7100 steam locomotive
Encyclopedia
The JGR Class 7100 was a Japanese steam locomotive was first used in Hokkaido
, upon the establishment of the government-sponsored Horonai Railway
in 1880. The locomotives were imported from the United States.
The locomotives were produced by the American company H. K. Porter, Inc
. Two were purchased in 1880 (Nos. 368, 369), two more in 1882 (Nos. 487, 488), one in 1884 (No. 643), one in 1885 (No. 672), and two more in 1889 (Nos. 1009, 1010), for a total of eight. Six of the locomotives were named after major historical or literary figures in 1889, at the suggestion of the Japanese Consul
of New York City
, Takagi Saburō
, who found appeal in the similar practice seen in the United States at the time. Thus, the six became known as Yoshitsune
, Benkei
, Hirafu
, Mitsukuni
, Nobuhiro
, and Shizuka
.
rode the line, called Kaitakushi-gō (開拓使号, "Settlement Envoy"). Pulling nine cars in poor weather, the train arrived late, but this was said to be acceptable; it is not clear which locomotive was used. The line was extended in 1882 to connect Sapporo with Horonai, and Hirafu and Mitsukuni were obtained. Nobuhiro and Shizuka were purchased soon afterwards, and in 1887 a Baldwin Locomotive Works
1-C tender was also purchased, which was given the class number 7170. When the last of the H.K. Porter locomotives were purchased, the trains' ordinals were rearranged to group the Porters together.
The railway company changed ownership in 1889, the Hironai Railway being sold to the Hokkaidō Colliery and Railway Company
. Under this company, the locomotives were rebuilt, their smokestacks, cowcatchers, and other features changed or removed. Ten years later, the seventh train (number 1009) was purchased by the Hokkaidō government railway and repaired; but it barely saw service, and was only used to aid in construction and to plow snow.
The Hokkaidō Colliery and Railway Company, and thus all the Class 7100 locomotives, came under the control of the government in 1906, with the passage of the Railway Nationalization Act
, which incorporated it into the Japanese Government Railways
. The numbering of train series was standardized and formalized in 1909, officially establishing these eight locomotives as the Class 7100 (7100-7107). Some changes were made to the vehicles, in particular the one purchased by the government in 1899, which was made to have two separate repeat-transferring boilers. Three vehicles were left entirely unaltered. At this point, No. 7103 was traded away, while the other seven entered service under the Hokkaidō governmental construction bureau.
In 1915, efforts were made by a Hakodate factory to reunite the eight locomotives, but 7103 was experiencing hunting oscillation
problems; information regarding its condition, as well as repair reports, cannot be found, and thus its fate remains uncertain today. Beginning in 1917, the eight were scrapped or sold. Japan Steel Works, Ltd. purchased and scrapped 7106 in that year. The Hokkaidō governmental construction bureau purchased 7100, 7102, and 7107 in 1923, and the Imperial Railway Company, then known as Baihatsu Steel, bought 7104 and 7105 two years later. Baihatsu would later sell 7104 to the Kōchi Railroad Company (now Tosa Electric Railway
) which used it for construction and then destroyed it. Locomotive 7101 was initially left intact and shipped to Tokyo
, but it too was scrapped soon afterwards.
's driving wheel was 914 mm (3 ft), and the axles 2-6-0. It used the standard Stephenson gauge
. The tender had two two-axled bogie
s, with the unofficial names written in large kanji
(characters). The lettering style is said to emulate the handwriting style of either Settlement Envoy Kuroda Nagamasa or Secretary Sannai Rokusaburō.
The locomotives were outfitted with cow catchers, smokestacks, bell, oil lamp headlights, and a wooden driver's compartment in the first boiler compartment, all in emulation of American styles. Similarly, the second boiler compartment contained the boiler, sandbox
, and a steam-dome above the furnace. The two purchased in 1880 used Westinghouse air brakes, which was quite new and advanced at the time; it allowed the brakes to be applied to all cars simultaneously.
which destroyed a great portion of the city; One of the two was placed in a storage shed at Kuroiso station
and neglected for over ten years, while the other was scrapped.
It was decided that Benkei would be conserved in Sapporo. The Sapporo Railways Handicrafts Office then examined the remains of the scrapped engines, and attempted to trace the remnants to the individual engines of the Class 7100, and to the ones purchased from H.K. Porter. Their findings were actually surprising, reassessing the entire history of which model/series numbers and names belonged to which trains, and in what years they were manufactured. It was decided to conserve Shizuka (7106), but the Japan Steel Works Ltd. felt it was unnecessary. Ultimately, a trade was worked out in which the corporation received scrap metal in exchange for returning the locomotive.
