Japanese National Railways C62 Hudson by International

[Carey Williams]

Hello all

Japanese National Railways also had a Hudson ..their premier fast steamer built 1948-9 ... the C62, 3'6" gauge .
Concurrently KWR built the C62 in O gauge imported into America by International.
International was one of the early importers of brass trains both in HO and O scale shortly after the war.
The models were being built by a loose network of model makers in Japan some with great talents some not so much.
The international pieces very widely in quality construction depending on the model.
For a few yen more you could get quite a nice piece that ran well.
Most of the imported pieces that found success in America were patterned after American prototypes.
International tried to pass off the C62 is just a Hudson removing the elephant ears Not too many people were impressed in America.
Catalog from 1950 shows the Hudson retailing for $45.
Please see link for video of C622 running ...of the 5 real C62's remaining C622 is the only one still running !

https://youtu.be/-pqJ5FJG_qk

Cheers Carey

[R.K. Maroon]

Nice find, Carey. Yours is only the third one I have ever seen. I bought one of these in 2011. It was the first steam locomotive I ever bought. It was still new in the box.


https://www.dropbox.com/s/t5kbtfdxnbotu86/IMP_Hudson_05.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/jomz56ekfkwvlmfl5pyso/IMP_Hudson_04.JPG?rlkey=kkamu8adj24yhruc7mqhyrpo2&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7ipqk4ug66vm6y0z02ykp/IMP_Hudson_01.JPG?rlkey=rc5lpkx80m8flojsdrc66c9dv&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mplc5t6n445dx7tthsweh/IMP_Hudson_03.JPG?rlkey=88amhrzjg80eebb7wv45l05uq&dl=0

The newspaper the model was wrapped in was dated 1951. Note the copyrighted screwdriver image in the last photo. There were import tariffs on model trains at the time, but not on kits. The importers thus brought their models into the USA just disassembled enough to avoid the tariffs. "S.D.A" stands for "screw-driver assembly".

The model still had the original blueprint with it. I didn't have a large format scanner at the time, so I took it to Kinkos and paid (too much) to have it scanned. But I was pretty sure I wouldn't ever see another one, so why not?


https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/3gdyz2d6ccvbrovf53581/IMP-Hudson-Plans.jpg?rlkey=vvnn7wh51s3s502lxjiyb8g2u&dl=0

The model appeared as a buy-it-now on a Saturday morning. I didn't know what it was, but it seemed underpriced. Nosing around the internet revealed that the prototype was used to haul the "Swallow". which was the express train between Toyko and Osaka. Note the decoration on the smoke deflector on this model:


https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ncsesbtuuoi291pgpl4ks/aster_swallow.jpg?rlkey=2tokqg4k5s97cdbw0rdf6fmn0&dl=0

It was tempting to finish the model in that version, but I was primarily interested in US models, so it seemed clear it wasn't going to happen. Somebody later told me that Japanese model train enthusiasts seek out these models, and, having no US prototype, I decided to do a "catch and release" on mine. I relisted it on eBay, and, sure enough, it sold to somebody in Japan. I was happy to send it home.

Jim

[Carey Williams]

Hello Jim
Thank you for posting all the photos of your engine ...
Interesting that the blue prints show it in the American version sans elephant ears ...also yours has the conventional American type tender ....unlike the Japanese tender ..
Great find wrapped in 1951 newspaper .

I have two engines ...as shown in video ...the lesser detailed one ..center 3rd rail ...and came with the tender now behind the new 2 rail model ...which surfaced at this past March meet. ....only 8' from my table !

The new 2 rail is so much nicer than the other one ...better everything....
I had a pair of the International Challengers ...same way one outstanding build ..the other so so .....so spun off the so so one ...
Japan has some very talented builders ...early on ... Just have to find an example built by the true craftsman ........not the production line workers .
Cheers Carey

[bob turner]

Interesting - I would not give a fig for an International steamer, but I think I see some pretty significant differences. One, Carey's new model and Jim's second photo indicate cast iron Boxpok drivers, so I suppose we can assume a decent set of axle bearings and gearbox. The initial photo in Jim's post screams horrible drivers! ?Those were the ones supplied with the Atlantic and Pacific - models that have only one usable part: the sand dome!

And in the olden days I would not at all be interested in Japanese prototypes - but after poring over that video about the land of 10,000 locomotives, I almost set out to build a 17/64 version of the Chinese QJ. Or maybe someday one of those 2-6-6-0s that plied the Indonesian forests? So my horizons are expanding.

Alas, things have slowed down in my shop - I have a Harriman Pacific sort of awaiting a cab, and another SP Mike right behind that, and maybe some heavy duty soldering stuff. Right now I am trying to get my ancient 1964 Mustang running reliably - harder than it looks, since one can no longer purchase decent rebuilt carburetors - and getting a Pietenpol Air Camper ready for initial flight tests.