JGR Class 9700

The JGR Class 9700 (originally the Nippon Railway Class Bt4/6) was a 2-8-2 Mikado-type steam locomotive built for the JGR from 1897.
==History==
The 9700 was used mainly as a passenger locomotive and was considered the strongest pulling locomotive in Japan at the time. Twenty locomotives were produced by Baldwin Locomotive Works and imported into Japan in 1897; little documentation exists other than the above about its service life. The locomotives were retired in 1922, and were the last 2-8-2 locomotives used in Japan until the Class D50s were built; the main locomotives used were 2-8-0 Consolidations after the nationalization of the Japanese Railways.
No locomotives survived into preservation.
==Trivia==
*Baldwin's model number for the locomotives was 12-30-1/4E.
*Baldwin christened the Class 9700 locomotives as Mikados after the Emperor of Japan; the Class 9700s were the first 2-8-2 locomotives to be referred to as Mikados. The name stuck and has been used ever since.
*The Class 9700's whistle has been said to have a very heavy resonating sound; however, no audio recordings exist. In fact, because of its distinct sound, it has been said that the original whistles of the Class 9700s was replaced with a single-note hooter whistle due to complaints from nearby residents. The whistle was most likely American-made, hence its cadence.
==See also==
*JGR Class 9040
*JGR Class 9050
*JGR Class 9200
==References==
Category:2-8-2 steam locomotives
Category:2-8-2 locomotives
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:JR Group trains
Category:Baldwin locomotives
Category:Narrow-gauge steam locomotives
Category:Built in 1897
Category:Narrow-gauge locomotives
Category:Scrapped locomotives
Category:Locomotives
Category:Nippon Railway trains
Category:Japanese locomotives
Category:Japan
Category:3 foot 6 inch gauge
Category:Japanese steam locomotives
Category:Scrapped steam locomotives