International Railroad Discussion > D51-200 One Step Closer to Main Line Operation

On May 19, JR West (West Japan Railway Company) successfully performed a test run of the recently rebuilt D51-200 (2-8-2), towing the tender, a passenger car, and electric locomotive EF65 on the main line between Maibara and Kinomoto, the same main line currently used by the SL Kita-Biwako excursion train (the link is in Japanese, with a photo):

http://railf.jp/news/2017/05/20/203000.html

The rebuilding of the Mikado to certify for main line service was announced back in October of 2014. Last October (2016), the test run was unsuccessful when the "axle burn" (literal translation) occurred on the tender. Hot bearing/bushing?

JR West has also announced that when D51-200 enters service, they will retire the C56-160 (2-6-0) which has been pulling the SL Kita-Biwako excursion for many years. Japan steam fans who haven't caught the 78 year old Mogul yet are running out of time to do so.


D51-200 back in 2006 when it was restricted inside the museum grounds at Kyoto's Umekoji Museum:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?6,3547927,3548076#3548076


No urgency for me to catch the retiring C56-160, since I caught it last year:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10,4147787,4148150#4148150



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/21/17 12:30 by cchan006.