Yoshitsune was restored in 1936 at the Ōmiya factory (now the JR East Ōmiya General Rolling Stock Center). That year, again, however, a pair of railroad enthusiasts examined the trains and determined that 7105 was in fact Yoshitsune, and that 7101, which had been considered as Yoshitsune was in fact Benkei. Restoration was completed in 1940, and 7101, now labeled Benkei, was placed in the Railway Museum. There, it remained on display outside of the museum until 2007, when it was moved to the new Museum of Railway in Saitama Prefecture
.
Those engines which had been purchased by the Hokkaidō construction bureau continued to be used for those purposes until 1950, when they were sent to the JNR Naebo factory. 7100 was used in an exhibition for the 70th anniversary of the Hokkaidō railroad, but 7102 was dismantled in 1952. That same year, in honor of the 80th anniversary of certain railroad operations in Japan, it was decided that Yoshitsune, now identified as 7105, would be restored at the factory in Takatori. A number of parts, including the water tank and coal store had to be replaced, and though the whole project was rushed to be completed in four months, it was said to have been completed beautifully. The same year, 7106 was handed over ahead of schedule, by the Japan Steel Works, and restoration began using parts from 7100.
Once restoration work on Yoshitsune and Shizuka was completed, the pair were displayed on the Imperial Court platform at Harajuku Station
. The pair were then held in national railway factories until 1962, when Shizuka was moved to the Otaru Transport Anniversary Hall in Otaru, Hokkaidō
, and both were designated Railway Semi-memorial Objects (準鉄道記念物).
In 1990, Yoshitsune was used once more, as event cars for the International Garden and Greenery Exposition, Osaka. After that, it entered the Modern Transportation Museum
in Osaka's Minato-ku
, and was promoted in 2004 from semi-memorial to full Railway Memorial Object.
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, upon the establishment of the government-sponsored Horonai Railway
Horonai Railway
The Horonai Railway was a Japanese government-managed railway which was among the first to be built in Hokkaidō. Established in 1869, it was sold off to the private sector twenty years later...
in 1880. The locomotives were imported from the United States.
The locomotives were produced by the American company H. K. Porter, Inc
H. K. Porter, Inc
H. K. Porter, Inc. manufactured light-duty railroad locomotives in the USA, starting in 1866. The company became the largest producer of industrial locomotives, and built almost eight thousand of them...
. Two were purchased in 1880 (Nos. 368, 369), two more in 1882 (Nos. 487, 488), one in 1884 (No. 643), one in 1885 (No. 672), and two more in 1889 (Nos. 1009, 1010), for a total of eight. Six of the locomotives were named after major historical or literary figures in 1889, at the suggestion of the Japanese Consul
Consul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Takagi Saburō
Takagi Saburo
was a Japanese diplomat and businessman of the Meiji period, and the first Japanese Consul General to New York.The son of a samurai from Shōnai Domain, Takagi entered naval training school in 1859, and after that studied abroad in the United States. Following his studies, he remained in the United...
, who found appeal in the similar practice seen in the United States at the time. Thus, the six became known as Yoshitsune
Minamoto no Yoshitsune
was a general of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura period. Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with Tokiwa Gozen. Yoshitsune's older brother Minamoto no Yoritomo founded the Kamakura...
, Benkei
Saito Musashibo Benkei
, popularly called Benkei, was a Japanese warrior monk who served Minamoto no Yoshitsune. He is commonly depicted as a man of great strength and loyalty, and a popular subject of Japanese folklore.-Biography:...
, Hirafu
Abe no Hirafu
was a governor of Koshi Province. He fought against the aboriginal inhabitants of Japan . This was in 658...
, Mitsukuni
Tokugawa Mitsukuni
or was a prominent daimyo who was known for his influence in the politics of the early Edo period. He was the third son of Tokugawa Yorifusa and succeeded him, becoming the second daimyo of the Mito domain....
, Nobuhiro
Takeda Nobuhiro
Takeda Nobuhiro , also known as Kakizaki Nobuhiro was the ancestor of the Matsumae clan, and is celebrated for his role in suppressing the 1457 Ainu revolt of Koshamain. The adopted son of Takeda Nobukata, shugo of Wakasa Province, he was later re-adopted by Kakizaki Sueshige...
, and Shizuka
Shizuka Gozen
Shizuka Gozen , or Lady Shizuka, one of the most famous women in Japanese history and literature, was a shirabyōshi of the 12th century, and a mistress of Minamoto no Yoshitsune...
