due to heavy damage to its wheels following a derailment; following this the locomotive was repaired at Hirosegawahara Depot and re-entered service in on 20 March 2013. Today the locomotive remains on the Chichibu Railway, being the sole locomotive to pull the SL Paleo Express service; although the locomotive is owned by the Chichibu Railway, repairs and inspections are done at Gunma General Rolling Stock Depot and Ōmiya Works. Excursion operations on JR-owned lines by C58 363 are now rare as the locomotive is not equipped with the latest safety equipment.

Trivia[]

  • C58 363 has been fitted with three different types of smoke deflectors in preservation; "elephant ear" smoke deflectors, Kokura Works-manufactured Montetsu-type smoke deflectors (trapezoidal in shape, never fitted to the locomotive in JNR service) and Gōto Works-manufactured Gōto-type smoke deflectors (anvil-shaped).
Notable steam locomotives of the Japanese National Railways
Class 10 17
Class 110 110
Class 150 150
Class 160 165
Class 230 233
Class 400 403
Class 860 860
Class 1275 1275
Class 1290 1292 Zenkō
Class 2100 2109
Class 7100 7101 Benkei • 7105 Yoshitsune • 7106 Shizuka
Class 7150 7150 Taishō
Class 8620 8620 • 8630 • 58654
Class 9600 9608 • 9633 • 49671
Class 9850 9856
Class B20 B20 10
Class C10 C10 8
Class C11 C11 1 • C11 64 • C11 123 • C11 171 • C11 190 • C11 207 • C11 227 • C11 312 • C11 325
Class C12 C12 66 • C12 164
Class C51 C51 5 • C51 239
Class C53 C53 43 • C53 45
Class C55 C55 1
Class C56 C56 31 • C56 44 • C56 135 • C56 160
Class C57 C57 1 • C57 135 • C57 180
Class C58 C58 1 • C58 239 • C58 363
Class C59 C59 1 • C59 164
Class C61 C61 2 • C61 20
Class C62 C62 2 • C62 3 • C62 17 • C62 48
Class D50 D50 140
Class D51 D51 1 • D51 146 • D51 200 • D51 498 • D51 827
Class D52 D52 1 • D52 468
Class E10 E10 2
Chichibu Railway rolling stock
Active Electric multiple unit 5000 • 6000 • 7000 • 7500 • 7800
Steam locomotive C58 (363)
Electric locomotive DeKi 100 • DeKi 200 • DeKi 300 • DeKi 500
Withdrawn Electric multiple unit 10 • 50 • 100 • 300 • 500 • 800 • 1000 • 2000 • 3000
Electric locomotive DeKi 1 • ED38
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.