D51 (Degoichi) Coloring Pages

A Steam Locomotive Called D51 (Degoichi)

D51 (Degoichi) is a steam locomotive that burns coal to boil water, and runs on the power of that steam.
Steam locomotives are also called SL for short.
D51 (Degoichi) has been loved by many people for a long time by its nickname, D51 (Degoichi).
People started making them in 1936, and they pulled heavy freight trains and worked hard all over Japan.

The Most Built Locomotive in Japan

In total, 1,115 D51 (Degoichi) locomotives were made.
Even if you include electric and diesel trains, this is the biggest number ever built for a single type of Japanese locomotive.
That is why it became so famous that people think of D51 (Degoichi) whenever they hear "steam locomotive."
Even today, many D51 (Degoichi) locomotives are kept with care in parks and museums all over Japan.

The "D" in Its Name Means the Number of Driving Wheels

The "D" in D51 (Degoichi) means that it has four sets of driving wheels.
Driving wheels are the big wheels that turn using steam power to push the locomotive forward.
A means 1 set, B means 2 sets, C means 3 sets, and D means 4 sets.
Try counting the big driving wheels on the first coloring page. You can see four lined up on one side.
There are small leading wheels in front of the driving wheels, and trailing wheels behind them to hold up the locomotive.

The Rods Connecting the Wheels

The four driving wheels are joined by long bars called side rods, so they turn together.
Inside the cylinder near the front, steam pushes a piston, and that power goes to the driving wheels through a bar called the main rod.
When the train runs, these bars move back and forth in a big way and look super strong.
On the first coloring page, try tracing with your finger to see where the rod that connects the driving wheels goes.

Parts Around the Face

The big round door at the front is the smokebox door.
Above it, you can see the headlight and the smokestack. In front of the smokestack sits a long tube that warms up water.
The big flat plates standing on the left and right are called deflectors. They use the wind from running to push smoke up and away.
The plate on the door shows a different number for each train, like "D51 408" or "D51 200."

The Tender Connected to the Back

Right behind the locomotive, there is a car attached called a tender.
The tender is packed with coal to burn and water to make steam.
Inside the cab, the driver drives the train while the assistant shovels the coal.

Use dark gray for the black train body

Steam locomotives have a black train body.
If you color it in completely black, you won't be able to see the lines for the small parts.
If you color it with dark gray and make the top of the boiler a little lighter, it will look nice and round and super cool!
It is also a great idea to change the shade of gray a little bit for each part.

Add accents with gold and red

The edges and letters of the number plate are gold, and the whistle on top of the boiler is gold too.
On the first picture, D51 (Degoichi) 408, the rods connecting the wheels are painted red. Try coloring the rods red, and the edges of the rods white or silver!
The thin strip running along the side of the body is white, so leave it uncolored to make it look sharp.

Use white and gray for the smoke

The smoke coming out of the chimney is gray or a darkish color.
The white puff around the wheels is steam, so leave it white.
If you color the bottom part a little darker along the fluffy smoke shapes, it will look nice and full!

Passenger cars and scenery

The passenger cars pulled by D51 (Degoichi) 200 are a dark brown that looks like old-fashioned passenger cars.
Try coloring the railway bridge in the third picture red, and the stone pillars supporting the bridge gray or brown.
If you mix yellow or red with the green for the trees around it, it will look like a steam train running through autumn mountains!

The round mark on the front

The round plate on the front of the second through fourth pictures is a headmark that shows the train's name.
The inside is left blank, so try drawing your favorite picture or train name yourself!

D51 (Degoichi) Still Runs Today

D51 (Degoichi) still runs on real train tracks today.
D51 200 pulls the "SL Yamaguchi-go" on the Yamaguchi Line between Yamaguchi and Shimane.
It is usually cared for at the Kyoto Railway Museum, and in 2017, it was able to run on the main tracks again.
In Gunma, D51 498 pulls an SL train, too.

The Boiler is Like a Big Kettle

The long body of the locomotive is called the boiler, and it is like a giant kettle.
Coal burns in the firebox in front of the cab to boil the water inside the boiler and make steam.
It needs lots of coal and water to run, so it sometimes stops at stations along the way to get more water.

The Sound of the Whistle

A steam locomotive's whistle blows by shooting out steam.
The loud "Toot!" sound echoes all the way to distant mountains.
It blows to make a signal when starting to move, before going into a tunnel, or in front of a railroad crossing.

The Turntable Changes Its Direction

Steam locomotives look different in the front and back, so they need to turn around at their destination.
To do this, they use a big round platform called a turntable to hold the locomotive and spin it all the way around.