The South Manchurian Railway, commonly called “Mantetsu”, needed new locomotives to resume express train service after World War I. In 1919, six engines designed for burning lignite were ordered from Baldwin in the USA. Mantetsu gave them the name “Pashishi”, which came from the Japanese pronunciation of “Pacific”. Internally, the class was called G2, with the numbers 900 to 905. As more locomotives were soon needed, the design was improved and from 1921 23 more examples of the class G3 were produced with parts imported from Baldwin. They were given the numbers 920 to 942 and were completed by 1927. To distinguish between the different Pacific series, the G2 and G3 were combined under the class name “Pashisa”.

Although the 1919-1927 engines were quickly pushed into regular passenger service by the Pashiko class, new series were commissioned in the 1930s. They had only a few differences from the original engines, which were limited to using as many identical parts as possible with the Mikados procured at the same time. The new series were now dubbed the Pashisa class, while the older ones were renamed the Pashiha class. Between 1934 and 1940, 16 examples were built for the Mantetsu and 80 for the Manchukuo State Railway (NMR). The last 70 pieces of the MNR had a larger firebox and were called “New National Small Pashi” to distinguish them. From 1938 until the end of the war they were operated by the Japanese-controlled North China Railway.

After the Second World War, all of the Mantetsu engines were still in existence. The 29 examples of the older series were located in China and were included in the inventory of the state railway as SL4. The 16 examples of the newer series were all in Korea and later remained in North Korea, where they were probably in service until the late 1960s. Of the original 80 NMR units, the Chinese State Railways were only able to add 30 to their inventory. These were designated SL3s and distributed among several directorates in Northeast China. In 1980, twelve were still known to be in use.

When the power and speed of the existing Pacific locomotives were no longer sufficient, the development of more powerful locomotives was started. In 1927, locomotive designer Nobutarō Yoshino had just returned to Japan from the United States after spending some time at ALCO. Based on his findings, the Pashiko class was developed and eleven copies were built at the Shahekou plant in Dalian.

On the one hand, power was increased by enlarging the firebox and cylinders, as was common in the USA at the time. In addition, modern construction principles were used, which included a boiler with a combustion chamber and a stoker. The top speed was increased in line with the increase in output thanks to a ten centimeter larger diameter of the coupled wheels. 

On the South Manchurian Railway they pulled the most important express trains. This included the train between Dalian and Changchun, which completed the route in two hours less with this locomotive. They were only surpassed by the Pashina class streamlined Pacifics. After the Second World War, the Chinese State Railways classified them as class SL5. They initially pulled passenger trains and individual vehicles could still be observed around 1980 in use for minor tasks.

Some similar types of Pacific locomotives were combined in the Pashiro class, which were built from 1933 by various manufacturers for several railway companies with a focus on Manchuria. The vast majority were of a type built by Kawasaki, Nippon Sharyo and Hitachi for the Manchukuo State Railways. They were called “New National Great Pashi” to distinguish them from the Pashisa class. Mantetsu procured 45 examples, some of which were built in Dalian. Eight pieces went to the Central China Railway, which used them under the designation KC100.

Compared to the Pacifics previously used in Manchuria, the major innovations consisted of a boiler with a combustion chamber and a feedwater heater. With a locomotive operating weight of just over 100 tonnes, they were also heavier and at the same time they had a larger tender. The engines of Mantetsu received the largest tender with an operating weight of more than 83 tonnes, the tenders of the other operators weighed between 71 and 73 tonnes when loaded. With the 57 examples built directly for the North China Railway during the war, there were a total of 254 units by 1944.

After World War II, there were a few locomotives in Korea that were among the 25 originally loaned by the Manchukuo State Railways to what was then Chosen. The Chinese State Railways took over well over 200 examples and classified them as SL6s. Due to the lack of more modern locomotive types, another 151 units were built between 1956 and 1958. The locomotives were eventually used throughout China and were essential for passenger service. The last ones were even used until 1991.

After Nobutarō Yoshino had already brought his experiences from ALCO in the development of Pashiko, he designed the Pashina as his true masterpiece. As the name suggests, it was again a Pacific that was particularly heavy in this case. It was one of the first steam locomotives with a complete streamlined cladding that was painted here in Prussian blue. This brought it the name “black mackerel”.

Analogous to the practices in the USA, the locomotives had a boiler with a large grate and a combustion chamber, a mechanical stoker and a feedwater heater. At the Mantetsu they were also the first locomotives with a superheater after Schmidt patent. They reached a top speed of 140 km/h and were also able to pull heavy express trains at 135 km/h.

No. 981 with improved fairing from the wind tunnel

Kawasaki

The service area of the Pashina was the prestigious Asia Limited, which ran between Dalian and Harbin. The Japanese occupying powers used the train for propaganda purposes to demonstrate the superiority of Japanese culture to the population of Manchuria. So the train and the locomotive in particular were found on stamps, postcards and even in school books.

Three engines were created in the Mantetetsu workshops in Shahekou and eight others at Kawasaki. A twelfth engine was created again at Kawasaki in 1936, whereby an optimized form of streamlined cladding was developed in the wind tunnel of the aircraft manufacturer Kawanishi.

The Asia Limited was discontinued in 1943 due to the war and the locomotives were now used for conventional express trains. From 1949 they were used by the China Railway and were called SL7 from 1959. The streamlined cladding was partially removed to simplify maintenance. The regular use ended in the eighties and two engines were preserved. One of them is fully functional and like the other machine it is located in the museum in Shenyang.

Between 1927 and 1930, three smaller railway companies in Manchuria had a total of 19 Mikado freight locomotives built by Škoda. These were the Qike Railway, the Huhai Railway, and the Sitao Railway. With a simple two-cylinder engine and a driving wheel diameter of around 1,400 mm, they reached a maximum permissible speed of 60 km/h.

After the founding of the Manchukuo state in 1934, the locomotives were first called „Mikani” and then renamed „Mikasa” in 1938, both of which came from the American type designation “Mikado”. In 1951 they were given the designation MK3 by the China Railway and became the JF3 from 1959. Their use probably ended in 1990 and today the number 2558 is in the museum in Shenyang.