China Railways JF6
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The China Railways JF6 (解放6, ''Jiěfàng'', "liberation") class steam locomotive was a class of
2-8-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and two trailing wheel ...
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
s for freight trains operated by the
China Railway China State Railway Group Company, Ltd., doing business as China Railway (CR), is the national passenger and freight railroad corporation of the People's Republic of China. China Railway operates passenger and freight transport throughout Ch ...
. They were originally built in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and
Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...
between 1934 and 1944 for the
South Manchuria Railway The South Manchuria Railway ( ja, 南満州鉄道, translit=Minamimanshū Tetsudō; ), officially , Mantetsu ( ja, 満鉄, translit=Mantetsu) or Mantie () for short, was a large of the Empire of Japan whose primary function was the operatio ...
(''Mantetsu''), the
Manchukuo National Railway The Manchukuo National Railway (Traditional Chinese and Japanese kanji: , Japanese romanization: ''Manshū Kokuyū Tetsudō'') was the state-owned national railway company of Manchukuo. Generally called the "國線" ("National Line", ''Kokusen' ...
, and the North China Transportation Company.


History


Mantetsu Mikasa class (ミカサ)

Needing a replacement for the Sorii-class locomotives transferred to the Manchukuo National in 1933, Mantetsu ordered the construction of replacements for use on light freight trains and for shunting duties. The result was the Mikasa (ミカサ) class, which was a smaller, lighter version of the Mikai-class 2-8-2s already in service, and 43 were built in Japan for Mantetsu in 1934 by Kawasaki, Kisha Seizō,
Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...
, and Nippon Sharyō. Numbered 1400 through 1442, the last 22 - 1421 through 1442 - were built with a sloped tender designed to allow greater rearwards visibility during shunting operations. Later, some were fitted with a
booster engine A booster engine for steam locomotives is a small two-cylinder steam engine back-gear-connected to the trailing truck axle on the locomotive or the lead truck on the tender. A rocking idler gear permits it to be put into operation by the driver ...
for use on mountainous lines. 26 of the design were built in the same year for the Manchukuo National, which designated them Mikaro (ミカロ) class. Numbered 6600 through 6625, these were known as the "National Small Mika" (國小ミカ), distinguishing them from the Mikana-class "National Big Mika" (国大ミカ) introduced the previous year. After some modifications to the design, another 22 were built in 1935 for the Manchukuo National; these were known as the "New National Small Mika" (新國小ミカ) and were numbered 6626 through 6647. Under the unified classification system of 1938, the Mantetsu Mikasa and Mikaro classes, and the Manchukuo National Mikaro classes were grouped together and classified Mikaro class.


Mantetsu Mikaro class (ミカロ)

