There are more than a few steam locomotives sitting in parks across Japan, enjoying their retirement.

I wanted to acknowledge the ones I happen across for all their hard work, so I started the Static Life Steam Locomotives Project, SLSL for short.

^{_{A map of the Static Life Steam Locomotives & more about the project is here.}}

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Still at the railway park from last week where we met the record breaking C62-17, but this time on in past the legends and into the main hall that’s reminiscent of an aircraft hangar. There are bullet trains galore – but those pics will have to wait for some other time. Today we’re all about that steam.

This is another C57, just like our first ever post in the SLSL Project, C57 26 in Gyoda.

You might notice from the pictures above though that some of the details on this C57 are a little different and that this one has been jazzed up a bit with some white lines (look around the deflectors at the front and the running boards) and has been generally spruced up somewhat.

This is because this lucky engine got to pull the “お召し列車” – the omeshi ressha – the train reserved exclusively for the use of the Showa emperor. The way it worked, to my limited understanding, was that there were a pool of engines from which JNR would choose each time the royal household required a train. Whichever engine was in the best condition that day was the one that got selected. This C57? Got selected 18 times.

Must have had some moves.

Here’s the data box from the Gyoda C57, for those of you into facts and figures of the numerical nature and not just the historical.

Locomotive total length: 12,960 mm

Locomotive total height: 3,945 mm

Tender total length: 7,320 mm

Tender total height: 3,080mm

Locomotive weight: 67.5 t

Tender weight: 48t

Maximum indicated horsepower: 120ps

Maximum operating speed: 100 km/h

Water tank volume: 17 m³

Driving wheel diameter: 1,750 mm

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You can visit C57-139 here.