Chōsen Government Railway Explained

Railroad Name:Chōsen Government Railway
朝鮮總督府鐵道
조선총독부 철도
Logo Filename:sentetsulogo.png
Locale:Korea, Empire of Japan
Start Year:1910
End Year:1945
Predecessor Line:Korea Railway
Successor Line:Korean State Railway
Gauge:
Electrification:3000 V DC (1,435 mm)
Hq City:Keijō
Chōsen Government Railway
Kanji:朝鮮總督府鐵道
Romaji:Chōsen Sōtokufu Tetsudō
Kanji2:鮮鐵
Romaji2:Sentetsu
Hangul:조선총독부 철도
Hanja:朝鮮總督府鐵道
Rr:Joseon Chongdokbu Cheoldo
Mr:Chosŏn Ch'ongdokbu Ch'ŏldo
Hangul2:선철
Hanja2:鮮鐵
Rr2:Seoncheol
Mr2:Sŏnch'ŏl
Ibox-Order:ja, ko1, ko4, ko3

The (Korean: 조선총독부 철도|Joseon Chongdokbu Cheoldo) was a state-owned railway company in Korea during Japanese rule. It was also colloquially known by the abbreviated name . It was the operational division of the, which managed and operated railways in Chōsen, as well as supervised privately owned railway companies.

Public identity

The Chosen Government Railway's public identity changed a number of times over the 39 years that it existed. In the first four years of its existence, its name changed three times to reflect the rapid changes in Korea's political environment between 1905 and 1910. Later, for eight years Korea's railways were managed by the South Manchuria Railway - which was almost a state-level actor in the region on its own - before finally regaining its independence for the last twenty years of its life.

History

After the end of the World War II, all railways in Korea were nationalised, with the lines in South Korea becoming part of the Korean National Railroad, and those in North Korea becoming part of the Korean State Railway.

Organisation

The organisation of the Railway Bureau as of 1 September 1941:

The Railway Bureau also operated a system of sports clubs. Today's Daejeon Korail FC is the direct descendant of Sentetsu's football club, which won the All-Korea football championship in 1939;[2] Sentetsu's ice hockey club was the first to ever play a game of that sport in Korea, playing a game against the team of the Tokyo Imperial University in 1928, and later played the first game between two Korean clubs, against a team from the Gyeongseong Imperial University.

Motive power

Sentetsu, or more accurately its predecessor, the National Railway, was created through the merger of the Temporary Military Railway and the Gyeongbu Railway, which had previously absorbed the Gyeongin Railway, on 1 September 1906. At the time of the merger, the Korean locomotive fleet was as follows:[3]

Type Wheel Arrangement Gyeongbu Railway Temporary Military Railway Total
2-6-0T 4 - 4
2-6-2T 18 52 70
2-8-0 6 - 6
4-6-0 12 - 12
0-4-0 0 2 2
Total 40 54 94

When the National Railway became Sentetsu in 1910, the locomotive fleet had increased by only 21 engines; by the time Mantetsu took over the management of Korea's railways in 1917, the Sentetsu motive power fleet had grown from 115 in 1910 to 175. Mantetsu management lasted just under a decade, and by the time Sentetsu regained its independence in 1925 the locomotive park stood at 247 engines. The 1930s, however, saw enormous growth in Sentetsu's fleet. From 302 locomotives in 1930, by the end of the decade the number had more than doubled to 740 engines in 1940, and reached 1,000 in 1944. When Sentetsu was abolished after the end of the Pacific War there were 1,302 locomotives on the roster.[3]

