The Class C12 is a type of 2-6-2T steam locomotive built by 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 Ra ...

and the

Japanese National Railways The abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pref ...

from 1932 to 1947. A total of 282 Class C12 locomotives were built and designed by

Hideo Shima was a Japanese engineer and the driving force behind the building of the first bullet train (Shinkansen). Shima was born in Osaka in 1901, and educated at the Tokyo Imperial University, where he studied Mechanical Engineering. His father was p ...

Service outside Japan

North China Transport プレA, China Railways PL51, Vietnam Railways 131

From 1938 to 1939, 60 C12s were converted to metre gauge and shipped to the North China Transportation Company, where they operated primarily between

Zhengding Zhengding (), originally Zhending (), is a county in southwestern Hebei Province, North China, located approximately south of Beijing. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Shijiazhuang, the capital of the province, and h ...

and Taiyuan. They were classified プレA (''Pure''A). In 1939 Shijiazhuang–Taiyuan Railway was converted to standard gauge, these locomotives removed to Datong–Puzhou Railway north section. 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 ...

, they were taken over by the China Railway, where they were classified ㄆㄌ51 in 1951, and PL51 in 1959. In 1956 the Datong–Puzhou Railway north section was reconverted to standard gauge, they were transferred to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, and they were classified 131.

Taiwan Railways Administration CK120

From 1936 to 1941, the Nippon-Sharyo was built in 7 C12s for

Governor-General of Taiwan The governor-general of Taiwan ( ja, 臺灣總督, Taiwan Sōtoku) was the head of the Government-General of Taiwan in the Japanese era (including Formosa and the Pescadores) when they were part of the Empire of Japan, from 1895 to 1945. The ...

Railway. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, they were taken over by

Taiwan Railways Administration Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is a railway operator in Taiwan. It is an agency of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, responsible for managing, maintaining, and running conventional passenger and freight railway services ...

, and they were classified CK120.''CK120 class''
_Kurogane No Michi CK124 is preserved at Changhua Locomotive Depot.

Indonesian State Railways Class C32

In 1943, the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

sent two locomotives, C12 94 and C12 168, to Surabaya,

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

for a military transport with a 1067 mm gauge. They were based at Sidotopo depot.Prayogo, Prabowo, Radityo 2017, p. 83 The original knuckle coupler were replaced with

Norwegian coupler A Norwegian coupling (or meat chopper) or claw hammer coupling or pickaxe coupling is a manual coupling consisting of a central buffer with a mechanical hook that drops into a slot in the central buffer. The system is only found on narrow gauge ra ...

. After the war, the two locomotives were received by the Indonesian Railways and were classed as C32. The Indonesian Railways only used them as

shunter A switcher, shunter, yard pilot, switch engine, yard goat, or shifter is a small railroad locomotive used for manoeuvring railroad cars inside a rail yard in a process known as ''switching'' (US) or ''shunting'' (UK). Switchers are not inten ...

s for goods wagons in Surabaya area as their profile are too big for Indonesian Railways loading gauge. Both of the locomotives were scrapped around 1980s.

Preserved examples

26 Class C12 locomotives are preserved, as listed below, with four in working order.

Operational

* C12 66:

Mooka Railway Mooka Line The is a Japanese railway line connecting Shimodate Station, in Chikusei, Ibaraki and Motegi Station in Motegi, Tochigi. It is the only railway line operated by the . The third sector company took over the former JR East line in 1988. In additi ...

, Mooka, Tochigi (operational) * C12 167: Wakasa Railway (operational, runs on compressed air) * C12 244:

Akechi Line The is a Japanese railway line in Gifu Prefecture connecting Ena and Akechi stations, which are both located in Ena. There are stations located in Nakatsugawa city as well. This is the only railway line operates. The third-sector company too ...

(operational, runs on compressed air) * C12 4 (CK124): Taiwan Railways, Changhua Railway Roundhouse (operational) File:Japanese-national-railways-C12-164-20120403.jpg, C12 164, April 2012

Static

* C12 2:

Mikasa, Hokkaido is a city located in Sorachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of September 2016, the city has an estimated population of 9,056, and the density of 30 persons per km2. Geography The total area is 302.64 km2. It is bordered on three sides ...

* C12 5 * C12 6 * C12 29 * C12 38 * C12 49 * C12 60 * C12 64 * C12 67 * C12 69 * C12 74 * C12 85 * C12 88:

Itoigawa, Niigata is a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 41,333, and a population density of 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Itoigawa is located in the far southwestern corne ...

* C12 119 (131-428): Preserved in Da Lat Railway Station in Dalat city, Lam Dong province, Vietnam * C12 163 * C12 164: Operated on the Ōigawa Railway until 2005. * C12 171 * C12 187 * C12 199 * C12 208: Ōigawa Railway,

Shimada, Shizuoka 270px, Shimada City Hall is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city, which covers an area of , had an estimated population in April 2020 of 95,610, giving a population density of 300 persons per km2. Geography Shimada is locat ...

(used for spares) * C12 222 * C12 230 * C12 231: Preserved in front of Uchiko Station in

Uchiko, Ehime is a town located in Kita District, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 15,554 in 7056 households and a population density of 52 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Uchiko is located in ...

. Built in 1939 and withdrawn in 1970, it was first preserved in the grounds of an elementary school before being moved to Uchiko Station in 1997. * C12 241 * C12 259 * C12 280: Preserved in Komatsushima Station Park in

Komatsushima, Tokushima 270px, Komatsushima panorama 270px, Kandase River in Komatsushima 270px, Komatsushima Port 270px, Statue of Minamoto no Yoshitsune 270px, Aerial View of Komatsushima city center is a city located in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. , the cit ...

* C12 287 File:JNR C12 6.JPG, C12 6 at Otaru Museum in July 2007 File:C12 167.jpg, C12 167 in April 2013 File:C12187 SL.jpg, C12 187 at Hitachi-Daigo Station in November 2010 File:JNR-C12-231 in uchiko station square.jpg, C12 231 in front of Uchiko Station in May 2010 File:JNR-C12-241 in uchiko Takamori square.jpg, C12 241 in April 2013 File:C12 259-1.JPG, C12 259, October 2011 File:C12 280 in Komatsushima Station Park.jpg, C12 280 in Komatsushima Station Park in July 2016 File:Old vietnamese steam locomotive.jpg, 131-428 in Da Lat Station in July 2008

References

* {{Locomotives of Vietnam 1067 mm gauge locomotives of Japan Steam locomotives of Japan Steam locomotives of Vietnam Steam locomotives of China Steam locomotives of Taiwan 2-6-2T locomotives Hitachi locomotives Kawasaki locomotives Preserved steam locomotives of Japan Railway locomotives introduced in 1932 Mixed traffic locomotives