The Class C12 is a type of

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

built by the

Japanese Government Railways The Japanese Government Railways (JGR) was the national rail transport, railway system directly operated by the until 1949. It was a predecessor of Japanese National Railways and the later Japan Railways Group. Name The English name "Japanese ...

and the

Japanese 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 pre ...

from 1932 to 1947. A total of 282 Class C12 locomotives were built and designed by

Hideo Shima was a Japanese engineer and the driving force behind the building of the first bullet train (Shinkansen). Shima was born in Osaka in 1901, and educated at the Tokyo Imperial University, where he studied Mechanical Engineering. His father was p ...

Service outside Japan

North China Transport プレA, China Railways PL51, Vietnam Railways 131

From 1938 to 1939, 60 C12s were converted to

metre gauge Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...

and shipped to the

North China Transportation Company The North China Transportation Company (華北交通株式会社, Japanese: ''Kahoku Kōtsū kabushiki gaisha'', Chinese: ''Huáběi Jiāotōng Zhūshì Huìshè'') was a transportation company in the territory of the collaborationist Provisio ...

, where they operated primarily between

Zhengding Zhengding (), originally Zhending (), is a county in southwestern Hebei Province, North China, located approximately south of Beijing, capital of China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Shijiazhuang, the capital of t ...

and

Taiyuan Taiyuan; Mandarin pronunciation: (Jin Chinese, Taiyuan Jin: /tʰai˦˥ ye˩˩/) is the capital of Shanxi, China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. It is an industrial base foc ...

. They were classified プレA (''Pure''A). In 1939 Shijiazhuang–Taiyuan Railway was converted to standard gauge, these locomotives removed to

Datong–Puzhou Railway The Datong–Puzhou or Tongpu railway (), is a major trunkline railroad in northern China, and the main axial railway of Shanxi Province. The railway is located entirely within Shanxi and diagonally bisects the province from Datong in the northea ...

north section. After the establishment of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, they were taken over by the

China Railway China State Railway Group Co., Ltd., doing business as China Railway (CR), is the national passenger and freight railroad corporation of the China, People's Republic of China. China Railway operates passenger and freight Rail transport in Chi ...

, where they were classified ㄆㄌ51 in 1951, and PL51 in 1959. In 1956 the Datong–Puzhou Railway north section was reconverted to

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

, they were transferred to

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, and they were classified 131.

Taiwan Railways Administration CK120

From 1936 to 1941, the Nippon-Sharyo was built in 7 C12s for

Governor-General of Taiwan The governor-general of Taiwan (, shinjitai: ) was the head of the Government-General of Taiwan in the Japanese era (including Formosa and the Pescadores) when they were part of the Empire of Japan, from 1895 to 1945. The Japanese governors- ...

Railway. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, they were taken over by

Taiwan Railways Administration Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) was a governmental agency in Taiwan which operated Taiwan Railway from 1948 to 2023. It managed, maintained, and operated conventional passenger and freight Rail transport, railway services on of track. Pa ...

, and they were classified CK120.''CK120 class''
_Kurogane No Michi CK124 is preserved at

Changhua Changhua (Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: ''Chiong-hòa'' or ''Chiang-hòa''), officially known as Changhua City, is a county-administered city and the county seat of Changhua County in Taiwan. For many centuries the site was home to a settlement of ...

Locomotive Depot.

Indonesian State Railways Class C32

In 1943, the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

sent two locomotives, C12 94 and C12 168, to

Surabaya Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

for a military transport with a 1067 mm gauge. They were based at Sidotopo depot.Prayogo, Prabowo, Radityo 2017, p. 83 The original

knuckle coupler Knuckle couplers are a semi-automatic form of railway coupling that allow rail cars and locomotives to be securely linked together without rail workers having to get between the vehicles. Originally known as Janney couplers (the original patent n ...

were replaced with Norwegian coupler. After the war, the two locomotives were received by the

Indonesian Railways PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) (, abbreviated as PT KAI or simply KAI) is a major railway operator in Indonesia and one of the Public transportation, public railway companies in the country. It is State-owned enterprise, state-owned and pa ...

and were classed as C32. The Indonesian Railways only used them as

shunter A switcher locomotive (American English), shunter locomotive (British English), station pilot (British English), or shifter locomotive ( Pennsylvania Railroad terminology) is a locomotive used for maneuvering railway vehicles over short distan ...

s for goods wagons in Surabaya as they were out of gauge for the Indonesian

loading gauge A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and k ...

. Both of the locomotives were scrapped around 1980s.

Preserved examples

At least 26 Class C12 locomotives are preserved, as listed below, with four in working order.

