The China Railways SL5 (勝利5, ''Shènglì'', "victory") steam locomotive was a class of

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 locomo ...

passenger steam locomotives 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 C ...

. They were originally built 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 ...

in 1927 and 1928.

History

As speeds increased and trains got heavier with the introduction of steel passenger carriages, the Pashishi class became inadequate, and the Pashiko class was ordered as a replacement. It was the first locomotive designed by Nobutarō Yoshino (吉野信太郎), who had returned to Japan in 1927 after two and a half years of studying at the

American Locomotive Company The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomo ...

, and who went on to be involved in the design of most subsequent Mantetsu locomotives. To boost the performance, cylinder size was increased and the fire grate was made larger. The Pashiko class was the first Mantetsu locomotive to be equipped with a combustion chamber firebox, and the first passenger locomotive to be fitted with an automatic stoker. With the introduction of the Pashiko class, of which eleven were built by the Shahekou Works in 1927 and 1928, the travel time of the

Dalian Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on ...

–

Changchun Changchun (, ; ), also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a , comprising 7 districts, 1 county and 3 ...

"Hato" express train dropped from 12 hours 30 minutes in 1929 to 10 hours 30 minutes in 1933. In 1934 they were used for high-speed tests of the "

Asia Express The ''Asia Express'' ( ja, アジア号, translit=Ajia-gō, ) was a super express passenger train operated by the South Manchuria Railway (''Mantetsu'') from 1934 until 1943. This limited express, which began operation in November 1934 and was M ...

" between Dalian and

Fengtian Fengtian (; postal: Fengtien; Manchu: ''Abkai imiyangga fu'') is: * Shenyang, largest city and provincial capital of Liaoning province, which was formerly administered under Fengtian Fu, which was abolished in 1910 * Liaoning, the province formerl ...

. Until the arrival of the streamlined Pashina class, these locomotives were the most emblematic of Mantetsu passenger service.

Postwar

All eleven survived the war, with five having been assigned to the Dalian Railway Bureau, and six to the Fengtian Bureau at the end of the war, and were taken over by the Republic of China Railway. In 1951, the

designated them class ㄆㄒ伍 (PX5), subsequently becoming class SL5 (勝利, ''Shènglì'', "victory") in 1959, and were numbered in the 281–300 range. They were used by CR primarily around Shenyang on passenger trains. SL5 281-283, and 292 were noted to be in dump around Sujiatun Locomotive Depot in April 1984. SL5 296 was noted to be in service around Sujiatun Locomotive Depot in October 1980.SL5 281 to SL5 300
_Railography : Chinese Locomotive Lists SL5-292 is preserved at the

Shenyang Railway Museum 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 provinc ...

References

{{Mantetsu rolling stock 4-6-2 locomotives Shahekou Works locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1927 Steam locomotives of China Standard gauge locomotives of China Rolling stock of Manchukuo Passenger locomotives