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This locomotive type was Japan's first full-scale main line express passenger train, and 672 of them were built between 1914 and 1929 for Japan National Railways (JNR) by Kisha-Seizo, Kawasaki, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, and Nippon-Sharyo.
Another 15 were manufactured for the Sakhalin Agency Railroad from 1922 to 1929, and 43 from 1919 to 1928 for the Railway of the Governor-General of Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period (500 class, After Pusific war renamed Taiwan Railway Administration TRA CT150 class).
Another was manufactured for a private railway.
As trains became faster and heavier over time, the type 8620s became obsolete and gradually were taken off the front lines, finally being used as passenger locomotives on regional lines, for freight, and for switching until 1974.
Currently, 1 of them is in dynamic preservation (refers to locomotives that have been preserved in a ready-to-operate state, and/or are still running today) at JR Kyushu, and 20 are in static preservation (refers to locomotives that are preserved in a way that does not allow them to be immediately operated, and/or that are simply on display) in various locations.
Another is in static preservation at Miaoli Railway Park in Taiwan.
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