Year Steam
Locomotives
(s.g./n.g.) 		Electric
Locomotives
(s.g.) 		Passenger cars
(s.g/n.g.) 		Freight cars
(s.g/n.g.) 		Powered
railcars
(s.g/n.g.) 		Notes
1906 94 155 593 National Railway
1909 109 159 1,036 Korea Railway
1910 115 159 1,186 Chosen Government Railway
1914 165 335 1,602
1918 191 420 2,047 South Manchuria Railway Gyeongseong Bureau
1923 243 536 2,656 4
1925 247 591 2,766 3 Chosen Government Railway
1930 302/31 733/75 3,313/319 10/13
1935 393* 897 4,426 34/13
1940 740* 1,534 10,068 40/13
1941 802* 1,746 11,244 40/13
1942 840* 1,852 12,030 47?/13
1943 970* 5 1,887 13,057 47?/13
1944 1,236* 9 1,447 15,156 47?/13
1945 1,302* 9 2,027 15,352 47?/13

Classification system

Sentetsu's first classification system was a simple, number-based system, in which, loosely, the hundreds digit of the running number indicated the locomotive's wheel arrangement - numbers in the 100s were 2-6-0 or 2-8-0, those in the 200s and 300s were 4-6-0, the 400s were 4-4-0, the 500s were 4-6-4, and so on. This slightly modified in 1918, the year after Mantetsu took over management of Korea's railways, with some of the numbers being redefined, and after Mantetsu introduced a new classification system for its own locomotives in 1920, the system for Korean locomotives was once again adjusted, retaining the number series as they were in 1918, but adding new class designations - likewise reflecting wheel arrangement - akin to those used for Mantetsu's own locomotives, based on the common American name for the given wheel arrangement. Thus, from the 1920s until 1938, Sentetsu's locomotive had both a katakana-based class designation as well as a running number; however, unlike Mantetsu's engines, those of Sentetsu didn't have the class designation marked on the locomotive itself.

Class Number series Wheel arrangement
(Whyte) 		Wheel arrangement
(UIC) 		American name
アメ
Ame 		400 2′B American
バル
Baru 		500 2'C2' Baltic
ゴロ
Goro 		? 1'C1' Columbia
ケハ
Keha 		? n/a n/a Kerosene (petrol-powered railcars)
ジハ
Jiha 		? n/a n/a Diesel (diesel-powered railcars)
ミカ
Mika 		800, 1700 1′D1′ Mikado
モガ
Moga 		100 1′C Mogul
パシ
Pashi 		900 2′C1′ Pacific
プレ
Pure 		200, 300 1′C1′ Prairie
サタ
Sata 		1800 1′E1′ Santa Fe
ソリ
Sori 		100 1′D Consolidation
シグ
Shigu 		? 1′A Single
テホ
Teho 		600, 700 2′C Ten-Wheeler

In 1938, Mantetsu introduced a unified classification and numbering system for its own locomotives, as well as for those of its de jure subsidiary, the North China Transportation Company, and its de facto subsidiary, the Manchukuo National Railway. At the same time Sentetsu - though it had regained its independence in 1925 - introduced its own variant of the new Mantetsu system, which included the locomotives owned by private railways in Korea.[4]

The new system consisted of a class designation and a running number counting sequentially from 1; the class designation had three katakana characters.[5] The first two, indicating wheel arrangement, remained as they were in the previous system, with the addition of one: マテ (Mate), from "Mountain", for 4-8-2 locomotives introduced in 1939. The third katakana in the class name was the class number, derived from the first syllable of the corresponding Japanese numbers from one to ten:

Thus, the third class of locomotives with a 4-6-2 wheel arrangement would be called パシサ - Pashisa.

Narrow-gauge steam locomotives did not use the designation forms based on wheel arrangement; instead, they all used ナキ ("Naki", from English "Narrow Gauge") plus a class number. Petrol-powered narrow gauge railcars were classified ナケハ.

