The fate of C56 26

[c56]

My main interest and research is focused in the whereabouts and the fate of C56 locomotives used on the "Burma-Thailand-Railway" in WWII.

 

More than 50 such locomotives had been modified for the metre-gauge and brought from Japan to Thailand in 1943/44. Several still exist, partly on display at a railway station or in a museum, two are used once a year for what the Thais call a nostalgic journey during the "River Kwai Festival" (in fact a diesel locomotive pulls the old and weak C56-15 or C56-17 with a few wagons), and 1 has been destroyed. Alltogether I know of 22 such locomotives and have seen about 12 of them, and if not for Covid19 I would have seen 3 or 4 more this year.

 

By accident I came across a Japanese website with a picture that puzzles me. It shows an axle with 2 wheels of a locomotive and a plate reading C5626. This is one of the locomotives of which I only know that it actually was used by the Japanese in Thailand during WWII and that it later was incorporated into the Thai Railway System as SRT 722. In a list of SRT-numbers dated 1994 the number is missing, though (as it is on later lists). So, I wonder if the Japanese text in the weblink given above gives a clue of what happened to C56-26. I cannot read Japanese, and although I know there is an app that might be able to translate the text, I have not managed yet to install it properly.

Edited June 14, 2020 by c56

[roadstar_na6]

Text reads as following:

(Dirty Microsoft Translation)

 

Koumi Line SL Main Wheel JR's Highest Point Relocation Celebration in Minamimaki

 

On December 12 in Minamimaki Village, a celebration was held to commemorate the transfer of the main wheel of the steam locomotive (SL) C56, which once ran on the Koumi Line, from JR Nobeyama Station in the village to near the highest point of the JR Railway (1375 meters above sea level). The main wheel was donated to the village in 2016 by railway researcher Kazuya Tsukamoto, and it was stored in front of the station, but the village recently relocated it.

The C56, which ran on the relocated main wheel, towed passenger and freight cars on the Koumi Line for about two years in the 1930s. It was served during the Pacific War and was commissioned for transport in Thailand. After the war, Tsukamoto brought back the main wheel at his own expense, kept it at his home in Tokyo, and donated it to the village.

The relocation site is a corner of the village-owned land, and there is also a pillar indicating the highest point. Based on Tsukamoto's intention to make it a place where passengers can see, the Koumi Line passes in the immediate vicinity. Tetsuo Kuroiwa, 61, chairman of the JR Highest Point Lovers Association, which was created by volunteers in the Saku area and organized the celebration, said, "We want to promote it greatly so that it will be useful for sightseeing and revitalization of the village."

[c56]

@roadstar_na6: Thanks a lot for the help.

[gavino200]

On 6/14/2020 at 4:00 PM, c56 said:

My main interest and research is focused in the whereabouts and the fate of C56 locomotives used on the "Burma-Thailand-Railway" in WWII.

 

More than 50 such locomotives had been modified for the metre-gauge and brought from Japan to Thailand in 1943/44. Several still exist, partly on display at a railway station or in a museum, two are used once a year for what the Thais call a nostalgic journey during the "River Kwai Festival" (in fact a diesel locomotive pulls the old and weak C56-15 or C56-17 with a few wagons), and 1 has been destroyed. Alltogether I know of 22 such locomotives and have seen about 12 of them, and if not for Covid19 I would have seen 3 or 4 more this year.

 

By accident I came across a Japanese website with a picture that puzzles me. It shows an axle with 2 wheels of a locomotive and a plate reading C5626. This is one of the locomotives of which I only know that it actually was used by the Japanese in Thailand during WWII and that it later was incorporated into the Thai Railway System as SRT 722. In a list of SRT-numbers dated 1994 the number is missing, though (as it is on later lists). So, I wonder if the Japanese text in the weblink given above gives a clue of what happened to C56-26. I cannot read Japanese, and although I know there is an app that might be able to translate the text, I have not managed yet to install it properly.

 

What a fascinating story. I'm sure you have more to teach here than you have to learn. Would you be able to give an account of your journey so far? How you got interested in the Burma Railway? Did you have a grandfather involved? How you developed your interest. What sources you consulted. When you first travelled to South Asia? How many times you've been. I'd love to see photos of your journey. What anecdotes you've heard. Ideas for future research. Any other railways you've fascinated with. Whether you model the railroad. Please share. 

 

I have no doubt that ideas and suggestions would occur to members as they read about your interesting adventure. 

[c56]

On 6/19/2020 at 10:19 PM, gavino200 said:

 

What a fascinating story. I'm sure you have more to teach here than you have to learn. Would you be able to give an account of your journey so far? How you got interested in the Burma Railway? Did you have a grandfather involved? How you developed your interest. What sources you consulted. When you first travelled to South Asia? How many times you've been. I'd love to see photos of your journey. What anecdotes you've heard. Ideas for future research. Any other railways you've fascinated with. Whether you model the railroad. Please share. 

 

I have no doubt that ideas and suggestions would occur to members as they read about your interesting adventure. 

In fact I do have some knowledge as far as the Burma-Thailand-Railway is concerned, but I know a lot of people who know much more than I do. My interests started when I first saw the famous movie in the early 1960s. I was 10 or 11 years old back then and was really fascinated by the story and the location. Of course I had no idea, that the movie had not really much to do with the real history.

 

15 years later I first paid a visit to the railway, and ever since I have been there more than 15 times I guess, always travelling on the railway and visiting places that are of historical interest. I have also tried to visit all locomotives that still exist in Thailand. Burma and the war museum in Thanbyuzayat is still on my to-do-list, though.

 

I have been thinking of building a model railway of the "death railway" with a buddy of mine, but I wonder whether we will ever be able to do it. After all I am almost 70 and he is 75. We have a couple of detailed plans already made, we have lot of time, we even have a location for it with 20m², but we are both perfectionists, which means we want to use the best material, and this means,. it will cost a lot of money. Until we have enough of this, we will continue to dream about it.