China Railways JF2


The China Railways JF2 class steam locomotive was a class of 2-8-2 steam locomotives for goods trains operated by the China Railway. They were originally built for the South Manchuria Railway by several American and Japanese manufacturers, as well as by Mantetsu's Shahekou Works, between 1924 and 1932.

History

To fill the need for powerful locomotives to haul heavy goods trains from the Fushun Coal Mines and Dalian, Mantetsu ordered the first five Mikani class locomotives from the American Locomotive Company of Schenectady, New York in 1924. After completion of the superheated three-cylinder locomotives, extensive performance tests were conducted, the results of which attracted considerable attention from the railway industry; despite a wheel diameter of only, they reached a maximum speed of. They were immediately successful, and production of copies began at Mantetsu's Shahekou Works in 1926. They were the first Mantetsu locomotives to weigh over, as well as the first to be built with automatic stokers. Although their performance was excellent, the complexity of the three-cylinder arrangement led to consideration of a superheated 2-10-2 tender locomotive design as a replacement. However, this plan was abandoned, and more Mikanis were built instead. After a number of incidents involving broken crankshafts, the Mikashi class was designed as the successor to the class in 1933.
OwnerClass & numbers
Class & numbers
BuilderYearWorks numbers
Mantetsuミカニ1600–ミカニ1604ミカニ1–ミカニ5ALCO192465435–65439
Mantetsuミカニ1605–ミカニ1608ミカニ6–ミカニ9South Manchuria Ry. Shahekou Works1926
Mantetsuミカニ1609–ミカニ1613ミカニ10–ミカニ14Shahekou Works1927
Mantetsuミカニ1614–ミカニ1616ミカニ15–ミカニ17Kawasaki19271248–1250
Mantetsuミカニ1617–ミカニ1620ミカニ18–ミカニ21Kisha Seizō19281012–1015
Mantetsuミカニ1621–ミカニ1626ミカニ22–ミカニ27Shahekou Works1928
Mantetsuミカニ1627–ミカニ1634ミカニ28–ミカニ35Shahekou Works1929
Mantetsuミカニ1635–ミカニ1637ミカニ36–ミカニ38Shahekou Works1930
Mantetsuミカニ1638–ミカニ1639ミカニ39–ミカニ40Shahekou Works1931
Mantetsuミカニ1640ミカニ41Shahekou Works1932

Postwar

At the end of the Pacific War, the 41 Mikani class locomotives were divided between the Dalian and the Fengtian depots, and all were taken over by the Republic of China Railway. Following the establishment of the People's Republic and the subsequent creation of the current China Railway, they became class ㄇㄎ貳 in 1951, and class 解放2 in 1959. Numbered in the 2501–2550 range, they were assigned to the Wafangdian locomotive depot in Dalian and used primarily on heavy goods trains. JF2 2525 is preserved at the Shenyang Steam Locomotive Museum.