JGR Class 150


The JGR Class 150 was a steam railway locomotive operated in Japan from 1872. The sole member of the class was imported from Vulcan Foundry in the UK in 1871.

History

The locomotive was one of ten different locomotive types imported from the UK in 1871, and entered service on the first Japanese railway line, which opened between in Tokyo and Yokohama on 14 October 1872. Initially numbered "No. 1", it was classified "Class 150" in 1909.
In 1911, the locomotive was donated to the Shimabara Railway in Nagasaki, where it once again received the number "1".
Because of its historical value as the first steam locomotive to operate in Japan, it was returned to the Railway Ministry in 1930. In 1997, it became the first railway vehicle in Japan to be designated as an Important Cultural Property.

Preservation

The locomotive is preserved at the Railway Museum in Saitama.