Classification of electric locomotives was slightly different from that used for steam locomotives. Although this also used the two character + class number arrangement, the first character was デ ("de", from 電気, denki, "electric"), while the second character indicated the number of powered axles (using the same number abbreviations as used for the class number). In practice, Sentetsu had only two types of electric locomotive, both with six powered axles - デロイ (DeRoI) and デロニ (DeRoNi).[5]

This classification system later formed the basis of the systems used by both the Korean National Railroad in South Korea[3] and the Korean State Railway in North Korea.[5]

Locomotive Types

Standard gauge

Steam locomotives (tender)
Class & numbers
(1906–1918) 		Class & numbers
(1918–1938) 		Class & numbers
(1938–1945) 		Wheel
arrangement 		Builder Built Total in class
Image Notes
? アメ401–アメ406 アメイ1–アメイ6
(Amei) 		1911 6 All six to KNR in 1945.
- - マテイ1–マテイ50
(Matei) 		1939–1945 50
- - マテニ1–マテニ33
(Mateni) 		1939–1945 33
- ミカ701–ミカ712 ミカイ1–ミカイ12
(Sentetsu Mikai) 		1919 12
- - ミカイ (various)
(Mantetsu Mikai) 		various various ≤54 As many as 54 on loan to Sentetsu from Mantetsu and MNR at war's end.
- ミカ801–ミカ812 ミカニ1–ミカニ12
(Mikani) 		1919 12
- ミカ1701–ミカ1770
(Mikasa) 		1927–1945 308 8 built for the West Chosen Central Railway and 38 for the Central China Railway in 1943–1944. More built for KNR in 1946.
- ミカシ1–ミカシ24
(Mikashi) 		1939–1942 24
- ,
パシ919–パシ924 (1921–1924)
パシ901–パシ918 (1921–1924) 		パシイ1–パシイ18
(Pashii) 		1921, 1923 18
- パシ913–パシ918 (1921–1924)
パシ919–パシ924 (1921–1924) 		パシニ1–パシニ6
(Pashini) 		1923 6 All six to KSR in 1945.
- パシ957–パシ962 パシサ1–パシサ6
(Sentetsu Pashisa) 		1923 6
- - パシサ (various)
(Mantetsu Pashisa) 		various various 5 5 on loan to Sentetsu from Mantetsu at war's end.
- パシ971–パシ990 パシサ1–パシサ82
(Pashishi) 		1927–1943 82 10 built for Central China Railway in 1942–1943.
- - パシコ1–パシコ40
(Pashiko) 		1939–1944 40
- - パシサ (various)
(Mantetsu Pashisa) 		various various 5 5 on loan to Sentetsu from Mantetsu at war's end; all five to KSR in 1945.
- - パシロ (various)
(Kokusen Pashiro) 		various various 25 25 on loan to Sentetsu from the Manchukuo National Ry at war's end; all 25 to KSR in 1945.
101–106 ソリ1001–ソリイ1006 ソリイ1–ソリイ6
(Sorii) 		1894 6 Bought second-hand by the Temporary Military Railway in 1904.
- - ソリロ (various)
(Kokusen Soriro) 		various various 8 8 on loan to Sentetsu from the Manchukuo National Ry at war's end.
301–306 テホ601–テホ606 テホイ1–テホイ6
(Tehoi) 		1906 6 Originally Gyeongbu Railway 300 series.
201–221 テホ601–テホ606 テホニ1–テホニ21
(Tehoni) 		1906–1909 21 First six originally Gyeongbu Railway 200 series.
222–230 テホ611–テホ619 テホサ1–テホサ10
(Tehosa) 		1911, 1938 10 One copy built at Gyeongseong in 1938.
235–238 テホ661–テホ664 テホシ1–テホシ4
(Tehoshi) 		1913 4 All four to KSR in 1945.
271–306 テホ701–テホ736 テホコ1–テホコ36
(Tehoko) 		1917–1919 36
- テホ751–テホ789 テホロ1–テホロ95
(Tehoro) 		1927–1942 95
Steam locomotives (tank)
Class & numbers
(1906–1918) 		Class & numbers
(1918–1938) 		Class & numbers
(1938–1945) 		Wheel
arrangement 		Builder Built Total in class
Image Notes
501–512 バル501–バル512 バルイ1–バルイ12
(Barui) 		4-6-4T 1913–1914 12
- ゴロ61–ゴロ63 ゴロイ1–ゴロイ3
(Goroi) 		2-4-2T 1924 3 All three to KSR in 1945.
1–4 モガ101–モガ104 モガイ1–モガイ4
(Mogai) 		4-6-4T 1899 4 Originally Gyeongin Railway 1–4
1–70 プレ1–プレ70 プレイ1–プレイ23
(Purei) 		2-6-2T 1901, 1906 70 Originally Gyeongbu Railway 1–18 and Temporary Military Railway 1–52. Rebuilt to Pureshi-class, only 23 unrebuilt by 1938.
71–79 プレ271–プレ279 プレニ1–プレニ9
(Pureni) 		2-6-2T 1905, 1935 9+1 Originally Gyeongbu Railway. 1st プレ276 wrecked, replacement built in 1935 with same number.
81–94 プレ281–プレ294 プレサ1–プレサ14
(Puresa) 		2-6-2T 1911–1912 14
- ?
(Pureshi) 		2-6-2T Baldwin (builder)
1925–? 46 Rebuilt from Purei-class.
- プレ301–プレ302 プレコ1–プレコ2
(Pureko) 		2-6-2T 1911 2 Bought second-hand by Domun Railway in 1920, to Sentetsu 1929. Both to KSR in 1945.
- プレ311–プレ312 プレロ1–プレロ2
(Purero) 		2-6-2T 1911 2 Bought second-hand by Domun Railway in 1920, to Sentetsu 1929. Both to KSR in 1945.
- プレ321–プレ326
プレ341–プレ348 		プレナ1–プレナ93
(Purena) 		2-6-2T 1930–1941 93 プレ341–プレ348 built for Gyeongchun Railway in 1930, bought by Sentetsu in 1936. Nineteen others built for Mantetsu in 1935. One still in service with KSR.
- プレ351–プレ362 プレハ1–プレハ38
(Pureha) 		2-6-2T 1932, 1939 38
- サタイ1–サタイ24
(Satai) 		2-6-2T 1934–1939 24
4輪
(Yonrin) 		? - 0-4-0T 1899 2 Two bought second-hand by the Gyeongbu Railway in April 1906.
Electric locomotives
Class & numbers Wheel
arrangement 		Builder Built Total in class Image Notes
デロイ1–デロイ9
(DeRoI) 		1943–1944 9 Only five delivered by war's end; rest delivered to KNR in 1946–1947.
デロイ31–デロイ33
(DeRoI) 		- - Could not be delivered due to war's end; delivered in 1946 to KNR.
デロニ1–デロニ4
(DeRoNi) 		1943–1944 4 All delivered to Sentetsu.