.
History
Service began between Sapporo and Temiya on 28 November 1880, via Yoshitsune and Benkei. The following year, on 30 August 1881, Emperor MeijiEmperor Meiji
The or was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 3 February 1867 until his death...
rode the line, called Kaitakushi-gō (開拓使号, "Settlement Envoy"). Pulling nine cars in poor weather, the train arrived late, but this was said to be acceptable; it is not clear which locomotive was used. The line was extended in 1882 to connect Sapporo with Horonai, and Hirafu and Mitsukuni were obtained. Nobuhiro and Shizuka were purchased soon afterwards, and in 1887 a Baldwin Locomotive Works
Baldwin Locomotive Works
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was an American builder of railroad locomotives. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, originally, and later in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania. Although the company was very successful as a producer of steam locomotives, its transition to the production of...
1-C tender was also purchased, which was given the class number 7170. When the last of the H.K. Porter locomotives were purchased, the trains' ordinals were rearranged to group the Porters together.
The railway company changed ownership in 1889, the Hironai Railway being sold to the Hokkaidō Colliery and Railway Company
Hokkaido Colliery and Railway Company
was a company engaged in coal mining, railway operation and shipping in Hokkaidō, Japan.The company was established in 1889 when the state-owned and Horonai Railway were sold to the company...
. Under this company, the locomotives were rebuilt, their smokestacks, cowcatchers, and other features changed or removed. Ten years later, the seventh train (number 1009) was purchased by the Hokkaidō government railway and repaired; but it barely saw service, and was only used to aid in construction and to plow snow.
The Hokkaidō Colliery and Railway Company, and thus all the Class 7100 locomotives, came under the control of the government in 1906, with the passage of the Railway Nationalization Act
Railway Nationalization Act
The brought many of Japan's private railway lines under national control. The Diet of Japan promulgated the Act on March 31, 1906. The Act was repealed by Article 110 of the Japan National Railway Reform Act of 1988, which formed the modern Japan Railways Group....
, which incorporated it into the Japanese Government Railways
Japanese Government Railways
The Japanese Government Railways was the national railway system directly operated by the central government of Japan until 1949. It is a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the Japan Railways Group.- Name :...
. The numbering of train series was standardized and formalized in 1909, officially establishing these eight locomotives as the Class 7100 (7100-7107). Some changes were made to the vehicles, in particular the one purchased by the government in 1899, which was made to have two separate repeat-transferring boilers. Three vehicles were left entirely unaltered. At this point, No. 7103 was traded away, while the other seven entered service under the Hokkaidō governmental construction bureau.
In 1915, efforts were made by a Hakodate factory to reunite the eight locomotives, but 7103 was experiencing hunting oscillation
Hunting oscillation
Hunting oscillation is an oscillation, usually unwanted, about an equilibrium. The expression came into use in the 19th century and describes how a systems 'hunts' for equilibrium...
problems; information regarding its condition, as well as repair reports, cannot be found, and thus its fate remains uncertain today. Beginning in 1917, the eight were scrapped or sold. Japan Steel Works, Ltd. purchased and scrapped 7106 in that year. The Hokkaidō governmental construction bureau purchased 7100, 7102, and 7107 in 1923, and the Imperial Railway Company, then known as Baihatsu Steel, bought 7104 and 7105 two years later. Baihatsu would later sell 7104 to the Kōchi Railroad Company (now Tosa Electric Railway
Tosa Electric Railway
The is a transportation company in Kōchi City, Japan. The private company operates tram and bus lines. It also operates as the agency of All Nippon Airways in Kōchi Prefecture....
) which used it for construction and then destroyed it. Locomotive 7101 was initially left intact and shipped to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, but it too was scrapped soon afterwards.
Construction
The tender locomotiveTender locomotive
A tender or coal-car is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing the locomotive's fuel and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so tenders are necessary to keep the locomotive running over long distances. A locomotive...
's driving wheel was 914 mm (3 ft), and the axles 2-6-0. It used the standard Stephenson gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
. The tender had two two-axled bogie
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
s, with the unofficial names written in large kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
(characters). The lettering style is said to emulate the handwriting style of either Settlement Envoy Kuroda Nagamasa or Secretary Sannai Rokusaburō.
