The design of class D51 was based on the earlier
D50, introduced in 1923. Wartime production featured some substitution of wood for steel parts like running boards, smoke deflectors and tender coal bunkers. A total of 1,115 D51s were built,[2] the largest number in any single class of locomotive in Japan. Early D51s were nicknamed Namekuji-gata ("
slug-form") for their shape. The locomotive was designed by
Hideo Shima. It was used mainly in freight service through the 1960s. Some D51s were fitted with the
Giesl ejector in Hokkaido to conserve on fuel.[3]
According to the a journal published in 1956, ten locomotives were built by
Nippon Sharyo for the
Manila Railroad Company. These entered service in 1951. Numbered the 300 class, they were named after the
cog locomotive class built in the 1910s for the Manila Railway. These locomotives differed from the rest of the D51 builds through the lack of
smoke deflectors.[6]
The locomotives had a short service life in the
Philippines as Manila Railroad ordered the
dieselization of its entire network, having all steam locomotives retired by 1956.[7]
Taiwan Railways Administration DT650
From 1936 to 1944, Kawasaki,
Kisha Seizō and Hitachi had built 32 D51s for Imperial Taiwan Railway. After
World War II, they were taken over by
Taiwan Railways Administration, and were classified DT650. In 1951, Kisha Seizō built three DT650s and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries built two DT650s for Taiwan Railways Administration.[8]
The classification consists of a "D" for the four sets of driving wheels and the class number 51 for
tender locomotives that the numbers 50 through 99 were assigned to under the
1928 locomotive classification rule.
Preserved examples
Over 173 Class D51 locomotives are preserved in Japan. D51 498 was restored by
JR East and pulls special-event trains on JR East lines.[9]
The following is a list of preserved locomotives as of July 2023.[10]
Operational
D51 146: Operated on the
Mooka Railway, runs on compressed air. (Semi-operational)
D51 200: Preserved in operational condition by
JR West at the
Kyoto Railway Museum, and was operating on Yamaguchi Line from November 2017 to May 2022, when a crack in one of its bogies was discovered. Restoration work and trial runs are continuing at the Railway Museum.
D51 320: Operated at a railway museum in
Abira, Hokkaido on compressed air. (Semi-operational)
D51 498: Operated by JR East, based at Takasaki Rolling Stock Center[9][11]
D51 827: Operated at Aridagawa Railway Park in
Wakayama Prefecture, runs on compressed air.
Built in 1938 at the JNR
Hamamatsu Works, locomotive number D51 200 has been overhauled and restored to operational condition for use as SL Yamaguchi and SL Kitabiwako starting in 2017.[12]
D51 1149: Preserved in Taga SL Park in
Taga, Shiga
D51 6 in Asahikawa, Hokkaido
D51 51 ("Slug" type)
D51 125 in Funabashi, Chiba
D51 170 in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto
D51 231 outside the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo in December 2014
D51 286 in Otaru, Hokkaido
D51 452 at Ome Railway Park in Tokyo
D51 470 in Gifu
D51 745 in front of Minakami Station in October 2012
D51 774 next to the former Taisha Station in Izumo in March 2016
D51 792 in Kasugai, Aichi
D51 862 in Machida, Tokyo
D51 946 at the Coal and Fossils Museum in Iwaki, Fukushima
D51 1085 in Aridagawa, Wakayama
D51 1108 at Sendai Shinkansen Depot in July 2008
Russian Class D51
D51-1: Niigata Prefecture
D51-2: Hokkaido
D51-4: Sakhalin (working order, after re-gauging of the
Sakhalin Railways to the
Russian gauge stay in railway museum in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk station[14])
^JR西日本、D51形200号機が本線運転復活へ [JR West to restore D51 20 to mainline operational condition]. Mynavi News (in Japanese). Japan: Mynavi Corporation. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
^津山市 来月からD51の展示始まる [D51 to go on display at Tsuyama from next month]. RSK News (in Japanese). Japan: Sanyo Broadcasting Co., Ltd. 26 February 2015. Archived from
the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
