International Railroad Discussion > C57 #180 4-6-2 Steam Locomotive (Japan)

I wanted to see the C57 #180 steam locomotive in May of 2015, but it was undergoing repair and maintenance, and was out of service at the time. Instead, I caught the Hudson C61 #20 substituting for the C57:

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?6,3889411

Fortunately, railfan gossips on the possible demise of C57 #180 was unfounded, and it returned to service a couple of months later. I made a trip to Aizu-Wakamatsu in October 2015  to document the C57.

- Backing toward the roundhouse and the turntable.

- Turned around, backing into the excursion cars.

- Video of C57 #180 at Aizu-Wakamatsu. The excursion starts at Niitsu which is near Niigata and the trip turns around at Aizu-Wakamatsu then returns to Niitsu. The passenger cars don't get turned around, but the steam locomotive does, and it pulls the cars from the other end for the return trip.
 

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The excursion cars for the "SL Banetsu Monogatari (Story)," the name of the train, went through renovations in 2014 to their current form. The most notable renovation/modification was the observation area on the end cars. They were originally modified from Class 12 passenger cars.

- Ready to move the train to the platform for boarding.

- Observation end of the Banestu Story train.

- Graphic is more art than the Japanese tendencies for "cartoon-ish."

That's it for the report.

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