The Pure or Pureo (Japanese プレ, Korean 푸러) class locomotives were a group of steam tank locomotives with

2-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, six coupled driving wheels and two trailing wheels. This arrangement is commonly called a Prairie. Overview The major ...

wheel arrangement In rail transport, a wheel arrangement or wheel configuration is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed under a locomotive. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and c ...

of various types used by the

Chosen Government Railway Chosen or The Chosen may refer to: The chosen ones *Chosen people, people who believe they have been chosen by a higher power to do a certain thing including **Jews as the chosen people Books *The Chosen (Potok novel), ''The Chosen'' (Potok novel ...

(''Sentetsu'') in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. The "Pure" name came from the American naming system for steam locomotives, under which locomotives with 2-6-2 wheel arrangement were called "Prairie". The first Pure type locomotives to arrive in Korea were a group of 18 locomotives imported by the

Gyeongbu Railway The Gyeongbu Line (''Gyeongbuseon'') is a railway line in South Korea and is considered to be the most important and one of the oldest ones in the country. It was constructed in 1905, connecting Seoul with Busan via Suwon, Daejeon, and Daegu. ...

from the

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades t ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

for use on their

Gyeongseong Seoul has been known in the past by successive names, including Wiryeseong () and Hanseong (Baekje era), Bukhansangun (Goguryo era), Hanyang (North and South states period), Namgyeong (, Goryeo era), Hanyangbu (Goryeo under Mongol rule), Hanseong ...

–

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

line. Eight classes of Pure type locomotives were subsequently introduced by Sentetsu, eventually becoming one of the most representative types of locomotive of the early era of Korean railways, used on all lines. All Pure type locomotives used in Korea were

tank locomotives A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locomot ...

; there were no 2-6-2 locomotives with tenders used anywhere in Korea. All but the Pureha class (プレハ, Pure-8) had a driver diameter of and a maximum speed of . In addition to Sentetsu, Pure type locomotives of various classes were used by a number of private railways in Korea, including the Gyeongchun Railway and the Chosen Gyeongnam Railway. As the

Teho TEHO is an energy drink manufactured by Olvi company of Finland. "Teho" is Finnish and means "efficiency" or "power" in English. It contains caffeine, taurine, guarana, maltodextrose and a small amount of B vitamins. TEHO was first brought to the ...

and Pashi type locomotives were introduced, the Pure classes were downgraded to use on branchlines and local trains. In total, eight classes of Pure-type locomotives were operated by Sentetsu: * Purei * Pureni * Puresa * Pureshi * Pureko * Purero * Purena * Pureha After

Liberation Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

, of the 279 surviving locomotives of all Pure classes (including the 52 owned by various private railways), 169 went to the

Korean National Railroad The Korea Railroad Corporation (Korean: 한국철도공사, Hanja: ), branded as KORAIL (코레일, officially changed to in November 2019), is the national railway operator in South Korea. Currently, KORAIL is a public corporation, managed ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, and 110 to the

Korean State Railway The Korean State Railway (), commonly called the State Rail () is the operating arm of the Ministry of Railways of North Korea and has its headquarters at P'yŏngyang. The current Minister of Railways is Chang Jun Song. History 1945–195 ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

References

{{Sentetsu rolling stock Locomotives of Korea under Japanese rule Locomotives of North Korea Locomotives of South Korea Steam locomotives of China Standard gauge locomotives of China Rolling stock of Manchukuo 2-6-2 locomotives