JNR Class C62

The Class C62 (C62形) is a type of 4-6-4 steam locomotive built by Japanese National Railways (JNR) in Japan. The C classification indicates three sets of driving wheels. The C62 was built with a 4-6-4 frame, upon which was mounted the boiler of the JNR Class D52 2-8-2 locomotives.

These were the largest and fastest steam passenger locomotives to run in Japan, and hauled the Tsubame (swallow) express on the Tōkaidō Main Line between Tokyo and Osaka. Only South Africa operated more powerful Cape gauge locomotives.^[1] Forty-nine C62s were built from 1948 to 1949.^[2] Five C62s hauled the Teine express in Hokkaido between Otaru and Hakodate after they were displaced by electrification of the Tōkaidō Main Line. Two locomotives were used to double-head trains on the 2.5% (1:40) grades between Otaru and Oshamambe where they were a popular tourist and railfan attraction until 1971.^[1] The last examples in regular service were withdrawn in 1973.

A class C62 locomotive, C62 17, broke the speed record for a narrow-gauge steam locomotive on 15 December 1954 when it reached 129 km/h (80 mph) on the Tōkaidō Main Line. This locomotive was preserved in a park in Nagoya,^[3] and later moved to the SCMaglev and Railway Park in Nagoya.^[4]

In popular culture

The C62 has achieved a level of fame due in part to the manga/anime series Galaxy Express 999, in which the express is pulled by an advanced space locomotive that is built to replicate a C62.

The founders of Hudson Soft (rail fan brothers Yuji and Hiroshi Kudo) were fond of the C62 and other 4-6-4 locomotives,^[5] so they named the company after them: 4-6-4 configuration locomotives are also known as Hudsons or Hudson-types. Japan picked up the term from the USA (where the first 4-6-4 built was named after the Hudson River), the C60, C61, and C62 used many American design elements and conventions in their designs, apparently including class names. Hudson Soft also named a number of products after the C62, including the development kit for the PC Engine,^[6][7] and a chip (Hu62) that was used in a later version of the hardware.^[8] It was also the code name for their console before they settled on PC Engine.^[9]

Preserved examples

As of 2012, five Class C62 locomotives were preserved at various locations around the country.^[10]

• C62 1: Preserved at the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum in Kyoto^[10]
• C62 2: Preserved in working order by JR West at the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Museum in Kyoto^[10] This locomotive wears a stainless steel swallow on its smoke deflector as a reminder of the era when it hauled the famous Tsubame express.^[1]
• C62 3: Preserved at JR Hokkaido's Naebo Works in Sapporo, Hokkaido^[10]
• C62 17: On display at the SCMaglev and Railway Park in Nagoya^[4]
• C62 26: On display at the Modern Transportation Museum in Osaka^[10]

See also

• Japan Railways locomotive numbering and classification

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to C62 steam locomotives.

Japanese Railway Locomotives
Steam locomotives	150 160 860 2120 3380 3900 5100 5500 7010 7100 7170 8150 8620 9600 B20 C10 C11 C12 C50 C51 C52 C53 C54 C55 C56 C57 C58 C59 C60 C61 C62 C63 D50 D51 D52 D60 D61 D62 E10
Diesel locomotives	DD11 DD13 DD14 DD15 DD16 DD17 DD18 DD19 DD20 DD50 DD51 DD53 DD54 DE10 DE11 DE15 DE50 DF50 DF200 HD300
Electric locomotives	EB10 ED10 ED18 ED60 ED61 ED62 ED70 ED71 ED72 ED73 ED74 ED75 ED76 ED77 ED78 ED79 EF15 EF30 EF50 EF51 EF52 EF53 EF55 EF56 EF57 EF58 EF59 EF60 EF61 EF62 EF63 EF64 EF65 EF66 EF67 EF70 EF71 EF80 EF81 EH10 ED500 EF200 EF210 EF500 EF510 EH200 EH500 EH800 Chichibu DeKi 100 Chichibu DeKi 200 Chichibu DeKi 300 Chichibu DeKi 500 Meitetsu DeKi 300 Meitetsu DeKi 400 Meitetsu DeKi 600 Meitetsu Class EL120 Seibu E31 Seibu E851 Toei E5000