Tobu Railway operates 12 routes in the greater Tokyo area and runs a tourist train pulled by SL Taiju steam locomotives in Tochigi Prefecture. Until now, Tobu Railway ran 2 steam locomotives, however, to enhance the operation of the popular train, the company decided to restore a museum condition steam locomotive from Hokkaido Prefecture. The restoration was expected to take 2 years, but the body was more damaged than they had anticipated. Half of the parts, including the boiler, needed to be rebuilt, which in total took 3 years. A nice, 28-minute video detailing the restoration effort for Japan Railway C11 123 is available at the following link (scroll down):

• Tobu Railway C11 123, 2-6-4T ([builder?] [builder's number?] / 1947), 3-foot 6-inch gauge, ex-JNR ? (Tobu Railway assigned this locomotive the number C11 123.)
• Tobu Railway C11 207, 2-6-4T ([builder?] [builder's number?] / [built date?]), 3-foot 6-inch gauge, ex-JNR ?
• Tobu Railway C11 325, 2-6-4T ([builder?] [builder's number?] / [built date?]), 3-foot 6-inch gauge, ex-JNR ?

NHK World: Japan Railway Journal: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/onde ... o/2049111/

面白いですね!私は見たい、来年に日本に行きます。

私たちには何人もの親友がいますが、皆、日本の専門家です。何人かの友人は日本に住んでいる日本人です。追加情報が必要な場合は、お気軽に個人的なメッセージをお送りください。

Their video is quite informative. Lots more detailed than I was expecting.

Following are additional details were provided by James Waite (UK) and Takahide Yamamoto (JP):

Tobu Railway C11 123: The locomotive which the Tobu Railway has numbered C11 123 started life with the Kojaku Railway in Shiga Prefecture (near Kyoto) as C11 1, and later moved to a non-JNR coal railway in Hokkaido. It was never a JNR locomotive. Tobu Railway C11 123 was built by Nippon Sharyo 1423 / 1947. Ownership history follows: Kojaku （Kohjaku）Railway >>> Yubetsu (Yuhbetsu) Railway >>> Kushiro Kaihatsu Futo (Kushiro Development Piers is word-to-word translation, a successor to Yubetsu) >>> preserved by a person >>> Nippon Tetsudo Hozon Kyokai (a preservation society) >>> Number changed and Tobu got it.

Tobu Railway C11 207 was built by Hitachi 1488 / 1941. C11 207 worked for JNR on Hokkaido. I (James Waite) may be wrong, but I think it still belongs to JR Hokkaido and is being hired to the Tobu. Before it went there it used to work steam specials on Hokkaido, often in their snowy winters where it must have made an impressive sight.

Tobu Railway C11 325 was built by Nippon Sharyo 1407 / 1946. C11 325 was another JNR loco and until three years or so ago was owned by the Moka Railway (a line on the Kanto plain north east of Tokyo which runs regular steam specials), and was one of two working locos there. I think they sold it to the Tobu. They had a maintenance arrangement with JR East under which they maintained the loco to mainline standards and the loco used to run occasional steam specials on their lines.

Agreed, it was worth watching. I liked how the company took workers from the electric railroad side and trained them with experienced steam locomotive workers, in hopes of passing down the knowledge. They had a basic nice operational description about the firebox and staybolts.

And I like that the Japanese locomotives have American sounding steam whistles on them!

Nice to see Japanese steam getting a spotlight across the seas. I'm a big fan of Japanese steam/railroads. Most of their engines, particularly the locos designed by Hideo Shima, have alot of American influences, despite their rail network being initially developed by British engineers. I'd go as far to say Japan probably has the most preserved steam locomotives out of any country. Imagine having 52 of a single class left, as they do with the C11s. Thanks for sharing!

For those unfamiliar, Japan Railway Journal is possibly the greatest gift to railfans that aren't ethnocentric. It's a weekly "railfan" show, offered both on live broadcast and in archived streaming online, that presents all aspects of railroad enterprise, from travel tourism to technology to the struggle to preserve under-utilized rural and transit lines to even the food:

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/japanrailway/

Even if you claim not to have even the slightest interest in foreign railways, it behooves any North American or "Western" railfans and preservationists to see a slickly produced "outside" publicly accessible perspective into their avocation. These are not the usual "clueless" TV reporters with no knowledge of what they're talking about, that descend into the tiresome "back on track" or "chugging along" cliches. (Though I can barely get past the one anchor's name, "Cathy Cat", presumably a pseudonum....)