Japan

* C12 66:

Mooka Railway Mooka Line The is a Japanese railway line connecting Shimodate Station, in Chikusei, Ibaraki and Motegi Station in Motegi, Tochigi. It is the only railway line operated by the . The third-sector company took over the former JR East line in 1988. In additi ...

Mooka, Tochigi 270px, Moka Station is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 78,720 in 30,203 households, and a population density of 476 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Moka is known for the M ...

(operational) * C12 167: Wakasa Railway (operational, runs on compressed air) * C12 244:

Akechi Line The is a Japanese railway line in Gifu Prefecture connecting Ena Station, Ena and Akechi Station (Gifu, Ena), Akechi stations, which are both located in Ena, Gifu, Ena. There are stations located in Nakatsugawa, Gifu, Nakatsugawa city as well. ...

(operational, runs on compressed air) * C12 2:

Mikasa, Hokkaido is a city located in Sorachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of 1 October 2020, the city has an estimated population of 8,040, and the density of 27 persons per km2. Geography The total area is 302.64 km2. It is bordered on three sides ...

* C12 5 * C12 6 * C12 29 * C12 38 * C12 49 * C12 60 * C12 64 * C12 67: Preserved in front of

Chino Station is a railway station on the Chūō Main Line in the city of Chino, Nagano, Japan, operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). Lines Chino Station is served by the Chūō Main Line, and is 195.2 kilometers from the terminus of the line at ...

Chino, Nagano is a Cities of Japan, city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 55,673 in 23,236 households, and a population density of 210 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Chino is located ...

. * C12 69 * C12 74 * C12 85 * C12 88:

Itoigawa, Niigata is a city located in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 38,224 living in 17,028 households, and a population density of 51 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Itoigawa is located in the ...

* C12 163 * C12 164: Operated on the

Ōigawa Railway is a railway company in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, which first opened in 1927. The company is commonly known as . The company belonged to the Meitetsu Group until 2015, when it was sold to Eclipse Hidaka, a food and hotel company headquarte ...

until 2005. * C12 171 * C12 187 * C12 199 * C12 208:

Shimada, Shizuoka 270px, Shimada City Hall is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city, which covers an area of , had an estimated population in September 2023 of 93,724, giving a population density of About 300 persons per km2. Geography Shimada is ...

(used for spares) * C12 222 * C12 230 * C12 231: Preserved in front of Uchiko Station in

Uchiko, Ehime is a town located in Kita District, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 15,153 in 7005 households and a population density of 52 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Uchiko is located in ro ...

. Built in 1939 and withdrawn in 1970, it was first preserved in the grounds of an elementary school before being moved to Uchiko Station in 1997. * C12 241 * C12 259 * C12 280: Preserved in Komatsushima Station Park in

Komatsushima, Tokushima file:Komatsushima city view.jpg, 270px, Komatsushima panorama file:Komatsushimatown 外開 Komatsushimacity Tokushimapref Kandase river.JPG, 270px, Kandase River in Komatsushima file:JIN MAN HAI at Tokushima Komatsushima Port Container Terminal2. ...

* C12 287 File:JNR C12 6.JPG, C12 6 at Otaru Museum in July 2007 File:C12 167.jpg, C12 167 in April 2013 File:C12187 SL.jpg, C12 187 at Hitachi-Daigo Station in November 2010 File:JNR-C12-231 in uchiko station square.jpg, C12 231 in front of Uchiko Station in May 2010 File:JNR-C12-241 in uchiko Takamori square.jpg, C12 241 in April 2013 File:C12 259-1.JPG, C12 259, October 2011 File:C12 280 in Komatsushima Station Park.jpg, C12 280 in Komatsushima Station Park in July 2016 File:Japanese-national-railways-C12-164-20120403.jpg, C12 164, April 2012

Taiwan

* C12 4 (CK124): Taiwan Railways, Changhua Railway Roundhouse (operational) File:20170308TRA CK124.jpg, CK124

Vietnam

* C12 119 (131–428): Preserved in Da Lat Railway Station in Dalat city, Lam Dong province, Vietnam File:Old vietnamese steam locomotive.jpg, 131-428 in Da Lat Station in July 2008

References

* {{Locomotives of Vietnam 1067 mm gauge locomotives of Japan Steam locomotives of Japan Steam locomotives of Vietnam Steam locomotives of China Steam locomotives of Taiwan Steam locomotives of Indonesia Narrow-gauge steam locomotives of China Metre-gauge steam locomotives 2-6-2T locomotives 1′C1′ h2t locomotives Hitachi locomotives Kawasaki locomotives Kisha Seizo locomotives Mitsubishi locomotives Nippon Sharyo locomotives Preserved steam locomotives of Japan Railway locomotives introduced in 1932