Century-Old Japanese Steam Locomotive Makes Its Last Run

Japan’s oldest operational steam locomotive, SL Hitoyoshi, made its last run on March 23, 2024. The locomotive, which is now over 101 years old, has become difficult to repair, which led to the decision to end its service.

Ceremony for the final run of SL Hitoyoshi at Hakata Station. (Courtesy JR Kyūshū)

According to its operator JR Kyūshū, SL Hitoyoshi is a class-8620 locomotive, completed on November 18, 1922. After its initial deployment to the Urakami depot in Nagasaki Prefecture, it operated in the Kyūshū prefectures of Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Ōita, Saga, and Kumamoto.

SL Hitoyoshi racing down the tracks on March 21, 2022. (Courtesy JR Kyūshū)

Over 50 years after it started operating, the locomotive was retired from service in March 1975, and stored at Yatake Station in Kumamoto Prefecture. In August 1988, it was brought back into service under the name SL Aso Boy, running between Kumamoto Station and Miyaji Station on the Hōhi Line, before being retired from service again in August 2005. However, calls from railfans for a second comeback brought the locomotive out of retirement again in April 2009, and it operated as SL Hitoyoshi on the Hisatsu Line between Kumamoto and Hitoyoshi Station. Although there were few passengers in 2020, due to the impact from torrential rains and the global pandemic, 35,805 passengers enjoyed riding the steam locomotive during the 2023 fiscal year. In total, SL Hitoyoshi traveled around 369,000 kilometers and transported 414,203 passengers over the 1,945 days it has operated in this incarnation.

SL Hitoyoshi traveling near JR Hitoyoshi Station on November 14, 2021. (Courtesy JR Kyūshū)

Many fans were on hand to witness the final journey of SL Hitoyoshi, as it made its way amid bellowing smoke from Kumamoto to Hakata Station on the Kagoshima Line. A mechanic who had been working on SL Hitoyoshi since its return from retirement in 2009 said he felt sad because he had taken care of it like his own child, but at the same time was deeply grateful the locomotive could operate for so many years. According to JR Kyūshū, the locomotive will be transferred free of charge to Hitoyoshi in Kumamoto Prefecture.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: Ceremony for the last run of SL Hitoyoshi at Hakata Station on March 23, 2024. Photo courtesy of JR Kyūshū.)