China Railways JF1

At the end of the Pacific War, the Mikai class locomotives belonging to Mantetsu and the Manchukuo National were assigned to the Railway Bureaux of Dalian Port (26), Fengtian (319), Jinzhou (154), Jilin (157), and Harbin (188), along with six at Rajin in Korea for use on Mantetsu's North Chosen Line, and 59 that were loaned out to other railways - most (possibly as many as 54) to the Chosen Government Railway. These, along with those belonging to the North China Transportation Company and the Central China Railway together which the total number of the type was over 1400, were taken over by the Republic of China Railways in 1945.^[5]

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the newly formed China Railway designated the former Mikai class ㄇㄎ壹 (MK1) class in 1951, whilst retaining their previous road numbers.^[6] Mantetsu ミカイ1 − ミカイ341 became ㄇㄎ壹1 − ㄇㄎ壹341, MNR ミカイ501 − ミカイ1283 became ㄇㄎ壹501 − ㄇㄎ壹1283, the North China Transport ミカイ1501 − ミカイ1909 became ㄇㄎ壹1501 − ㄇㄎ壹1901, whilst the locomotives from the Central China Railway and other railways became ㄇㄎ壹1902 − ㄇㄎ壹2023.

In 1950, the Sifang Works began assembling new Mikako type locomotives using parts that remained on hand after the war. The first of these, ㄇㄎ壹2101國慶號 (MK1 2101 "National Day"), was completed in September 1950, as the first locomotive to be built in the People's Republic of China.^[7] The second, ㄇㄎ壹2102八一號 (MK1 2012 "1 August"), was completed on 26 July 1952, and subsequently another eighteen, numbered 2103 through 2120, were built out of parts on hand.

The first ㄇㄎ壹 to be built new in the PRC using newly made parts was ㄇㄎ壹2121, completed at Sifang in December 1952, after which a further 57 were built, numbered 2122 through 2177.

Under the direction of Jiu Qu (瞿赳), Deputy Chief of the Rolling Stock Industry Authority of the Ministry of Machinery Industry, extensive work to revise the Mikako design was undertaken in 1953. This included converting all dimensions from Imperial measures to metric, improving tolerances, and ensuring that everything met domestic materials standards.^{[citation needed]} The first locomotive built to the refined standards was ㄇㄎ壹2178, completed in December 1954 at the Dalian Works. The new design was slightly longer (22,634 mm (74 ft 3.1 in) vs 21,906 mm (71 ft 10.4 in)) and had a power output rated at 1,945 hp (1,450 kW) compared to the 1,545 hp (1,152 kW) of the previous designs. In 1957 engineers at the Dalian Works further improved the design, leading to the 建設 (JS) (Jiànshè, "Construction") class locomotives.^[5]

In 1958, the first locomotive to be built by a locomotive depot in China, as opposed to at a factory, was ㄇㄎ壹4101; this was built in ten days in October of that year, as part of a Great Leap Forward speed challenge. In 1959, China Railways introduced a new classification system, under which all locomotives with 2-8-2 wheel arrangement were named 解放 (Jiefang, "Liberation") class; the ㄇㄎ壹 class thus became the 解放1 (JF1) class.^[6]

The JF1 remained in production until 1960, with a total of 455 being built post-war, numbered JF1 2121 through JF1 2500, and in the 4001−4101 range.^[6] Most were built at Sifang (216) and Dalian (187), with Qiqihar Works and other factories producing another 32, in addition to the one unit assembled by the crew of Taiyuan depot in 1958. The JF1 class became the mainstay for freight operations, lasting in mainline service until 1996, whilst some in industrial service remained in operation into the 2000s. At least nine have been preserved, including five in Beijing.

After the end of the Pacific War, up to as many as 54 Mikai class locomotives which had been on loan from Mantetsu to the Chosen Government Railway (Sentetsu) found themselves in Korea; these were divided between North and South when Korea was partitioned, but the exact numbers are unknown. When the war ended, six Mikai-class locomotives had been assigned to Mantetsu's Rajin depot for operations on the North Chosen Line; these remained in North Korea, where they were put into service by the Korean State Railway. Additionally, China supplied more to North Korea as aid during the Korean War^[1] - at least seventy of various JF classes, including JF1s.^[8] The 22 engines that had originally belonged to the North Chosen Colonial Railway and that had been taken over by Sentetsu probably all ended up with the Korean State Railway.

