JGR Class 7010

The JGR Class 7010 and the related Class 7030 (originally the JGR Class U) were 0-6-0 Switcher-type steam locomotives operated by the Japanese Government Railways from 1874 to 1921.
==History==
The Class 7010 was one of the earliest steam locomotives in Japan. The type was ordered by the JGR, with four locomotives manufactured at Kitson and Company in the United Kingdom in 1873. These were classified as the Class U locomotives and numbered 17 through 20. A second batch of four locomotives, also classified the Class U, was manufactured by the Vulcan Foundry; these were numbered 28 through 31. All locomotives were later reclassified as the Class E1 and renumbered 25 through 32. Two Class 7010 locomotives were converted to become Class N locomotives in 1876.
The locomotives were reclassified in 1909 when a formal rule regarding standardized classification of locomotives was enacted; the Kitson locomotives were reclassified as the Class 7010 and the Vulcan locomotives the Class 7030 and were renumbered 7010 through 7011 and 7030 through 7033 respectively. The Class 7010s were assigned to Hokkaido while the Class 7030s were assigned to Chūbu and Kinki. These locomotives were also used for the construction of lines and other freight trains. Withdrawals of the locomotives began in 1915, with 7032 and 7033 handed over to the Echigo Railway. When the Echigo Railway was nationalized, both locomotives returned to the JGR and renumbered 7030 and 7031. Both locomotives were retired in 1929, marking the end of the Class 7010s long service life on the JGR. 7010 and 7011 were used on the Bibai Railway where they were used until 1952. No Class 7010s or 7030s have been preserved.
==References==
Category:Locomotives
Category:JR Group trains
Category:Steam locomotives
Category:0-6-0 locomotives
Category:0-6-0 steam locomotives
Category:Kitson locomotives
Category:Vulcan Foundry locomotives
Category:Echigo trains
Category:Tender locomotives
Category:Japanese locomotives
Category:Japanese steam locomotives
Category:Built in 1873
Category:Built in 1876
Category:Scrapped locomotives