After observing the Seibu steam locomotive (SL) preserved in a public park, I visited another preserved Seibu SL owned by a private school in Tokyo.
Shibaura Institute of Technology (SIT) Junior and Senior High School is a historical private school in Koto Ward of Tokyo Metropolis. It was established in 1922 to offer secondary education to the employees of the Japanese Government Railways under the name of Tokyo Railway Junior High School. After WWII, this school became an attached school of Shibaura Institute of Technology, and continues to this day. On November 12th, 2022, SIT Junior and Senior High School celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding. In commemoration, the school took over an old SL from Seibu Railway, and started to display it in front of the school.
The preserved SL is Unit 4 of Seibu Railway. It was built in 1886 by Nasmyth, Wilson & Co., Ltd. in Manchester, UK. It was firstly operated on the Japanese Government Railways under the name of Unit 403 of Class 400, then transferred to Kawagoe Railway (present Seibu Railway) in 1914. After operating for 79 years in total, it was retired from the track in 1965. Unit 4 is a 2-4-2 type (Whyte notation) small tank locomotive. It's 9.188 meters long, and weighs 31,650 kilograms. The diameter of the driving wheels is 1.321 meters. It was being preserved in very good condition.
Anyone can observe this SL for free. Congratulations on the 100th anniversary of SIT Junior and Senior High School!