To operate on its North Chosen Line in the north-eastern part of
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 ...
, Mantetsu ordered a number of locomotives designed to burn the low-calorie
lignite Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...
found in abundance in Korea. To accomplish this, the area of the firegrate was increased by as compared to that of the Mikasa class. Along with the Puresa-class
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 ...
tank locomotive 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 locom ...
s and the Pashisa-class
4-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomotiv ...
passenger locomotives, Mantetsu's Mikaro (ミカロ) class formed the backbone of the power in use on the North Chosen Line. Although the Mikaro class was based on the Mikasa design, care was taken during the design process to maximise the number of parts shared between the Mikaro and Pashisa class locomotives.Ichihara, Yoshizumi, 写真集南満洲鉄道 (South Manchuria Railway Photo Collection) pp. 117-118, 138, 1998 Seibundo Shinkosha Publishing Co. Ltd. (in Japanese) The Mikaro class entered production in 1935, with 22 being built between then and 1938, for use on the North Chosen Line. As more were built after 1938, they were put into service on other Mantetsu lines as well, and between 1935 and 1944, a total of 58, initially numbered 1480 through 1499, 11400, and 11401, were built for Mantetsu by Kawasaki, Kisha Seizo, Nippon Sharyo, Mantetsu's Shahekou Works, and the Dalian Machine Works; these were the first locomotives built by the Dalian Machine Works. The Manchukuo National also ordered the new design with the larger firegrate, taking delivery of 171 between 1936 and 1944. Like the Sorisa-class, they were fitted with a regauging device to allow operation on Russian gauge lines, in anticipation of a possible Japanese invasion of the
Soviet Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...
. Given the Mikaro classification too and initially numbered 6648 through 6699 and 16600 through 16638, in the 1938 unified numbering system they became Mikaro class 549 through 629; the units built after the renumbering were numbered 630 through 639 and 645 through 724; the missing numbers, 640-644, are those that were assigned to locomotives that were diverted to the North China Transportation Company before they could be delivered to the Manchukuo National. In addition to the five diverted from the Manchukuo National, 72 Mikaro class locomotives were built by Kisha Seizō for North China Transport in 1938−1939 and 1943−1944; North China Transport operated over 100 locomotives of the class. A number of Mikaro-class locomotives were loaned to the
West Chosen Central Railway The West Chōsen Central Railway (Japanese: 西鮮中央鉄道, ''Sōsen Chūō Tetsudō''; Korean: 서선중앙철도, ''Seoseon Jung'ang Cheoldo''), was a privately owned railway company in Japanese-occupied Korea. History The West Chōsen Ce ...
in 1944–45 to alleviate power shortages on that line.


Mikaku class (ミカク)

At the request of the
Kwantung Army ''Kantō-gun'' , image = Kwantung Army Headquarters.JPG , image_size = 300px , caption = Kwantung Army headquarters in Hsinking, Manchukuo , dates = April ...
, the Dalian Machine Works (other sources say
Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...
's
Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...
Shipyards) built a single experimental condenser version of the Mikaro class in 1941. This was designated the ミカク (''Mikaku'') class and numbered ミカク501, as a Manchukuo National unit. A flue gas turbine was installed in front of the locomotive's chimney, with the exhaust pipe leading to a condenser on the tender, where the steam was cooled down and recycled into water again, to allow for operations over long distances without having to take on water; this was a major concern in the northern part of Manchuria, where it was difficult to secure water for the locomotives. In tests, Mikaku 501 recorded without taking on more water, but the design was never put into production.


Postwar


China Railways 解放6 (JF6) class

Of the 320 Mikaro class locomotives owned by Mantetsu and the Manchukuo National Railway, at the end of the
Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...
20 were assigned to the Dairen Port Railway Bureau, 38 to the
Mukden Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu name Mukden, is a major Chinese sub-provincial city and the provincial capital of Liaoning province. Located in central-north Liaoning, it is the provi ...
Bureau, 32 to the
Jinzhou Jinzhou (, ), formerly Chinchow, is a coastal prefecture-level city in central-west Liaoning province, China. It is a geographically strategic city located in the Liaoxi Corridor, which connects most of the land transports between North Chin ...
Bureau, 68 to the
Mudanjiang Mudanjiang (; Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later ...
Bureau, 29 to the
Harbin Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...
Bureau, and 50 to the
Qiqihar Qiqihar () is the second-largest city in the Heilongjiang province of China, in the west central part of the province. The built-up (or metro) area made up of Longsha, Tiefeng and Jianhua districts had 959,787 inhabitants, while the total populat ...
Bureau, whilst a further 75 were loaned out to other railways in China. These 312 locomotives were handed over to the Republic of China Railways in 1945; the remaining eight were on loan to the
West Chosen Central Railway The West Chōsen Central Railway (Japanese: 西鮮中央鉄道, ''Sōsen Chūō Tetsudō''; Korean: 서선중앙철도, ''Seoseon Jung'ang Cheoldo''), was a privately owned railway company in Japanese-occupied Korea. History The West Chōsen Ce ...
and ended up in
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 ...
. After the establishment of the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, China Railways designated these the ㄇㄎ陸 (MK6) class in 1951, and in 1959 they were reclassified 解放6 (JF6) class; all former Mika-class locomotives were grouped together in the 解放 Class (''Jiěfàng'', "liberation"). A final batch of five JF6 were built in China between 1958 and 1960. The Mikaro class locomotives inherited from Mantetsu, the Manchukuo National and North China Transport, along with the five built new after the war, were numbered by China Railways in the 3001−3475 range. Although Chinese sources quote a number series of JF6 3001−3600, 3475 is the highest number to have been reported. It is probable that the last 120 locos were never built as the highest number reported, JF6 3475, is one of the final batch and carries Shenyang 1959 plates. Those in industrial use were active until the late 1990s. The JF6 was the predecessor of the more modern SY class,Robin Gibbons
Locomotives of China
The JF6 Family
which was a further development of the JF6 design.Duncan Cotterill

