In the latter half of the 1940s when the C61/C62 types appeared, Japanese railroad companies were suffering from extreme shortage of coal, so that they were conducting the electrification of lines out of the need of electrification including the main lines.
C61・C62形が登場した1940年代後半、日本の鉄道は極端な石炭不足に悩まされており、主要幹線など電化の必要がある路線の電化を行った。