what is it?
The China Railways JF4 (解放4, Jiěfàng, "liberation") class steam locomotive was a class of superheated 2-8-2 "Mikado" type steam locomotives for goods trains operated by the China Railway. They were originally built for the South Manchuria Railway (Mantetsu) in Japan in 1935.
who runs it
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 91 years ago, in 1935.
- Weighs about as much as 21 African elephants (~6 t each).
steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.
spec sheet
- built
- 1935
- status
- retired
- number built
- 15
- kind
- Steam
- traction
- steam
- origin
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- builders
- Kawasaki Railcar Manufacturing, Kisha Seizo
- operators
- South Manchuria Railway, China State Railway Group
- top speed
- —
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- wheel arrangement
- 2-8-2
- weight
- 125 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q29075791, Wikipedia: China Railways JF4 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.