''Railography''
Currently, JF6 3022 is preserved at the
China Railway Museum The China Railway Museum () is a Chinese museum preserving locomotives that have operated on the railways of the People's Republic of China. The museum offers a total exhibition space of 16500m² and 8 exhibition tracks. The museum is located ...
in Beijing, whilst JF6 3329 is preserved at the
Shenyang Steam Locomotive Museum Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...
.


Korean State Railway 미가유 (Migayu) class/6600 series

Due to locomotive shortages, a number (believed to be eight) of Mikaro class locomotives were loaned from Mantetsu to the
West Chosen Central Railway The West Chōsen Central Railway (Japanese: 西鮮中央鉄道, ''Sōsen Chūō Tetsudō''; Korean: 서선중앙철도, ''Seoseon Jung'ang Cheoldo''), was a privately owned railway company in Japanese-occupied Korea. History The West Chōsen Ce ...
; these were taken over by 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 ...
of North Korea after the end of the war. In addition to these, the Korean State Railway also received around 70 JF class locomotives, including JF6s, from China as aid during the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. Regardless of origin, the Mikaro class locomotives were initially designated 미가유 class (''Migayu''), and later renumbered in the 6600 series.


Korean National Railroad 미카6 (Mika6) class

In 1947, the US military ordered five Mikaro-class locomotives for 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 ...
of
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 ...
from Kisha Seizō; These, together with the former Sentetsu Mika1 and Mika2 class locomotives that the KNR had converted to run on lignite in the early 1950s, were designated Mika6 (미카6) class by the KNR.


Vietnam Railways Giải Phóng 6 (GP6) class

During the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, China supplied around sixty JF6 class locomotives to the
Vietnam Railways Vietnam Railways (VNR, ) is the state-owned operator of the railway system in Vietnam. The principal route is the single-track North–South Railway line, running between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. This was built at the metre gau ...
as aid, which designated them class Giải Phóng 6 ("liberation").Standard Gauge JF6/GP6 Class
''Railways in Vietnam''
Two dumped locos at
Laibin Laibin (, Zhuang: Laizbinh) is a prefecture-level city in the central part of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. History Laibin is an ancient town with more than 2000 years of history. The area was settled in prehistoric times, more tha ...
, are said to be ex-Vietnam.


See also

*
China Railways JF China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
*
China Railways SY The SY () class 2-8-2 Mikado is one of the main industrial locomotives used by China Railways built mostly by Tangshan Railway Vehicle between 1960 and 1999. History and design The SY class was the last major class of steam locomotives to be p ...


Notes


References

{{Locomotives of Vietnam 2-8-2 locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1934 Shahekou Works locomotives Kawasaki locomotives Hitachi locomotives Kisha Seizo locomotives Nippon Sharyo locomotives Steam locomotives of China Standard gauge locomotives of China Rolling stock of Manchukuo Locomotives of Korea Locomotives of South Korea Locomotives of North Korea Standard gauge locomotives of Vietnam Steam locomotives of Vietnam