Iconic Japanese Steam Locomotive Finishes Major Repairs

Yamaguchi, Sept. 22 (Jiji Press)--An iconic class C57 steam locomotive in Japan has finished major repairs and is now set to resume commercial operations.

On Saturday, a train hauled by the C57, nicknamed "Kifujin" (noble lady) partly for its slender shape, was shown to the press and conducted a test run on the 62.9-kilometer section between Shin-Yamaguchi and Tsuwano stations on West Japan Railway Co.'s Yamaguchi Line, which links Yamaguchi and Shimane prefectures in western Japan.

The steam locomotive will return to commercial operations Oct. 3 after a hiatus of about six years.

According to the railroad operator, better known as JR West, the C57 was made in 1937, and the now-defunct Japanese National Railways started to use it in 1979 for the "SL Yamaguchi-go" tourist train between former Ogori Station, now Shin-Yamaguchi Station, in the city of Yamaguchi, the capital of Yamaguchi Prefecture, and Tsuwano Station in the Shimane town of Tsuwano.

The C57 continued to be used after the 1987 privatization of the JNR, which created JR West and other Japan Railways Group companies.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]