Restored Steam Engines in Japan

D51_498, Her active years

In 2022, there are 17 restored or reactivated steam engines in 9 classes which can run on main line in Japan. In addition, there are several small restored engines across the country, and five big revived engines ( B20_10, 8630, C56_160, C61_2, and C62_2 ) in Kyoto museum. But they cannot run on main lines because of safety reasons. They can run only inside of a museum or a park's limited small area or yard area. What meaning ' SL ' is .... ? You will often see a word of 'SL' on Japanese rail travel information. If an English-speaking person had been to Japan to watch trains, then they would obviously know what SL meant. And the word of SL almost all of Japanese know this meaning. However, most Japanese misunderstand this word when it come from an English word. Of course the etymology of this initial comes from 'Steam Locomotive' . So, in a sense, it is true .... but in other words, many Japanese misunderstand an English-speaking person when they say SL. 'SL' s right origin that comes from the technical 'Code' of the JGR / JNR. Therefore, of course there is an exception to the SL steam locomotive for the 'Vehicle Identification Code'. SL = Steam Locomotive EL = Electric Locomotive DL = Diesel Locomotive EC = Electric Car (EMU) DC = Diesel Car PC = Passenger Car FC = Freight Car So, rightly or wrongly, SL usually shows a Steam-Engine simple body. Restored Steam Trains.