Chosen Government Railway


The Chosen Government Railway was a state-owned railway company in Korea under Japanese rule. It was a department of the Railway Bureau of the Government-General of Korea, whose functions were the management and operation of railways in Korea, as well as the supervision of privately owned railway companies.

Public identity

The Chosen Government Railway's public identity changed a number of times over the 39 years that it existed. In the first four years of its existence, its name changed three times to reflect the rapid changes in Korea's political environment between 1905 and 1910. Later, for eight years Korea's railways were managed by the South Manchuria Railway - which was almost a state-level actor in the region on its own - before finally regaining its independence for the last twenty years of its life.
After the end of the Second World War, all railways in Korea were nationalised, with the lines in South Korea becoming part of the Korean National Railroad, and those in North Korea becoming part of the Korean State Railway.

Organisation

The organisation of the Railway Bureau as of 1 September 1941:
The Railway Bureau also operated a system of sports clubs. Today's Daejeon Korail FC is the direct descendant of Sentetsu's football club, which won the All-Korea football championship in 1939; Sentetsu's ice hockey club was the first to ever play a game of that sport in Korea, playing a game against the team of the Tokyo Imperial University in 1928, and later played the first game between two Korean clubs, against a team from the Gyeongseong Imperial University.

Motive power

Sentetsu, or more accurately its predecessor, the National Railway, was created through the merger of the Temporary Military Railway and the Gyeongbu Railway, which had previously absorbed the Gyeongin Railway, on 1 September 1906. At the time of the merger, the Korean locomotive fleet was as follows:
TypeWheel ArrangementGyeongbu RailwayTemporary Military RailwayTotal
Moga2-6-0T4-4
Pure2-6-2T185270
Sori2-8-06-6
Teho4-6-012-12
4-Wheel0-4-0022
Total405494

When the National Railway became Sentetsu in 1910, the locomotive fleet had increased by only 21 engines; by the time Mantetsu took over the management of Korea's railways in 1917, the Sentetsu motive power fleet had grown from 115 in 1910 to 175. Mantetsu management lasted just under a decade, and by the time Sentetsu regained its independence in 1925 the locomotive park stood at 247 engines. The 1930s, however, saw enormous growth in Sentetsu's fleet. From 302 locomotives in 1930, by the end of the decade the number had more than doubled to 740 engines in 1940, and reached 1,000 in 1944. When Sentetsu was abolished after the end of the Pacific War there were 1,302 locomotives on the roster.

Classification system

Sentetsu's first classification system was a simple, number-based system, in which, loosely, the hundreds digit of the running number indicated the locomotive's wheel arrangement - numbers in the 100s were 2-6-0 or 2-8-0, those in the 200s and 300s were 4-6-0, the 400s were 4-4-0, the 500s were 4-6-4, and so on. This slightly modified in 1918, the year after Mantetsu took over management of Korea's railways, with some of the numbers being redefined, and after Mantetsu introduced a new classification system for its own locomotives in 1920, the system for Korean locomotives was once again adjusted, retaining the number series as they were in 1918, but adding new class designations - likewise reflecting wheel arrangement - akin to those used for Mantetsu's own locomotives, based on the common American name for the given wheel arrangement. Thus, from the 1920s until 1938, Sentetsu's locomotive had both a katakana-based class designation as well as a running number; however, unlike Mantetsu's engines, those of Sentetsu didn't have the class designation marked on the locomotive itself.
ClassNumber seriesWheel arrangement
Wheel arrangement
American name
アメ
Ame		4004-4-02′BAmerican
バル
Baru		5004-6-42'C2'Baltic
ゴロ
Goro		?2-4-21'C1'Columbia
ケハ
Keha		?n/an/aKerosene
ジハ
Jiha		?n/an/aDiesel
ミカ
Mika		800, 17002-8-21′D1′Mikado
モガ
Moga		1002-6-01′CMogul
パシ
Pashi		9004-6-22′C1′Pacific
プレ
Pure		200, 3002-6-21′C1′Prairie
サタ
Sata		18002-10-21′E1′Santa Fe
ソリ
Sori		1002-8-01′DConsolidation
シグ
Shigu		?2-2-01′ASingle
テホ
Teho		600, 7004-6-02′CTen-Wheeler

