C56 31

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Power typeSteam
Power typeSteam
Build date1936
C56 31
C56 31 at the Yushukan in June 2011
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderNippon Sharyo
Build date1936
Specifications
Configuration:
  Whyte2-6-0
Gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) (JGR)
1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in) (IJA, SRT)
Driver dia.1,400 mm
Length14,325 mm
Total weight65.53 t
Performance figures
Tractive effort8,290 kg
Career
OperatorsJapanese Government Railways
Imperial Japanese Army
State Railway of Thailand
Retired1977
Current ownerYūshūkan Museum, Tokyo
DispositionStatic display

C56 31 was the 31st of the Class C56 steam locomotives produced by Japanese Government Railways (JGR). It was manufactured by Nippon Sharyo in 1936 and was operated on the Nanao Line in Ishikawa Prefecture before the war.[1] C56 31 was the first locomotive to run on the Thai-Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway. It operated there during the war, after which it was used in Thailand. After the war it was brought back to Japan and restored, and is now displayed in the Yūshūkan, the museum attached to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. It is displayed without reference to the deaths during the construction of the railway, which are estimated at around 100,000.[2][3][4][5]

In 1942, C56 31 was shipped to Thailand.[6] It was one of 90 Japanese steam locomotives sent south to regions occupied by Japan. It was used in the opening ceremony for the Thai-Burma railway and was the first locomotive to officially run on the railway.[1]

Postwar use and return to Japan

Display at Yūshūkan museum

References

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