#2469
JNR Class C56
🇯🇵 Japan ·built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries· from 1935· class of 164 Japanese 2-6-0 locomotives
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10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. JRW SL-Kitabiwako-gou C56-160: Mitsuki-2368· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. C56 160 steam locomotive 2018-05-05: khws4v1· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 3. C56 101 at Saku city 2015: PekePON· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 4. C56 106 in Fuchu Kokufu Children Park: Saigen Jiro· CC0
- 5. C56 149: TRJN· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 6. C56 16: Tamanon This photo was taken with Canon PowerShot S120· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 7. C56 160 steam locomotive 2017-12-24 02: khws4v1· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 8. C56 160 steam locomotive at Kyoto Railway Museum (30576212130): Cheng-en Cheng from Taipei City, Taiwan· CC BY-SA 2.0
- 9. C56 96: TRJN· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 10. C56 98 in Diorama Kyoto Japan: Saigen Jiro· CC0
what is it?
The Class C56 is a type of 2-6-0 steam locomotive designed by Hideo Shima and operated by the Japanese Government Railways (JGR) from 1935 to 1939, and later by its post-war successor Japanese National Railways (JNR). A total of 164 locomotives were built between 1935 and 1939. During the Second World War, locomotives numbered C56 1 to C56 90 and C56 161 to C56 164 were sent to Southeast Asia, where some remained in service until the 1980s.
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 11 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 14.3 m long: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.
spec sheet
- built
- 1935–1939
- retired
- 1974
- status
- in service
- number built
- 164
- kind
- Steam
- traction
- steam
- origin
- 🇯🇵 Japan
- builders
- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Hitachi, Nippon Sharyo, Kawasaki Railcar Manufacturing, Kisha Seizo
- designer
- Hideo Shima
- operators
- Ministry of Railways, Japanese National Railways, State Railway of Thailand, rail transport in Myanmar
- top speed
- 75 km/h
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- wheel arrangement
- 2-6-0 Mogul
- length
- 14.3 m
- weight
- 65.5 t
- nicknames
- Shigoroku, Pony of the Plateau/Highlands
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q6108588, Wikipedia: JNR Class C56 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.