Tuesday, 19 November 2013

C62 17: World Record Holder on the Narrow Gauge Track

Steam locomotive C62 17 is exhibited in SCMAGLEV and Railway Park
 
Following the EMU 52 series, I am going to show you the other memorable exhibit in "SCMAGLEV and Railway Park" in Nagoya City.

Look at the top photo. It is steam locomotive (SL) number 17 of the type C62, manufactured in 1948 by Hitachi. The C62 is a 4-6-4 (Whyte notation) type steam locomotive that has a tender attached. A total of 49 units were built in 1948 and 1949 by Hitachi, Kawasaki Sharyo and Kisha Seizo.

The assignment of the C62 was to pull express passenger trains. It is particularly notable that the C62 pulled limited express trains, such as "Tsubame (swallow)" and "Hato (pigeon)". They were representative trains after WWII in Japan. The C62 was indeed the superstar on the iron tracks in Japan.

Particularly, unit number 17 was famous among rail fans, as it has a world speed record for SLs on the narrow gauge track. On December 15th in 1954, it set a new world record of 129km/hour (80.2miles/hour) on the Kiso River Bridge of the Tokaido Main Line. C62 17 is also famous for its long distance operation. It traveled a total of 2.75 million kilometers (1.71 million miles) in its career.

C62 17 retired from the track in 1970. It had been preserved in Higashiyama Park of Nagoya City for long time. It was, then, moved to SCMAGLEV and Railway Park in 2010. Currently, it is exhibited like a glorious brand new locomotive in the entrance hall.

 
Tender of C62 17