JNR Class C51


The Class C51 is a type of 4-6-2 steam locomotive built by Japanese National Railways. The C classification indicates three sets of driving wheels. The C51 introduced diameter driving wheels to Japan. C51s raised the average speed on the Tōkaidō Main Line from to. In 1930, a C51 hauled the first Tsubame express, reducing travel time between and to 9 hours.

China Railway class SL9

To alleviate a severe motive power shortage, sixteen JGR Class C51 locomotives, C51 8, 28, 30, 33 - 35, 88, 95, 96, 116, 130 - 132, 173, 175, and 178, all equipped with a Sumiyama feedwater heater, were converted to standard gauge and sent to the Central China Railway in 1939, where they operated primarily between Nanjing and Shanghai, at first with their original JGR numbers, later as パシナ class. After the Liberation of China and the establishment of the People's Republic, these became China Railway class ㄆㄒ9 in 1951, and reclassified as class SL9 in 1959.

Preserved examples

As of 2012, four Class C51 locomotives were preserved at various locations.