4 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. JRW-B2010: ja:user:Kone· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 2. Asahi Station Manji Line 2003-2: Suikotei· CC BY-SA 4.0
- 3. JNR B20 1: 100yen 01:56, 29 July 2007 (UTC)· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 4. JNR B20type No1 Steam Locomotive: user:ほくなん· Public domain
what is it?
The Class B20 is a type of 0-4-0T steam locomotive built for the Japanese Government Railways during the period 1944–47. They were built by Tateyama Heavy Industries who manufactured a total of fifteen Class B20 locomotives.
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 82 years ago, in 1944.
- Weighs about as much as 3 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
- 1944–1947
- retired
- 1972
- status
- preserved
- number built
- 15
- kind
- Steam
- traction
- steam
- builders
- Tateyama Heavy Industries
- top speed
- 45 km/h
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,067 mm Cape gauge
- wheel arrangement
- 0-4-0T
- length
- 7 m
- weight
- 20.3 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q6108584, Wikipedia: JNR Class B20 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.