Sasebo Railway Class 7

Sasebo Railway Class 7
Model of Class Ke 800 locomotive
Technical specifications
Serial number(s)	80 – 83
Manufacturer(s)	Wakatsu Tekkōjo
Build date	1931
Total produced	4
Classification	2-4-2
Dimensions	7,665 mm × Unknown × 3,146 mm
Rail gauge	2 ft 6 in (762 mm)
Valve gear	Walschaerts
Cylinders	2
Boiler pressure	12.7 kg/cm²
Fuel type	Coal
Heating area	37.05 m²
Service information
Years in-service	1931 – December 1956
Running numbers	7 – 10, later Ke 800 – Ke 803
Disposition details
Preserved	None
Number operational	None
Number scrapped	12

The Sasebo Railway Class 7 was a 2-4-2T Columbian-type narrow gauge side tank steam locomotive operated by the Sasebo Railway and later other railway companies from 1931 to December 1956.

History

The Class 7 was an early steam locomotive used in Japan. A total of four locomotives were manufactured by Wakatsu Tekkōjo in 1931 for the Sasebo Railway in conjunction with the opening of the third phase of the line; Wakatsu Tekkojō was the successor company to what was known as the Fukagawa Dockyard and Machine Works, having been renamed as such in 1930. This class of locomotive, despite being inferior to the Ke 217 in terms of output, was the last of the "Ke-type" locomotives built and the largest, with a 2-4-2T wheel arrangement.

When the railway was nationalized on 1 October 1936, the locomotives came under the ownership of the Japanese Government Railways; they would be reclassified as the Class Ke 800 and renumbered Ke 800 through Ke 803, and would be used until regauging works were completed in August 1944. Following this, the locomotives were stored at Sasa Depot until they were struck off in 1948.

Following this, Ke 800 and Ke 802 were transferred to the Nippon Mining Saganoseki Railway, with approval for the transfer granted on 13 September 1949. Ke 801 was leased since at least 1945 to the Besshi Mine Railway, where it was renumbered 40; the locomotive's wheelbase was considered too large so it never entered revenue service on that railway and was only used for test runs before being struck off on 19 August 1950, before it was resold to the United States Army and renumbered 6 and intended for use in Korea in 1952. Ke 803 was not transferred and was ultimately scrapped after being in poor condition. Both locomotives on the Saganoseki Railway were not renumbered; Ke 800 was withdrawn in 1954 and Ke 802 withdrawn in December 1956.

No Class 7 locomotives have been preserved.

Trivia

• The locomotives were never given classifications by the Sasebo Railway; this naming scheme is given for consistency and convenience.