Sentetsu Mate class locomotives

The Mate or Mateo (Japanese マテ, Korean 마터) class locomotives were a group of steam tender locomotives of the Chosen Government Railway (Sentetsu) with 4-8-2 wheel arrangement. The "Mate" name came from the American naming system for steam locomotives, under which locomotives with 4-8-2 wheel arrangement were called "Mountain".

There were two classes of the Mate type operated by Sentetsu, called Matei and Mateni.^[1] Not all survived the Pacific War, as there were only 77 of 83 built of both classes that remained in 1946; of these, 33 went to the Korean National Railroad in the South, and 44 to the Korean State Railway in the North.^[2]

Matei class (マテイ)

The ruins of Matei-10 at Jangdan in 1976.

With the development of mining operations in the northern part of Korea, traffic volumes increased significantly, and Sentetsu found a need for a locomotive with strong pulling power suitable for use on mountainous lines with sharp curves and steep slopes. The locomotive designed in response to this need was not of the Mika type, which was Sentetsu's standard freight locomotive, but of the Mate type with 4-8-2 wheel arrangement; the leading bogie was designed to reduce flange wear on the wheels. The resulting Matei class locomotives became a mainstay on long-distance freight trains on mountainous lines.^[1]

The Gyeongseong Works undertook two major design projects at the end of the 1930s: that of the Pashiko-class express passenger locomotive, and the Matei-class freight locomotives for use on steep mountain lines.^[1] Each was the largest of their type operated by Sentetsu, and the first unit of each type was rolled out in 1939. Both had a heating area of 6.2 m2 and were equipped with automatic stokers. After the first two were built at Gyeongseong in 1939 and 1940, a further 48 were built from 1941 through to the end of Japanese rule by Kisha Seizō.^[1]

The exact dispersal of the six locomotives after Liberation is unknown, but both the Korean National Railroad in the South and the Korean State Railway in the North operated Matei-class locomotives after the partition of Korea. At least twelve went to the KNR, where they were designated 마터1 class; known to have been operated by the KNR are 마터1-5, 마터1-14, 마터1-22 through 마터1-25, 마터1-27, 마터1-30, 마터1-31, 마터1-44, 마터1-48 and 마터1-49.^[2]

The identity of only one Matei-class locomotive that went north after the partition is known: Matei-10. On 31 December 1950, a passenger train, consisting of Matei-10 and 25 cars, running on the former Gyeongui Line from Hanp'o to Munsan, was ordered to stop at Jangdan by the US Army and was destroyed. The locomotive is now on display at Imjingak.^[3]

Mateni class (マテニ)

Designed by Sentetsu, the Mateni class was designed for long-distance freight and passenger trains on steep lines; shipments increased with the higher speeds offered by these locomotives. A total of 33 were built from 1943 through 1945, all by Kawasaki. The maximum axle load was 22 tons, in comparison to the 18 tons of Sentetsu's standard mainline freight locomotives, the Mikasa class, and the tractive effort of the Mateni was 220.2 kN (49,500 lb_f), as compared to the 179.0 kN (40,200 lb_f) of the Mikasa class. In addition, the locomotives were equipped with automatic stokers and economisers to improve boiler efficiency. In addition to being used for heavy freight trains, they were also used on passenger trains, and was the last type of locomotive designed by the Chosen Government Railway Bureau.^[1]

The exact dispersal of these locomotives after Liberation is unknown, but the bulk of the Mateni class likely ended up with the Korean State Railway.^[2] In 2003 an out-of-service Mateni was still parked at Sinŭiju.^[4]

Class Specifications

References