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In order to expand the number of line sections where it could be used, the D51 was converted from a single-axle bogie to a two-axle bogie with a 2-8-4 axle arrangement as the D61. Between 1959 and 1961, 6 were built at the Hamamatsu and Koriyama factories of Japan National Railways.
This became the last Japan National Railways (JNR) steam locomotive.
Although not much changed in terms of appearance other than the change in the bogies, D61 2 through D61 6 had enclosed cabs (The cab had a door to make it look like the cab was enclosed, while the D51 had an open cab, with no doors that remained open. In Hokkaido and other cold regions, many locomotives had been modified with doors to protect them from the cold.), which seem to have been intended from the outset for use in Hokkaido.
The last ones were used on the Rumoi Line until 1975.
Currently, 1 of them is being statically preserved (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 Rumoi.
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