Kusatsu Light Railway No. 7

Kusatsu Light Railway No. 7
Technical specifications
Serial number(s)	Unknown
Manufacturer(s)	Amemiya Seisakusho
Build date	1920
Total produced	1
Classification	0-6-0
Dimensions	5,791 mm × Unknown × 3,124 mm
Rail gauge	2 ft 6 in (762 mm)
Valve gear	Walschaerts
Cylinders	2
Boiler pressure	12.0 kg/cm²
Fuel type	Coal
Heating area	8.4 m²
Service information
Years in-service	1920 – August 1943
Running numbers	7, later 16, then Ke 216
Disposition details
Preserved	None
Number operational	None
Number scrapped	1

Kusatsu Light Railway No. 7 was a 0-6-0WT Switcher-type narrow gauge well tank steam locomotive operated by the Kusatsu Light Railway and later other railway companies from 1920 to August 1943.

History

No. 7 was manufactured in September 1920 by Amemiya Seisakusho, a locomotive manufacturer based in Tokyo specialized in the manufacture of tank locomotives. Its serial number is unknown. No. 7 was manufactured for the Kusatsu Light Railway, a predecessor of the Kusakaru Electric Railway; it was of a standard design by Amemiya Seisakusho. It featured a similar design to the Ke 237 and 239 locomotives but with a shorter boiler.

The Kusakaru Electric Railway withdrew this locomotive from service in January 1934. It was then acquired by the Sasebo Railway and renumbered 16; in between that time Amemiya Seisakusho performed some repair works on the locomotive. When the railway was nationalized on 1 October 1936, 16 came under the ownership of the Japanese Government Railways; it would be reclassified as the Class Ke 216 and renumbered as such, and would be used until regauging works were completed in August 1944. The locomotive would be stored and struck off the register in September 1945. Following this Ke 216 was likely scrapped.

Few photos exist of the locomotive.