JGR Class 8620
Class of Japanese 2-6-0 steam locomotives
The Class 8620 (8620形) is a type of 2-6-0 steam locomotive built in Japan from 1914 to 1929. It was Japan's first mass-produced passenger locomotive. A total of 672 Class 8620 locomotives were built. Originally they had a symmetry of line with shapely cast iron chimneys which gave way to plainer chimneys and smoke deflectors were added in later years.
A total of 42 Class 8620 locomotives were built for Imperial Taiwan Railway from 1919 to 1928. After World War II, they were taken over by Taiwan Government Railways, and were classified CT150.
01Preserved examples
As of 2014, 20 Class 8620 locomotives have been preserved in Japan and one in Taiwan, as follows.
Japan
- 8620: Preserved at the Ome Railway Park in Ome, Tokyo
- 8630: Preserved in working order at the Kyoto Railway Museum in Kyoto
- 28651: Preserved in Ono, Fukui
- 48624: Preserved in a park in Otofuke, Hokkaido
- 48640: Preserved in Hirosaki, Aomori
- 48647: Preserved in Takachiho, Miyazaki
- 48650: Preserved in Miyoshi, Hiroshima
- 48696: Preserved at the municipal zoo in Omuta, Fukuoka
- 58623: Preserved in Toyokawa, Aichi
- 58654: Preserved on display at Hitoyoshi Station. From 2009 to 2024, it was in working order as the SL Hitoyoshi at Kumamoto Depot in Kumamoto.
- 58680: Preserved in a park in Mobara, Chiba
- 58683: Preserved in a park in Sakura, Chiba
- 58685: Preserved in front of Tadotsu Station in Tadotsu, Kagawa
- 68691: Preserved in a park in Yamagata, Yamagata
- 68692: Preserved in a park in Tokushima, Tokushima
- 78626: Preserved in a park in Onga, Fukuoka
- 78653: Preserved at Wespa Tsubakiyama in Fukaura, Aomori
- 78675: Preserved in a park in Gojo, Nara
- 78693: Preserved at Koriyama Depot in Koriyama, Fukushima
- 88622: Preserved in Iki, Nagasaki
Taiwan
- CT152: Preserved at Miaoli Railway Museum in Miaoli
02In popular culture
KATO have made models in N gauge of the 8620 in the Tohoku region as well as SL Hitoyoshi in a special 4-car limited edition boxed set. Plarail have also depicted the 8620 in the form of SL Hitoyoshi and SL Aso Boy.
The Class 8620 has made appearances in notable forms of Japanese media. Maitetsu, a visual novel developed by now-disbanded visual novel developer Lose, featuring anthropomorphic depictions of steam locomotives known as "Raillords". Hachiroku, a depiction of class leader No. 8620, is the main heroine of the novel.
The Class 8620's popularity would rise when the locomotive would be featured in the movie Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, The Movie: Mugen Train, taking place on a train pulled by the Mugen Train, modeled after the real No. 8620 on display at the Ome Railway Park. The two operational Class 8620s, 8630 and 58654, were cosmetically modified to match the train as seen in the movie and operated with these cosmetic modifications.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “JGR Class 8620”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- JRK 58654 SL-Hitoyoshi.jpg by MaedaAkihiko, CC0
- 8620 8630 Mugen in Kyoto Railway Museum.jpg by Saigen Jiro, CC0
- Steam locomotive Demon Slayer SL Kimetsu no Yaiba Futsukaichi Station 20201123.jpg by Rsa, CC BY-SA 3.0
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