C60 steam locomotive

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Japanese C60 class of 4-6-4 Hudson wheel arrangement steam locomotives was born from the rebuilding of 47 surplus C59 class 4-6-2 Pacific locomotives between 1953 and 1961 at the JNR Hamamatsu and Kōriyama factories. 39 locos were rebuilt from pre-war C59s, while 8 were rebuilt from post-war variants and renumbered C60 101 to 108. (See table below) With the spread of electrification, lower axle loads and greater versatility had become more important requirements than shear pulling power, and so an additional trailing axle was included to reduce the heavy axle load of the C59 and allow more widespread use.

The class was most active on local and express passenger services in the Tōhoku and Kyūshū regions, and locos were to be seen operating in multiple (double- and even triple-headers) with C61s and D51s on both passenger and freight workings north of Morioka on the Tōhoku Main Line.

The class survived until 1971. Only one C60 is preserved: C60 1 in a park in Sendai.

[edit] Specifications

Overall length	21,360 mm
Overall height	3,980 mm
Driving wheel diameter	1,750 mm
Total operating weight	82.90 t (excluding tender)
Boiler capacity	7.8 m3
Boiler pressure	16.0 kgf/cm² (1570 kPa)
Cylinder dimensions	520 mm dia. x 660 mm stroke

[edit] Build details

Numbers	Former numbers	Rebuilt at	Date
1-4	C59 27/62/59/41	Hamamatsu	1953
5-16	C59 54/21/49/61/46/23/58/34/65/69/4/50	Hamamatsu	1954
17	C59 86	Hamamatsu	1955
18-22	C59 78/100/16/70/48	Kōriyama	1960
23-33	C59 17/38/76/40/47/10/91/18/60/81/68	Hamamatsu	1960
34-39	C59 26/13/39/5/89/98	Hamamatsu	1961
101-105	C59 130/178/128/168/101	Hamamatsu	1960
106-108	C59 113/165/173	Hamamatsu	1961

[edit] Models

In N gauge, Micro Ace produced two examples of the C60 in 1998: Tōhoku-style C60-7 (A9604) and C60-101 (A9603). The current Kato catalogue indicates that an N-gauge model of the C60 is planned for sometime in the future.