The Amei class (アメイ) was a class of steam tender locomotives of the Chosen Government Railway (Sentetsu) with 4-4-0 wheel arrangement. The "Ame" name came from the American naming system for steam locomotives, under which locomotives with 4-4-0 wheel arrangement were called "American".
Description
Sentetsu introduced the Amei class locomotives in 1911, receiving six from ALCo of the United States. They were fitted with diameter driving wheels, which was a considerable size for the time, giving them a high operational speeds of . Unlike the Tehoi class locomotives, the Amei class were equipped with a four-axle tender. They were found to offer no advantage over the Teho types or Sorii class, and no further 4-4-0 locomotives were ever ordered by Sentetsu.
Sentetsu put them into service on the "Ryūki" express, Korea's first express train, operating between Sinuiju and Busan via Gyeongseong,Japanese Government Railways (1937), 鉄道停車場一覧. 昭和12年10月1日現在(The List of the Stations as of 1 October 1937), Kawaguchi Printing Company, Tokyo, pp. 483-485 along the Gyeongui Line between Sinuiju and Gyeongseong. Their original numbers are unknown, but they were numbered 401 through 406 in 1918, and then became アメイ1 through アメイ6 numbers in Sentetsu's general renumbering of 1938.
Postwar: Korean National Railroad 아메1 (Ame1) class After the Liberation of Korea, all six Amei-class locomotives remained in South Korea, where they were designated 아메1 class by the Korean National Railroad.
Construction Sentetsu running number 1911–1938 1938–1945 KNR Number Builder Year Notes 51 アメイ1 아메1-1 ALCo 1911 52 アメイ2 아메1-2 ALCo 1911 53 アメイ3 아메1-3 ALCo 1911 54 アメイ4 아메1-4 ALCo 1911 55 アメイ5 아메1-5 ALCo 1911 56 アメイ6 아메1-6 ALCo 1911
References