The Keha (Japanese ケハ, Korean 게하) class railcars were a group of 3rd class petrol-powered

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 dri ...

s of 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), a 1967 novel by Chaim ...

(''Sentetsu''). There were five types of such railcars, built in Japan and

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 exact classification and numbering of these railcars is not certain; certain is only that their type designation was Keha. After the end of the war they were inherited 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 Pyongyang, P'yŏngyang. The current Minister of Railways is Chang Jun Song. History ...

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 Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

and by the Korean National Railroad in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

Chosen Government Railway

The first petrol railcars in Korea were the

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

Nakeha class and the Keha1 and Keha2 class standard-gauge railcars which entered service with Sentetsu in 1930. The Keha1 and Keha2 class railcars were built for Sentetsu in 1930 by Maruyama Sharyō and Nippon Sharyō respectively. These semi-streamlined railcars, powered by a Waukesha Motor Company type 6RB 6-cylinder petrol engine mounted under the floor, were of lightweight construction, weighing ; they were in length and had a maximum speed of . They had seats for 100 passengers, and the interiors were well received by the travelling public. They were a success, and more were ordered. Following the success of the first six petrol railcars, Sentetsu put another 21 into service in the next two years, with the Gyeongseong Works delivering eleven (numbered 15 through 25) in 1931 and ten more in 1932 (numbered 26 through 35). These were also powered by the Waukesha 6RB engine and seated 100, but they were shorter than the first six cars. The passenger compartment was heated by hot water pipes connected to a boiler in the goods compartment. They were equipped with both air and hand brakes, and the air compressor had a multiple V-belt drive. Driving cabs were located at both ends of the railcar. It is not known what their new numbers and classification became in Sentetsu's 1938 general renumbering, but some eventually were numbered in the 70-79 range. Kiha07-41JNR

In 1934, a single railcar built by Nippon Sharyō was put into service, which were very similar in appearance to the

Japan 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 ...

Kiha07-class railcars, and in 1936 the Gyeongseong Works built a single railcar (numbered 1) for company use. This railcar could carry 20 passengers and had a conference room with a table. Mechanically, they were basically the same as the passenger version, but it was nearly shorter. Nippon Sharyō delivered five 100-passenger railcars of a new design. Powered by a Kawasaki KP170B 6-cylinder engine, they were intended for use on mountainous lines. Finally, in 1942, an uncertain number, probably seven, of railcars of yet another design were built by Nippon Sharyō. All of these railcars had a single powered axle (1A-A1

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 ...

). Those built in 1930 used a 12V generator, but all subsequent ones used 24V, after Sentetsu opted to standardise with the L3-type 24V, 900W axle-mounted generator.

Korean National Railroad

At the time of Liberation, 31 of 60 railcars of all types ( steam,

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

and both standard- and narrow-gauge petrol) were left in the South; these were subsequently operated by the Korean National Railroad. Around 1954, the KNR renumbered its standard gauge railcars into the 100 series. The petrol railcars were retired between 1957 and 1963, replaced by the DC-class diesel-hydraulic railcars, and all were scrapped.

Korean State Railway

Very little is known about the service lives of the 29 railcars that remained in the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

after the partition of Korea and were inherited by the

, but at least one Gyeongseong-built unit was seen in service on the Pukbunaeryuk Line in 2012; its number is unknown.

External links

Don's Depot - photos of KNR petrol railcars in the 1950s.

References

{{DPRKloco Railcars of Korea Railway locomotives introduced in 1930 Railway locomotives introduced in 1934 Railway locomotives introduced in 1936 Railway locomotives introduced in 1938 Railway locomotives introduced in 1942 Gyeongseong Works locomotives Nippon Sharyo locomotives Maruyama Sharyo locomotives