Train fans call for donations to send locomotive experts to Thailand english.kyodonews.net

Nagasaki Kisha Kurabu, which launched the campaign on Aug. 11, aims to raise 1.5 million yen ($14,090) by Oct. 31.
The two DD51 class diesel locomotives were formerly used to haul limited express sleeper trains.
[Supplied photo]The locomotives were used by JNR and then by Hokkaido Railway Co. after the state-run entity's breakup and privatization in 1987.
The bodies of the locomotives were painted blue -- the same color as those of the sleeper train named after the Big Dipper constellation.
Provided with an operation manual only written in Japanese, however, local Thai staff struggled to safely operate the trains.