Naha Station of Okinawa Prefectural Railways

was the railway operated by the Okinawa Prefectural Government on

Okinawa Island is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan. The island is approximately long, an average wide, and has an ...

from 1914 to 1945. Locally called the ''Keebin'' (Okinawan pronunciation of ''keiben'', part of ''keiben tetsudō'' or "light railway"), it operated about 48 kilometers of gauge light railway until it was destroyed in the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

Lines

The railway operated following four 762-mm gauge lines as of April 1, 1943: *

Naha is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area i ...

–

Yonabaru is a town in Shimajiri District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is located at the southern end of Okinawa Island, on the east coast, overlooking Nakagusuku Bay. As of 2015, the town has a population of 18,410 and a population density of 3,502 pe ...

(Yonabaru Line, 9.4 km) * Kohagura – Kadena (Kadena Line, 22.3 km) * Kokuba –

Itoman ''ʔIcuman'' is a Cities of Japan, city located in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The city occupies the southern tip of Okinawa Island. As of April 2013, the city has an estimated population of 59,605 and a population density of 1,335.53 persons pe ...

(Itoman Line, 15.0 km) * Naha – Sanbashi Niatsukaisho (Freight Line, 0.9 km) Note: Kohagura and Kokuba were intermediate stations of the Yonabaru Line.

History

The Yonabaru Line opened on December 1, 1914. The freight line to Sanbashi Niatsukaisho opened on July 1, 1917. The Kadena Line and the Itoman Line opened on March 28, 1922 and July 11, 1923 respectively. The railway introduced gasoline

railcar A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a drive ...

s in 1930. The number of railcars increased to six by 1938. However, the shortage of gasoline soon resulted in less use of the railcars. In the preparation stage for the Battle of Okinawa, the railway ceased normal operation on July 10, 1944, when 13,000 men of Imperial Army 9th Division started landing at Naha. From the next day the railway mostly operated trains for the military. After the air raid on October 10, 1944 which destroyed Naha Station as well as two locomotives, four railcars and six coaches, the operation was not resumed until early November. On December 11, 1944, a train on the Itoman Line carrying weapons, ammunition and fuel exploded for unknown reason in Haebaru. About 210 soldiers, eight students and three railway employees on board were killed. By the number of death, this is the deadliest railway accident in the history of Japan. The attacks by the enemy preceding the landing (April 1, 1945) finally forced the railway operation discontinued by the end of March 1945. The exact date of final operation of the railway is not known.

Rolling stock

The railway used 12 steam locomotives, six railcars, 52 passenger coaches and 51 freight cars. Nos. 1, 2 and 3 were

0-4-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement with no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. While the first locomotiv ...

locomotives made by

Henschel Henschel & Son (german: Henschel und Sohn) was a German company, located in Kassel, best known during the 20th century as a maker of transportation equipment, including locomotives, trucks, buses and trolleybuses, and armoured fighting vehicle ...

in Germany in 1914. No. 4 was

0-4-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven. The wheels on the earliest four-coupled locomotives were ...

locomotive made by

Nippon Sharyo , formed in 1896, is a major rolling stock manufacturer based in Nagoya, Japan. In 1996, it abbreviated its name to "日本車両" Nippon Sharyō. Its shortest abbreviation is Nissha "日車". It was a listed company on Nikkei 225 until 2 ...

in Nagoya, Japan in 1921 and was scrapped in 1936. Nos. 6, 7 and 8 were

0-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. This was the most common wheel arrangemen ...

locomotives made by

Orenstein & Koppel Orenstein & Koppel (normally abbreviated to "O&K") was a major Germany, German engineering company specialising in railway vehicles, escalators, and heavy equipment. It was founded on April 1, 1876 in Berlin by Benno Orenstein and Arthur Koppel. ...

in Germany in 1923. Nos. 11, 12, 13 and 14 were

locomotives made by

Avonside Engine Company The Avonside Engine Company was a locomotive manufacturer in Avon Street, St. Philip's, Bristol, England between 1864 and 1934. However the business originated with an earlier enterprise Henry Stothert and Company. Origins The firm was original ...

in England between 1911 and 1913 for the

Ishinomaki Line The is a railway line in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It connects Kogota Station in Misato with Onagawa Station in Onagawa, acting as a spur line from the Tōhoku Main Line to the central coast o ...

and were bought from the

Japanese Government Railways The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national railway system directly operated by the Japanese Ministry of Railways ( ja, 鉄道省, Tetsudō-shō, ) until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan Rai ...

which reconstructed the Ishinomaki Line to gauge in 1920. No. 20 was

0-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The type is sometimes known a ...

locomotive made in Motoe Kikai Works in Toyama, Japan in 1942.Kada, ''supra'', pp. 46–48

References

{{Commons category History of Okinawa Prefecture Defunct railway companies of Japan 2 ft 6 in gauge railways in Japan