Shinbashi, SL Hiroba

photo by Carbonium · CC BY 3.0

The C11 292 locomotive (66 t, 1,083,975 km travelled) has been here since 14 October 1972.

Since 14 October 1972 the square has displayed the C11 292 steam locomotive: built in 1945, it served at the Himeji depot, and was placed here, after covering over a million kilometres, for the centenary of the opening of Japan's railways. The whistle sounds three times a day, at 12:00, 15:00 and 18:00. It is not a museum stop: it is Shinbashi's meeting point, and the classic backdrop for street interviews with salarymen (office workers in jacket and tie at Japanese companies) on TV news.

The square west of Shinbashi Station, known as SL Hiroba for the locomotive on display, technically remains part of the roadway. The C11 292 was built in 1945 and served at the Himeji depot; retired in 1972, it was transferred to Shinagawa on 9 August and taken out of service on 16 September; on 14 October 1972, for the centenary of the opening of Japan's railways, it arrived here on indefinite loan from the state railways. The square was renovated in spring 2006, when a bronze statue of a mother and child was moved beside the locomotive; in 2023 a monument with stones from the Takanawa embankment (part of the first railway line of 1872) was installed in front of the locomotive for the railway's 150th anniversary.

ℹ️ A public square, always accessible and free; technically it remains part of the roadway. The locomotive's whistle sounds at 12:00, 15:00 and 18:00; in December–January the locomotive is lit up for the holidays. Nearby there is a smoking area, reported by several reviews as a source of stale air.

🚉 Shimbashi · 5 min walk

Sources: city.minato.tokyo.jp · city.minato.tokyo.jp

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