I recently came upon this article.

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/ ... id=2899520

It appears to be an American built 4-8-2 but there is not really enough of it there for me to be sure. Does anyone know anything about it? It's not the fabled Erie 4-6-2, that's for sure.

Could be wrong,but it don't look like typical American building practice from the bolted front frame and spoked wheels on the engine truck. Chinese construction maybe with the Boxpok drivers? Another not really good picture here;

This article from the April 19, 2003 edition of the Stars & Stripes provides more information on the locomotive and how it came to rest in the DMZ for decades.

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?sect ... icle=14967

The one in the picture in the article looks like the same one in a picture I was sent a few years ago of the engine trapped in the DMZ. It's cab was gone a long time ago, and it is badly shot up.

I had always thought it was a "Mikasa" 2-8-2; probably of Japanese build. But, you can see the four leading wheels, so that leads me to believe it is of the MT2 class; built by Kawasaki in 1944. The only other surviving example of this class I have seen recorded to date is #301 at Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang Province, China.

The one in the picture in this thread is a different machine; besides having a cab, the sand dome is a square box next to the steam dome. You can see the seperate round steam dome in the above picture. What's more, the picture appears to have been taken in North Korea; the locomotive mentioned in both articles is on the South Korean side of the DMZ in Imjingak. I have no other 4-8-2s listed in Asia; so this picture is a different mystery to me altogether. Must be yet another locomotive in North Korea that went undocumented in the west, and may be scrapped now (notice it's rods are missing.) The locomotive in front it looks like a Chinese built GP-6.

Both of my websites with the Korean Steam page are gone, but you can access it on the Internet Archive:

http://web.archive.org/web/200602121403 ... /korea.htm

Here's an S160 Army 2-8-0 in service on the KNR:



Photo was sent to me by James A. Coon, my childhood friend while serving with the Transportation Corps. in Korea in 1963. Note this is NOT a USATC locomotive but definitely a KNR locomotive with the number place and tender plaque.

The locomotive at the station platform is definitely in North Korea. The sign on the left side of the picture reads "Kim Jong-il Comrade Long Live!" (The characters for "Long Live" could also be interpreted as "Eternity.") Even without the sign, this looks much more like the dreary North than the South, which has a very modern and clean railway system.

They were a batch of Hungarian 4-8-0s sent to DPRK, but hae not heard of ay 4-8-2s.

The pages I found on it on were on Michael Powell's long-gone China Railways website. Fortunately, the Internet Archive captured it as well:

http://web.archive.org/web/199910031457 ... hay14.html

The locomotive pictured there does appear to be the same as the one pictured in North Korea; with rods, but otherwise in worst condition.

Greetings:
I have a catalog: "Steam & Electric Locomotives 1949" published by "Japan Association of Railway Industries" which has a builders photo labled "Mateni" (Mountain). This locomotive very similar to the one recently put on display in Korea and the "mystery" 4-8-2 that used to sit in the scrapline at Mudanjiang.
There is a diagram in the catalog of a somewhat more modern locomotive.
Specifications as per the catalog: cylinders 630X760mm, boiler pressure 14.5 kg/cm2, driver diameter 1750mm, total wieght of engine in working order 126.28 tons.
These had a skyline casing, type "E" superheater and Delta trailing truck.
J.David

I'm going to Korea for a few weeks in late April and early May and plan to do quite a bit of traveling around the country. I've been to the KORAIL museum in Uiwang during earlier visits and will probably go again. If anyone wishes for me to check out any sightings, rumors, etc., of steam locomotives or other rolling stock, please let me know. Travel to North Korea, of course, is out of the question.

Tim;

I appreciate the offer, but after feeling responsible for starting the search for the Erie Pacific, I am not going to start another one. :)

But, I will be interested in seeing any steam locomotives you may come across; especially those stuffed and mounted on display.

James: During my last visit to the KORAIL museum in April 2005, there were a number of steam locomotives on display, plus another next door at the KORAIL university. I asked a young fellow at the museum if there were any other rail museums in Korea and he said no. He may be mistaken, and if someone else knows something different, please speak up. There was at one time a steam locomotive on display at a visitor center by the Imjin River on the way to Panmunjom, but I don't know if it was still there after the new rail link between north and south was put back in.

This seems to be a good time to comment on rail preservation interest in Korea. During a visit in April 2000, I met a tour van driver whose father had worked all of his life on the railroad. I asked him if there were any magazines for rail buffs, any rail historical societies. etc. His put a funny expression on his face and asked how anyone could be interested in such things. This helps to explain why one doesn't see much old equipment anywhere in Korea. Nostalgia for yesterday's trains is much less than it is here, and old equipment is typically converted into scrap for new uses.

During that visit I went to the largest bookstore in Seoul, which has a very substantial selection of English language books on a wide variety of topics. I couldn't find anything on railroads, so I checked with one of the nice ladies working there. There was only one book on railroads in the entire store, a book published by the government on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Korean national railroad. It lacked roster information, maps, and had only a few small illustrations of various stations.

At the small gift shop and museum in the main station in Seoul (now closed and replaced by a much larger steel and glass structure accommodating high speed trains) there were some trinkets and a couple of books for sale.

At the museum in Uiwang (the nearby rapid transit station was renamed from Bugok a few years ago) I didn't see much of anything available for sale. A young fellow working there had a few books but said they weren't for sale and, in fact, their circulation was restricted due to national security concerns. (WTH?) Other than some old retired gents and a few moms with kids, hardly anyone seems to visit or show interest in the rail museum.

Note to visiting buffs: The rail corridor in front of the museum is the busiest stretch of track in the country, so you'll never have to wait long for the next train to pass. Also, I took numerous pictures on station platforms, outside stations, and along the tracks, and no one hassled me about being a "terrorist."

Tim:

That's not surprising; very few Koreans are railfan/preservationist types. And you can forget about Korean model railroading; there are a number of companies (like Samhongsa) which produce brass models and detail parts, but there's no domestic market for model railroad products of any sort. Koreans apparently view railroads as transportation and little else (that's strictly an observation, BTW).

Mike: I think your observation regarding model railroading interest is correct. From friends in Seoul I heard of a company manufacturing model railroad cars and locomotives but never saw any in the many stores I visited.

Also, an earlier post carried this link regarding surviving North and South Korean steam locomotives featured this paragraph: "Chinese SY class 2-8-2 #11 operates in the holiday and Sunday between Seoul and Uijongbu, South Korea (Winter season suspension). It was built in China's Zhangchun works in 1994." During my April 2005 visit I asked about this one at a tourist counter in Seoul's main station and the nice lady informed me that unfortunately it no longer runs. I'll keep my eyes open for anything similar during this year's visit.