The locomotives were outfitted with cow catchers, smokestacks, bell, oil lamp headlights, and a wooden driver's compartment in the first boiler compartment, all in emulation of American styles. Similarly, the second boiler compartment contained the boiler, sandbox
Sandbox (railways)
A sandbox is a container on most locomotives and self propelled multiple units, or trams, that run on tramways and adhesion railways...
, and a steam-dome above the furnace. The two purchased in 1880 used Westinghouse air brakes, which was quite new and advanced at the time; it allowed the brakes to be applied to all cars simultaneously.
Preservation
A replica of Yoshitsune (7101) was included in the original exhibitions of the Railway Museum upon its opening in Tokyo in 1922 (the Railway Museum later became the Transport Museum and closed in 2006). Another Yoshitsune, possibly the original, was sent to the museum from Hokkaidō that following year. That same year, however, saw the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake1923 Great Kanto earthquake
The struck the Kantō plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 11:58:44 am JST on September 1, 1923. Varied accounts hold that the duration of the earthquake was between 4 and 10 minutes...
which destroyed a great portion of the city; One of the two was placed in a storage shed at Kuroiso station
Kuroiso Station
Kuroiso Station is a JR East railway station located in Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. This station serves as the terminal station for two subsections of the JR East Tōhoku Main Line, connecting the Utsunomiya Line to the south and the Southern Tōhoku Main Line to the north.This...
and neglected for over ten years, while the other was scrapped.
It was decided that Benkei would be conserved in Sapporo. The Sapporo Railways Handicrafts Office then examined the remains of the scrapped engines, and attempted to trace the remnants to the individual engines of the Class 7100, and to the ones purchased from H.K. Porter. Their findings were actually surprising, reassessing the entire history of which model/series numbers and names belonged to which trains, and in what years they were manufactured. It was decided to conserve Shizuka (7106), but the Japan Steel Works Ltd. felt it was unnecessary. Ultimately, a trade was worked out in which the corporation received scrap metal in exchange for returning the locomotive.
Yoshitsune was restored in 1936 at the Ōmiya factory (now the JR East Ōmiya General Rolling Stock Center). That year, again, however, a pair of railroad enthusiasts examined the trains and determined that 7105 was in fact Yoshitsune, and that 7101, which had been considered as Yoshitsune was in fact Benkei. Restoration was completed in 1940, and 7101, now labeled Benkei, was placed in the Railway Museum. There, it remained on display outside of the museum until 2007, when it was moved to the new Museum of Railway in Saitama Prefecture
Saitama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.- History...
.
Those engines which had been purchased by the Hokkaidō construction bureau continued to be used for those purposes until 1950, when they were sent to the JNR Naebo factory. 7100 was used in an exhibition for the 70th anniversary of the Hokkaidō railroad, but 7102 was dismantled in 1952. That same year, in honor of the 80th anniversary of certain railroad operations in Japan, it was decided that Yoshitsune, now identified as 7105, would be restored at the factory in Takatori. A number of parts, including the water tank and coal store had to be replaced, and though the whole project was rushed to be completed in four months, it was said to have been completed beautifully. The same year, 7106 was handed over ahead of schedule, by the Japan Steel Works, and restoration began using parts from 7100.
Once restoration work on Yoshitsune and Shizuka was completed, the pair were displayed on the Imperial Court platform at Harajuku Station
Harajuku Station
is a railway station in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company . The station takes its name from the area on its eastern side, Harajuku.-Lines:This station is served by the Yamanote Line...
. The pair were then held in national railway factories until 1962, when Shizuka was moved to the Otaru Transport Anniversary Hall in Otaru, Hokkaidō
Otaru, Hokkaido
is a city and port in Shiribeshi, Hokkaido, Japan, northwest of Sapporo. The city faces the Ishikari Bay, and has long served as the main port of the bay. With its many historical buildings, Otaru is a popular tourist destination...
, and both were designated Railway Semi-memorial Objects (準鉄道記念物).
In 1990, Yoshitsune was used once more, as event cars for the International Garden and Greenery Exposition, Osaka. After that, it entered the Modern Transportation Museum
Modern Transportation Museum
The is the corporate museum of the West Japan Railway Company in Osaka, Japan. It opened in 1962, next to Bentencho Station on the Osaka Loop Line...
in Osaka's Minato-ku
Minato-ku, Osaka
is one of 24 wards of Osaka, Japan. It has an area of 7.9 km², and a population of 84,961. Minato-ku literally translated means Harbor Ward.- Landmarks :*Kaiyukan *Port of Osaka*Tempozan Harbor Village*Modern Transportation Museum...
, and was promoted in 2004 from semi-memorial to full Railway Memorial Object.