No. 123 Locomotive (National Cultural Property of Japan)

The No. 123 Locomotive is a historic steam locomotive designated as a National Cultural Property of Japan. It was one of twelve units ordered from Great Britain from four manufacturers for the opening of the Osaka to Kobe railway on 11 May 1874, and one of four sourced from Robert Stephenson and Company. The 2-4-0 side-tank engine, built to the 1,067 mm gauge with Stephenson valve gear, was built in 1873 and arrived in Japan in 1874. It worked first between Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe, then at Kanazawa, on the Hikami Railway and from 1926 on the Kaya Railway, and it was withdrawn in 1956 after running over 297,000 km. It is one of only three preserved locomotives of its type and has hardly been modified since it was built.