I've received interesting pictures from a Danish rail-fan. He traveled Shikoku and Kyushu islands of Japan, and shot a preserved steam locomotive. My thanks go to Nicolai Okkels, who kindly sent me these photographs.
Unit 48647 of the Class 8620 is a precious steam locomotive (hereafter SL) preserved in Takachiho Town of Miyazaki Prefecture, Kyushu Island. Unit 48647 is preserved on the railway bridge. Why is it there? Because, this bridge is a part of an uncompleted railway line, which was canceled before completion. On the other hand, there is another way to use this uncompleted railway line. That's a shochu (a kind of Japanese liquors) storage using a tunnel. In short, this uncompleted line is used as both the preservation spot of the SL and the storage of shochu bottles by Shochu Brewery. Takachiho is thought to be a founding place of Japan, as there are many mythologies, so, many tourists visit there. This SL is a good landmark for tourists to visit the brewery.
For your information, the Class 8620 is a 2-6-0 (Whyte notation) type SL that has a tender attached. It was developed by the Ministry of Railways in the early 1910's for express trains on the semi-trunk lines. Unit 48647 was built in 1921, and retired from the track in 1973. One of the epoch-making events for this SL was pulling the Emperor's train in 1969. The Japanese flag on the front of this SL is a memorial of its glorious history.
