Paleo Express Steam Locomotive

Paleo Express Steam Locomotive

The Paleo Express steam locomotive is operated from the middle of March to the beginning of December each year by Chichibu Railway. It attracts people as the steam locomotive runs near the city center.
The express makes the round trip once a day between 8 stations including the starting point of Kumagaya Station and the last stop Mitsumine-guchi Station with a 2 hour 40 minute one-way ride.
It uses a C58363 model steam locomotive built in 1944 that was actually operated by the former Japan National Railway. After its retirement in 1973, the train body was stored at an elementary school in Saitama Prefecture. When the Saitama Expo was held in 1988, Chichibu Railway restarted its operation.
You can enjoy beautiful scenes from train windows throughout the year. Especially, in springtime, the express runs along a row of cherry blossom trees surrounding Nagatoro Station and the Arakawa Bridge, attracting a lot of passengers for cherry blossom viewing.