In 1938, Mantetsu introduced a unified classification and numbering system for its own locomotives, as well as for those of its de jure subsidiary, the North China Transportation Company, and its de facto subsidiary, the Manchukuo National Railway. At the same time Sentetsu - though it had regained its independence in 1925 - introduced its own variant of the new Mantetsu system, which included the locomotives owned by private railways in Korea.
The new system consisted of a class designation and a running number counting sequentially from 1; the class designation had three katakana characters. The first two, indicating wheel arrangement, remained as they were in the previous system, with the addition of one: マテ, from "Mountain", for 4-8-2 locomotives introduced in 1939. The third katakana in the class name was the class number, derived from the first syllable of the corresponding Japanese numbers from one to ten:
Thus, the third class of locomotives with a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement would be called パシサ - Pashisa.
Narrow-gauge steam locomotives did not use the designation forms based on wheel arrangement; instead, they all used ナキ plus a class number. Petrol-powered narrow gauge railcars were classified ナケハ.
Classification of electric locomotives was slightly different from that used for steam locomotives. Although this also used the two character + class number arrangement, the first character was デ, while the second character indicated the number of powered axles. In practice, Sentetsu had only two types of electric locomotive, both with six powered axles - デロイ and デロニ.
This classification system later formed the basis of the systems used by both the Korean National Railroad in South Korea and the Korean State Railway in North Korea.

Locomotive Types

Standard gauge

Class & numbers
Class & numbers
Class & numbers
Wheel
arrangement		BuilderBuiltTotal in class
ImageNotes
?アメ401–アメ406アメイ1–アメイ6
4-4-0ALCo19116All six to KNR in 1945.
--マテイ1–マテイ50
4-8-2Gyeongseong, Kisha Seizō1939–194550
--マテニ1–マテニ33
4-8-2Kawasaki1939–194533
-ミカ701–ミカ712ミカイ1–ミカイ12
2-8-2Baldwin191912
--ミカイ
2-8-2variousvarious≤54As many as 54 on loan to Sentetsu from Mantetsu and MNR at war's end.
-ミカ801–ミカ812ミカニ1–ミカニ12
2-8-2ALCo191912
-ミカ1701–ミカ1770Sentetsu Mikasa-class locomotive|
2-8-2Gyeongseong, Kisha Seizō, Nippon Sharyō, Hitachi, Kawasaki1927–19453088 built for the West Chosen Central Railway and 38 for the Central China Railway in 1943–1944. More built for KNR in 1946.
-ミカシ1–ミカシ24
2-8-2Kawasaki1939–194224
-,
パシ919–パシ924
パシ901–パシ918 		パシイ1–パシイ18
4-6-2Baldwin, Kisha Seizō1921, 192318
-パシ913–パシ918
パシ919–パシ924 		パシニ1–パシニ6
4-6-2ALCo19236All six to KSR in 1945.
-パシ957–パシ962パシサ1–パシサ6
4-6-2Kawasaki19236
--パシサ
2-8-2variousvarious55 on loan to Sentetsu from Mantetsu at war's end.
-パシ971–パシ990パシサ1–パシサ82
4-6-2Kawasaki, Nippon Sharyō1927–19438210 built for Central China Railway in 1942–1943.
--パシコ1–パシコ40
4-6-2Gyeongseong, Kawasaki1939–194440
--パシサ
4-6-2variousvarious55 on loan to Sentetsu from Mantetsu at war's end; all five to KSR in 1945.
--パシロ
4-6-2variousvarious2525 on loan to Sentetsu from the Manchukuo National Ry at war's end; all 25 to KSR in 1945.
101–106ソリ1001–ソリイ1006ソリイ1–ソリイ6
2-8-0Baldwin18946Bought second-hand by the Temporary Military Railway in 1904.
--ソリロ
2-8-0variousvarious88 on loan to Sentetsu from the Manchukuo National Ry at war's end.
301–306テホ601–テホ606テホイ1–テホイ6
4-6-0Baldwin19066Originally Gyeongbu Railway 300 series.
201–221テホ601–テホ606テホニ1–テホニ21
4-6-0Baldwin, Brooks1906–190921First six originally Gyeongbu Railway 200 series.
222–230テホ611–テホ619テホサ1–テホサ10
4-6-0ALCo, Gyeongseong1911, 193810One copy built at Gyeongseong in 1938.
235–238テホ661–テホ664テホシ1–テホシ4
4-6-0ALCo19134All four to KSR in 1945.
271–306テホ701–テホ736テホコ1–テホコ36
4-6-0ALCo, Shahekou1917–191936
-テホ751–テホ789テホロ1–テホロ95
4-6-0Gyeongseong, Kawasaki, Hitachi, Mitsubishi1927–194295