The design of class D51 was based on the earlier
D50, introduced in 1923. Wartime production featured some substitution of wood for steel parts like running boards, smoke deflectors and tender coal bunkers. A total of 1,115 D51s were built,[2] the largest number in any single class of locomotive in Japan. Early D51s were nicknamed Namekuji-gata ("
slug-form") for their shape. The locomotive was designed by
Hideo Shima. It was used mainly in freight service through the 1960s. Some D51s were fitted with the
Giesl ejector in Hokkaido to conserve on fuel.[3]
According to the a journal published in 1956, ten locomotives were built by
Nippon Sharyo for the
Manila Railroad Company. These entered service in 1951. Numbered the 300 class, they were named after the
cog locomotive class built in the 1910s for the Manila Railway. These locomotives differed from the rest of the D51 builds through the lack of
smoke deflectors.[6]
The locomotives had a short service life in the
Philippines as Manila Railroad ordered the
dieselization of its entire network, having all steam locomotives retired by 1956.[7]
Taiwan Railways Administration DT650
From 1936 to 1944, Kawasaki,
Kisha Seizō and Hitachi had built 32 D51s for Imperial Taiwan Railway. After
World War II, they were taken over by
Taiwan Railways Administration, and were classified DT650. In 1951, Kisha Seizō built three DT650s and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries built two DT650s for Taiwan Railways Administration.[8]
The classification consists of a "D" for the four sets of driving wheels and the class number 51 for
tender locomotives that the numbers 50 through 99 were assigned to under the
1928 locomotive classification rule.
Preserved examples
Over 173 Class D51 locomotives are preserved in Japan. D51 498 was restored by
JR East and pulls special-event trains on JR East lines.[9]
The following is a list of preserved locomotives as of July 2023.[10]
Operational
D51 146: Operated on the
Mooka Railway, runs on compressed air. (Semi-operational)
D51 200: Preserved in operational condition by
JR West at the
Kyoto Railway Museum, and was operating on Yamaguchi Line from November 2017 to May 2022, when a crack in one of its bogies was discovered. Restoration work and trial runs are continuing at the Railway Museum.
D51 320: Operated at a railway museum in
Abira, Hokkaido on compressed air. (Semi-operational)
D51 498: Operated by JR East, based at Takasaki Rolling Stock Center[9][11]
D51 827: Operated at Aridagawa Railway Park in
Wakayama Prefecture, runs on compressed air.
Built in 1938 at the JNR
Hamamatsu Works, locomotive number D51 200 has been overhauled and restored to operational condition for use as SL Yamaguchi and SL Kitabiwako starting in 2017.[12]
D51 1149: Preserved in Taga SL Park in
Taga, Shiga
D51 6 in Asahikawa, Hokkaido
D51 51 ("Slug" type)
D51 125 in Funabashi, Chiba
D51 170 in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto
D51 231 outside the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo in December 2014
D51 286 in Otaru, Hokkaido
D51 452 at Ome Railway Park in Tokyo
D51 470 in Gifu
D51 745 in front of Minakami Station in October 2012
D51 774 next to the former Taisha Station in Izumo in March 2016
D51 792 in Kasugai, Aichi
D51 862 in Machida, Tokyo
D51 946 at the Coal and Fossils Museum in Iwaki, Fukushima
D51 1085 in Aridagawa, Wakayama
D51 1108 at Sendai Shinkansen Depot in July 2008
Russian Class D51
D51-1: Niigata Prefecture
D51-2: Hokkaido
D51-4: Sakhalin (working order, after re-gauging of the
Sakhalin Railways to the
Russian gauge stay in railway museum in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk station[14])
^JR西日本、D51形200号機が本線運転復活へ [JR West to restore D51 20 to mainline operational condition]. Mynavi News (in Japanese). Japan: Mynavi Corporation. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
^津山市 来月からD51の展示始まる [D51 to go on display at Tsuyama from next month]. RSK News (in Japanese). Japan: Sanyo Broadcasting Co., Ltd. 26 February 2015. Archived from
the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.