The Pureni-class (プレニ) locomotives were a group of steam tank locomotives with 2-6-2wheel arrangement of used by the Chosen Government Railway (Sentetsu) in Korea. The "Pure" name came from the American naming system for steam locomotives, under which locomotives with 2-6-2 wheel arrangement were called "Prairie".[1]
The Pureni class was introduced in 1905, with nine built in the United States by the Brooks Locomotive Works.[citation needed] Unlike the Purei class, the Pureni had a superheated steam boiler. These, like the 1906 batch of Purei class locomotives, were delivered in knockdown form and assembled at the Incheon shops.[3] The Gyeongbu Railway was nationalised by Sentetsu in 1906, and in 1918 they were renumbered 271 through 279.[4] One further unit was built in 1935 by Nippon Sharyō, as a replacement for the original 276.[3] The nine locomotives were renumbered プレニ1 through プレニ9 in the 1938 general renumbering.[4]
At least three Pureni-class locomotives ended up with the Korean National Railroad in the South after the division of Sentetsu's motive power following the partition of the country; these were designated 푸러2 (Pureo2) class by the KNR.[4]
Korean State Railway 부러두 (Purŏdu) class/1200 series
The locomotives taken over by the Korean State Railway in the North were initially designated 부러두 (Purŏdu) class; they were later renumbered in the 1200 series. The total number, their service lives and subsequent fates are unknown.
Chosen Government Railway locomotives and rolling stock
Rolling stock of Korail