Class & numbers
Class & numbers
Class & numbers
Wheel
arrangement		BuilderBuiltTotal in class
ImageNotes
501–512バル501–バル512バルイ1–バルイ12
4-6-4TBaldwin1913–191412
-ゴロ61–ゴロ63ゴロイ1–ゴロイ3
2-4-2TKisha Seizō19243All three to KSR in 1945.
1–4モガ101–モガ104モガイ1–モガイ4
4-6-4TBrooks18994Originally Gyeongin Railway 1–4
1–70プレ1–プレ70プレイ1–プレイ23
2-6-2TBaldwin1901, 190670Originally Gyeongbu Railway 1–18 and Temporary Military Railway 1–52. Rebuilt to Pureshi-class, only 23 unrebuilt by 1938.
71–79プレ271–プレ279プレニ1–プレニ9
2-6-2TBaldwin1905, 19359+1Originally Gyeongbu Railway. 1st プレ276 wrecked, replacement built in 1935 with same number.
81–94プレ281–プレ294プレサ1–プレサ14
2-6-2TBorsig1911–191214
-?Sentetsu Pureshi-class locomotives|
2-6-2TBaldwin
1925–?46Rebuilt from Purei-class.
-プレ301–プレ302プレコ1–プレコ2
2-6-2TBaldwin19112Bought second-hand by Domun Railway in 1920, to Sentetsu 1929. Both to KSR in 1945.
-プレ311–プレ312プレロ1–プレロ2
2-6-2TO&K19112Bought second-hand by Domun Railway in 1920, to Sentetsu 1929. Both to KSR in 1945.
-プレ321–プレ326
プレ341–プレ348		プレナ1–プレナ93
2-6-2THitachi, Kawasaki, Gyeongseong, Nippon Sharyō1930–194193プレ341–プレ348 built for Gyeongchun Railway in 1930, bought by Sentetsu in 1936. Nineteen others built for Mantetsu in 1935. One still in service with KSR.
-プレ351–プレ362プレハ1–プレハ38
2-6-2TGyeongseong, Hitachi, Kisha Seizō1932, 193938
-サタイ1–サタイ24
2-6-2TGyeongseong, Hitachi1934–193924
4輪
?-0-4-0THohenzollern18992Two bought second-hand by the Gyeongbu Railway in April 1906.

Class & numbersWheel
arrangement		BuilderBuiltTotal in classImageNotes
デロイ1–デロイ9
1-C+C-1Toshiba, Kisha Seizō1943–19449Only five delivered by war's end; rest delivered to KNR in 1946–1947.
デロイ31–デロイ33
1-C+C-1Mitsubishi--Could not be delivered due to war's end; delivered in 1946 to KNR.
デロニ1–デロニ4
1-C+C-1Hitachi1943–19444All delivered to Sentetsu.

Standard gauge railcars

The following is a list of the rail lines of the Chosen Government Railway in 1945. The name in brackets is the Japanese form of the name, which was the officially used form.

Standard gauge

A number of private railways existed during the period of the Japanese occupation of Korea; these were overseen by the Railway Bureau. Most were freight and a few for passenger service in Japanese-occupied Korea.
After the end of the Second World War, these were all nationalised, both in North and South Korea.
This is a exhaustive list of private railways in Korea.