Standard gauge railcars

Narrow gauge steam locomotives

Narrow gauge railcars

Routes

The following is a list of the rail lines of the Chosen Government Railway in 1945. The name in brackets is the Japanese form of the name, which was the officially used form.

Standard gauge

Narrow gauge

Private railways

A number of private railways existed during the period of the Japanese occupation of Korea; these were overseen by the Railway Bureau. Most were freight (served industrial plants, ports, natural resource transport sectors, as well as military transport) and a few for passenger service in Japanese-occupied Korea.

After the end of the Second World War, these were all nationalised, both in North and South Korea.

This is a (nearly) exhaustive list of private railways in Korea.

Notes and References

  1. http://www.korass.or.kr/include/download.php?seq=45 철도주요연표 - 한국철도협회 Chronology of Major Railways - Korean Railway Association
  2. Web site: Korea - List of Joseon Tournament Winners. RSSSF.
  3. Book: Byeon, Seong-u. 1999. 한국철도차량 100년사. Korean Railways Rolling Stock Centennial. ko. Seoul. Korea Rolling Stock Technical Corp..
  4. Kokubu, Hayato (2007), 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), Shinchosha, Tokyo,
  5. Web site: 『デロイを探せ！（その19） デロイ戦後の遍歴4（戦後の形式名考察）』.

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