World’s Newest Steam Locomotive Runs in Eastern Japan

May 27, 2018

Narita, Chiba Pref.- A group of Japanese railroad fans fired up a small steam locomotive they made on their own at a dude ranch in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, on Saturday, claiming it is the newest steam engine in the world.

The tiny narrow-gauge locomotive, measuring 2.6 meters long, started chuffing on rails apart only 610 millimeters, about half the gauges for conventional railroads in Japan, at Narita Dream Dairy Farm in the city of Narita.

The group, called Rausujin Tetsudo Kyokai, made the saddle tank locomotive, which looks like a turtle, based on the design for an engine made by now-defunct H.K. Porter Inc. of the United States and used some 120 years ago by Kozuke Railway, now Joshin Dentetsu electric railway, in Gunma Prefecture.

Many commercially available parts were used to build the locomotive because "making all parts by hand is time-consuming," said group leader Yukihiro Tsunoda, 62. "Steam loco engineers are disappearing," he also pointed out.

The engine No. 7 uses heating oil instead of coal. "Coal requires much more care than heating oil," Tsunoda explained.

He said he hopes to see real steam locomotives run in many other places, such as amusement parks, adding that the group will try to build a bigger one.

After ending its two-day operation through Sunday, the No. 7 will next chuff this autumn, the group said. Jiji Press