JNR C61 Class Steam Locomotive

After World War II, freight traffic decreased while passenger demand surged, resulting in a shortage of locomotives for passenger service. To address this, the C61 class, intended for secondary main lines, was built by combining a surplus D51 freight boiler with a newly built C57 running gear. From 1947 to 1949, 33 locomotives were converted and manufactured by Hitachi and Mitsubishi. To reduce axle load, the C57's single-axle trailing wheel was replaced with a two-axle trailing truck, making it the first Japanese locomotive with a 4-6-4 wheel arrangement. At the same time, the C62 class was built for main line service, but unlike the prominent C62, the C61 had a more modest presence and was primarily used in Kyushu until 1974. Today, two locomotives (C61 2 and C61 20) are preserved in operational condition: one by JR West for limited operation within the Kyoto Railway Museum, and one by JR East for excursion service. Two additional units are preserved statically in Kagoshima and Fukuoka Prefectures.