Japanese Government Railways class C58

The C58 was the only class of 2-6-2 “Prairie” tender locomotives in Japan. Intended as a successor to the class 8620 2-6-0, it had a trailing axle to increase its power. It was designed by Izumiichiro Hosokawa under the lead of Hideo Shima and was the first class of steam locomotives in Japan to have a closed cab. Production started in 1938 at Kawasaki and Kisha Seizō. The boiler had been designed for a pressure of 18 bars, but this was soon reduced to 16 bars due to the war. In this time, the production was also modified to save important materials, so the smoke deflectors were now made from wood.

Additionally, 25 were converted to metre gauge to be used in South East Asia. But most were already destroyed on their way to Thailand, so the State Railway of Thailand only had four on their roster after the war ended. Production continued in 1946 in a somewhat modified variant. The diameter of the boiler had been increased and new tenders with ten tonnes of coal and 20 m² of water were now used instead of the old ones with six tonnes and 17 m². Total production accounted for 427 locomotives.

Now the C58 was mostly used in passenger service due to their low factor of adhesion of only 3.16. However, they did not have the best running characteristics at speed. This could partially be remedied by increasing the centering force of the trailing axle. After the introduction of electric locomotives, they still had to step in when these failed. Additionally, some of the Japanese electric locomotives did not have a steam generator. In 1970, a total of 234 were still in service, with the last one being retired in 1973. 49 were preserved, of which two are still in working condition. C58 239 has been restored by JR East, while C58 363 belongs to the Chichibu Railway.