These locomotives were originally designated 미가하 class (Migaha), and retained their original running number. Later, around the early 1970s, they were renumbered in the 6000 and 6100 series, simply replacing the "미가하" designation with a "6". The following are known to have operated with the Korean State Railway.

ミカイ1578 of North China Transport found itself in North Korea after the war, where it became 미가하1578, and then, during the Korean War, was captured by UN forces and taken south for repair.^[16]

Note that the 6000 series/미가하 class also included the three Mikai class locomotives inherited from Sentetsu, which were a distinct design from the Mantetsu class of the same name.

Many were still in regular service in the 1990s, with a few remaining in use into the 21st century.

An unknown number of the up to 54 Mikai class on loan to Sentetsu at the end of the war were in South Korea after the division, where they were put into service by the Korean National Railroad. The KNR classified these 미카1 (Mika1) class, and at least seven of these were taken up by the KNR, retaining their original road numbers:^[17]

In addition, twelve more of these were delivered to South Korea from Japan after the war; these were numbered 미카1-1101 through 미카1-1112. 1101 and 1102 are known to have been built by Hitachi in 1947, whilst 1104 through 1109 were built by Kawasaki in 1950.^[17]

After the partition of Korea, the US military administration in Korea ordered the construction of new Mikako type locomotives in Japan for use in South Korea;^[1] 49 were delivered, of which 33, numbered in the 9400 series, were taken up by the US Army Transportation Corps. The original assignments of the other eleven locomotives is unclear.

After the end of the Korean War, these were passed on to the KNR.^[2] In addition, UN forces captured a number of Mikako-type locomotives that had been provided to North Korea from China during the war; these, along with a few Mikako type locomotives that remained in the South after the partition, were grouped together with the 49 built in Japan between 1947 and 1951, and the KNR grouped these 56 locomotives into 미카5 class and numbered them 미카5-1 through 미카5-56.^[2]

A further twenty were built in Japan in 1952 (ten by Nippon Sharyō, five each by Hitachi and Kisha Seizō), but these were never delivered to South Korea.^[18][19] Due to the different standards in Japan and Korea (track gauge, axle load, clearance profiles), these were not taken up by the Japanese National Railways, and instead sat unused for many years until finally being scrapped, brand-new, in 1965.^[19]

Thirteen of the JF1 class have been preserved.^[2]

At the China Railway Museum in Beijing:

• JF1 304 - named "Mao Zedong"; previously Mantetsu ミカイ304.
• JF1 1191 - "Zhu De"; "New National Big Mika" type previously Manchukuo National ミカイ1191.
• JF1 2101 - "National Day"; first steam locomotive built in China after the establishment of the PRC.
• JF1 2121
• JF1-4101 - built by Taiyuan Locomotive Depot in 1958, the first locomotive to be built at a locomotive depot in China.

At Qingdao Sifang Locomotive Works:

• JF1 2102 - named "1 August"; second steam locomotive built in China after the establishment of the PRC.

At Manzhouli Railway Station, Manzhouli:

• JF1 1861 - previously North China Transport ミカイ1861.

At the Memorial of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea:

• ㄇㄎ1-1115 - This locomotive was assigned to the Siping Locomotive Depot of the Changchun Railway Bureau, and during the Korean War it was used to transport materiel to North Korea. Under the direction of Engineer Li Guoheng (李国珩), this locomotive broke through enemy blockades four times in order to complete its deliveries, working for ten months on the P'yŏngbu Line between Sariwŏn and Sinmak. Li Guoheng was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, 1st Class and the Heroic Exemplar Medal, 2nd Class, as well as the North Korean Soldier's Medal of Honour, 2nd Class.

At Linglong Park, Beijing:

• JF1 2023

• Mika5-31, at Yeongsanpo Station on the Honam Line
• Mika5-37, at the headquarters of Hyundai Rotem
• Mika5-48, at the Daegu Children's Centre
• Mika5-56, at the Seoul Hwarangdae station (Gyeongchun Line)

• 
  Mika5-56

• At least one (6163) is still operational,^[20] though likely used only for railfan tours as opposed to regular service.

• JF1(ミカイ)形蒸気機関車 Archived 2016-06-25 at the Wayback Machine