Power type Steam | Total produced 1916 Driver dia. 1,370 mm (53.94 in) | |
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Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ⁄2 in) |
The China railways JS class (Chinese: 建设; pinyin: Jiàn Shè; literally: "Construction or Development") was a type of 2-8-2 tender steam locomotive manufactured for use on mainline freight trains, as well as for heavy shunting.
Contents
History
The JS class was developed at the Dalian locomotive works; the design used the chassis design of the China Railways JF class, with a new boiler type., The first locomotive was produced in 1957; subsequently Dalian work and Qishuyan Locomotive and Rolling Stock Works produced over 1000 of the class, Datong locomotive works, and the Beijing 7th Feb works also manufactured vehicles. By 1965 1,135 vehicles had been made.
A second production phase began in 1981; Datong produced 358 locomotives by 1986. In 1986 a revised 'B' specification was introduced, and 434 units of this type were made; construction ended in 1988. the second tranche of locomotives received numbers from 8001 upwards. By the end of production 1916 units have been produced of both series combined.
In the late 1980s the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad of Iowa, USA bought a JS type locomotive for $355,000, number JS-8419.
Numbering
Locomotives produced from 1957 to 1965 were numbered JS-5001 to JS-6135. Starting at 5001 avoided overlapping the numbers of the various types of JF occupying the 1 - 4100 (approx) range. Locomotives produced at Datong in the early 1980s were numbered JS-6201 to JS-6558; after the introduction of the revised 'B' specification the locomotives were numbered JS-8001 to JS-8423. A small number of locomotives operating outside the scope of the ministry of railways (industrial railways) received different number designations.