JNR Class C59

JNR Class C59
C59 1 preserved at the Kyushu Railway History Museum in January 2018
Technical specifications
Manufacturer(s)	Hitachi, Kawasaki Sharyō, Kisha Seizō
Build date	1941 – 1943, 1946 – 1947
Total produced	173
Classification	4-6-2
Dimensions	70 ft 9 in × Unknown × 13 ft
Rail gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Service information
Years in-service	1941 – 1970
Running numbers	C59 1 – C59 132, C59 156 – C59 196
Disposition details
Preserved	3 (none operational)
Number scrapped	170

The JNR Class C59 is a 4-6-2 Pacific-type steam locomotive built for the JNR from 1941 to 1947.

History

The C59s were used mainly as passenger locomotives and were essentially the successor locomotives to the Class C53 locomotives which were infamous for being difficult to maintain due to their use of Gresley conjugated valve gear. The locomotives practically replaced the C53s in their role and served in that capacity until 1970, at which point they were retired.

A total of 173 locomotives were produced from 1941 to 1947 (with a hiatus between 1943 and 1946 due to World War II) by three manufacturers: Hitachi, Kawasaki Sharyō (now known as Kawasaki Heavy Industries) and Kisha Seizō (now defunct). Those produced from 1941 to 1943 are known as prewar-specification locomotives while those produced from 1946 to 1947 are known as postwar-specification locomotives.

Three locomotives have been preserved.

Preservation

The following Class C59 locomotives have been preserved:

Number	Manufacturer	Date manufactured	Serial number	Date withdrawn	Location	Notes
C59 1	Kisha Seizō	24 May 1941	2000	22 October 1965	Kyushu Railway History Museum, Kitakyushu, Kyushu, Japan	Displayed indoors; 2000th locomotive produced by Kisha Seizō
C59 161	Hitachi	4 July 1946	1996	28 November 1970	5-Days Children's Cultural Science Museum, Hiroshima, Japan	Displayed outdoors
C59 162		23 July 1946	1997	10 October 1970	Fuchū Community Center, Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan	Driving wheel and smoke box door only; plinthed on rail
C59 164		31 July 1946	1999	28 March 1979	Kyoto Railway Museum, Kyoto, Japan	Displayed in roundhouse, occasionally wheeled onto turntable; operational at museum until 1979

The following Class C59 locomotives were preserved in the past but have since been scrapped:

Number	Manufacturer	Date manufactured	Serial number	Date withdrawn	Last location	Notes
C59 166	Hitachi	31 July 1946	2001	6 February 1963	JR West Staff Training Center, Osaka, Japan	Displayed outdoors; scrapped September 2006

Trivia

• The locomotives are popularly known as Shigoku or Shigokyū (C59 in Japanese) among railfans.

Gallery

References

• Wikipedia.org