The Suhafu-32, one of the last remaining old pre-war type coaches, made the last run on the Chichibu Railway on October 25th, being hauled by steam engine C58 363 together with three other ex-JNR coaches. The Chichibu Railway was operating its weekend steam excursion train (Paleo Express) with old JNR coaches leased from JR Takasaki depot, known for steam engine D51 498 along with other old passenger cars preserved in working order. However, it has purchased some modern class 12 coaches for the Paleo Express operations from this year (2000), so old coaches from the JNR will be no longer seen on this railway. The Suhafu-32 is the oldest car among the Takasaki depot’s preserved fleet of old JNR coaches.

The Suhafu-32, numbered 2357, was built in 1938 as a class Suha 32 third class coach having a conductor cabin (“fu” signifies conductor cabin). This class was the first 20m coach developed by the JNR. The class was innovative with various features; new axle-coil suspended TR23 trucks (bogies), air pressure applied water supply system with a water tank suspended below the car flame, increased passenger seating capacity of 88 from 80, etc. The most distinctive feature on the exterior was narrow windows tidily arranged and corresponding to each row of passenger seats. Also welding started to be used for car body assembly from production of this class , finally eliminating riveting from car body assembly around 1935. The earlier versions of this class, with the first batch produced in 1929, still featured double roofs on top, inherited from the previous passenger car design practice, and the seat backs were bare wood. The Suhafu-32 2357 was a later version of the class, comprising a rivet-less body and a fully rounded roof. The interior furnishing was improved so that the backs of the passenger seats were fully covered with velvet.

The class Suha-32 coaches were the most common third class passenger cars for regular service before the EMU days, from the late 30s through the 50s, along with Oha-35s fitted with widened windows but with the same level of accommodation as Suha-32’s. After the war, improved third class coaches, e.g. class Suha-42 and Suha-43, were developed, but they were mostly used for express services, and class Suha-32s still served third class passengers in regular service on the main lines. In the Tokyo area on the Tokaido Main Line, before the green-orange liveried series 80 Shonan Densha (EMU) became common, Suha-32s were busily carrying commuter passengers to Tokyo from the Shonan area, stretching along the sea side southwest of Tokyo.

Since the Chichibu Railway ceased operations of old coaches, now the Oigawa Railway is the only place where old coaches are seen in regular service with steam operation.