The Tehoko-class (テホコ) locomotives were a class of

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

tender locomotive A tender or coal-car (US only) is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing its fuel (wood, coal, oil or torrefied biomass) and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so ...

s of the Chosen Government Railway (''Sentetsu'') with

4-6-0 A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abse ...

wheel arrangement. The "Teho" name came from the American naming system for steam locomotives, under which locomotives with 4-6-0 wheel arrangement were called "Ten Wheeler". After the

Liberation of Korea The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

, of the 178 surviving locomotives of all Teho classes - including six previously owned by private railway companies - 106 went to the

Korean National Railroad The Korea Railroad Corporation (Korean: 한국철도공사, Hanja: ), branded as KORAIL (코레일, officially changed to in November 2019), is the national railway operator in South Korea. Currently, KORAIL is a public corporation, managed ...

in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

, and 72 to 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 P'yŏngyang. The current Minister of Railways is Chang Jun Song. History 1945–195 ...

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 (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

Description

The first large class of 4-6-0 locomotives delivered to Sentetsu was the テホコ (''Tehoko'') class, which were express locomotives equipped with automatic injectors and other improvements, and which were much larger than the previous Teho classes. The first nine, originally numbered 271–279, were built by ALCo's

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Works in 1917, followed by six copies, numbered 280–285, built in the same year by the South Manchuria Railway's Shahekou Works; Another twelve followed in 1918 from ALCO's Pittsburgh plant, numbered 295–306. Like all Teho-type locomotives operated by Sentetsu, they had driving wheels of and a top speed of , and were initially used as mainline passenger power on the

Gyeongbu Line The Gyeongbu Line (''Gyeongbuseon'') is a railway line in South Korea and is considered to be the most important and one of the oldest ones in the country. It was constructed in 1905, connecting Seoul with Busan via Suwon, Daejeon, and Daegu. ...

; they were later relegated to branchline duties. In the 1938 general renumbering they became テホコ1 through テホコ36. The 27 locomotives on the roster at the time of the 1918 renumbering became 701–727 in that year; the last nine, delivered in 1918–19 from Shahekou, were numbered 728–736. In Sentetsu's general renumbering of 1938 the class was designated テホコ (''Tehoko'') class, and the locomotives were renumbered テホコ1 through テホコ38.

Postwar

Korean National Railroad 터우5 (Teou5) class

The exact dispersal of the Tehoko-class locomotives after the

partition of Korea The division of Korea began with the defeat of Japan in World War II. During the war, the Allied leaders considered the question of Korea's future after Japan's surrender in the war. The leaders reached an understanding that Korea would be li ...

in 1945 and the division of Sentetsu assets in 1947 is uncertain, but at least seven went to the

, where the

designated them 터우5 (''Teou5'') class and used them until April 1955, when they were replaced by diesel locomotives. The only surviving Teho type locomotive in South Korea is 터우5-700, on display on a plinth at the entrance of Korail's Human Resources Department. Sentetsu held a commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the re-establishment of the Railway Bureau in Yongsan in 1935, and built 터우5-700 for display there. It was built as a cutaway displaying the internal structure of the locomotive, and it was equipped with a motor to move the driving wheels, which in turn shows the operation of the locomotive's moving parts. After use as a display item it was moved to the Railway University in Yongsan, where it was used as an instructional tool for students, until subsequently being relocated once again to its current location for preservation as part of Korea's railway cultural heritage.

Korean State Railway 더우오 (Tŏuo) class

Most of the class went to the

after the partition, where they were designated 더우오 (''Tŏuo'') class by the

, but little is known of their service lives and subsequent fates.

Construction

References

{{DPRKloco Locomotives of Korea Locomotives of South Korea Locomotives of North Korea Railway locomotives introduced in 1917 4-6-0 locomotives ALCO locomotives Shahekou Works locomotives