Sadao Kamioka, known as “Shimanto's Thomas Edison,” spent five years and seven months completing the model of the Class C62 steam locomotive. (Video by Sadao Kamioka and Masatoshi Kasahara)

Photo/Illutration Sadao Kamioka shows his Class C62 steam locomotive model on Oct. 11 in Shimanto, Kochi Prefecture. (Masatoshi Kasahara)

SHIMANTO, Kochi Prefecture--There are train buffs, and then there is Sadao Kamioka, whose devotion to steam locomotives is on an entirely different level.

Kamioka's love of steam locomotives runs so deep, he just had to build one himself.

The 73-year-old, who locals have nicknamed "Shimanto's Thomas Edison," poured five years and seven months into completing a 1/12 faithful reproduction of the Class C62 steam locomotive that features identical mechanisms as the actual trains and can even carry passengers.

Kamioka, who is the director of a design firm here, closely examined numerous blueprints to hash out the role and function of each of the train's thousands of parts, and struggled to solder components and shave tiny screws.

“It's impossible to assemble the model without having expertise in steam locomotives,” Kamioka said. “Putting it together was really difficult, and I rebuilt it dozens of times when I wasn't satisfied. I'm thrilled to have completed it.”

He debuted his finished version of the train, which was marketed in Japan about 60 years ago, on Oct. 14.

After scouring a mountain of design drawings for research, Kamioka re-created the driver’s cab, wheels, boiler and all of the other details of the train, which is well-known as the largest locomotive in Japan under the name Shirokuni.

The body of Kamioka's 1.8-meter-long locomotive is made of black iron and brass and weighs 130 kilograms.

The train, which operates on vapor pressure applied to pistons while burning coal like the real deal, can carry up to 30 children, Kamioka said.

Kamioka started creating models when he was a junior high school student and has finished eight locomotives to date.

On top of that, he has churned out about 100 miniature radio-operated aircraft models, and 30 models of ships.

His venue of choice for flying the planes and letting his ships set sail is the majestic Shimantogawa river.

He began devoting his spare time during holidays and between projects to building replicas of various vehicles, after he founded his design company, about 50 years ago. 

Being able to “make a steam train” someday was a long-held dream of his, motivated by his childhood memories of riding a powerful locomotive as it billowed smoke along the local Dosan Line.

Six years ago, an acquaintance in Saitama Prefecture gifted him with a superbly detailed model of the Class C62 train, reigniting his interest in making a model of it himself.

He then found himself spending five to six hours almost every day at his office full of welding devices, a lathe to cut and grind metal and various other machine tools working on the project.

Kamioka said building the train filled him with nostalgia, and that now he deeply enjoys staring quietly at the completed locomotive while having a drink.

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