The and the related and were

railbus A railbus is a lightweight passenger railcar with an automotive engine. It shares many aspects of its construction with a bus, typically having a bus (original or modified) body and four wheels (2 axles) on a fixed base instead of on bogies. O ...

types operated by

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 ...

(JNR) from 1954 until 1969.

History

A total of 49 vehicles were built between 1954 and 1956, originally classified as . Four prototypes entered service on the Kihara Line (present day Isumi Railway Isumi Line) in 1954. In 1957, the KiHa 10000 were reclassified as KiHa 01 and 02, the KiHa 10200 were reclassified as KiHa 03. The last unit, KiHa 02 10, was withdrawn in 1969.

Preserved examples

* KiHa 03-1: Preserved at the Otaru Museum * KiHa 02-9: Preserved at the ruins of the Hizen-Ikeno Station as a children's library, scrapped in 1983 however due to massive vandalism.

References

{{commonscat 01 series Japanese National Railways