JNR Class D52

The Class D52 is a type of 2-8-2 steam locomotive built by the Japanese Government Railways and various manufacturers from 1943 to 1946. The name consists of a "D" for the four sets of driving wheels and the class number 52 for tender locomotives that the numbers 50 through 99 were assigned to under the 1928 locomotive classification rule.

Class D52
Preserved D52 235 in Sagamihara, January 2011
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
BuilderKawasaki Heavy Industries Rolling Stock Company etc.
Build date1943-1946
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte2-8-2 (1-D-1) Mikado
Gauge1,067 mm
Length21,105 mm
Loco weight85.13 t
Performance figures
Maximum speed88 Km/h (55 Mph)
Career
Retired24 December 1972
Disposition7 Preserved remainder scrapped

The design of D52 was based on the Class D51 which was launched in 1936. A total of 285 D52 locomotives were built.

The D52 was one of the most powerful locomotives in Japan in its time. They were called "Degoni".

In response to the declined demand for freight trains after the end of World War II in 1945, from 1948 to 1949, 42 D52s were converted to JNR Class C62 for use on express passenger trains, reusing the original boilers of the D52s those being D52 74/D52 455/D52 458/D52 399/D52 349/D52 461/D52 464/D52 446/D52 121/D52 119/D52 150/D52 445/D52 447/D52 145/D52 112/D52 127/D52 69/D52 375/D52 407/D52 25/D52 77/D52 22/D52 23/D52 106/D52 233/D52 226/D52 46/D52 49/D52 151/D52 85/D52 152/D52 227/D52 147/D52 82/D52 230/D52 93/D52 231/D52 358/D52 374/D52 141/D52 367/D52 352 were rebuilt to 42 Class C62 Hudson’s and D52 357/D52 345/D52 356/D52 353/D52 26/D52 366/D52 380/D52 104 were rebuilt to 5 more C62 Hudson’s between 1948 and 1949 . Between 1950 and 1951 20 D52’s were rebuilt to 20 JNR Class D62 2-8-4 Berkshires at the JNR Hamamatsu Works those being D52 368/D52 448/D52 401/D52 450/D52 449/D52 42/D52 344/D52 336/D52 94/D52 132/D52 337/D52 397/D52 211/D52 334/D52 377/D52 338/D52 343/D52 360/D52 339/D52 462 were rebuilt to D62 Berkshire’s between 1950 and 1951 at the JNR Hamamatsu Works between 1950 and 1951 but all were scrapped in 1966 and none preserved.

The locomotives were numbered D52 1-D52 152,D52 198-D52 238,D52 333-D52 384,D52 393-D52 423,D52 443-D52 468. Only 7 D52’s have been preserved in Japan.

Preserved examples

Most of the D52s have been scrapped. However, seven locomotives have been preserved.

  • D52 1, at JR Freight Hiroshima Depot
  • D52 70, in Yamakita, Kanagawa
  • D52 72, in Gotemba, Shizuoka
  • D52 136, in Numazu, Shizuoka
  • D52 235, in Kanuma Park, Sagamihara, Kanagawa[1]
  • D52 403, in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa[1]
  • D52 468, at Umekōji Steam Locomotive Museum, Kyoto[2]
  • D52 1, October 2005
  • D52 70, April 2011
  • D52 72, March 2011
  • D52 136, March 2011
  • D52 402, January 2011
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See also

References
  1. "屋鋪要の保存蒸機撮りつぶし" [Yashiki Kaname's Preserved Steam Loco Photo Record]. Rail Magazine. Vol. 25 no. 300. Japan: Neko Publishing Co., Ltd. September 2008. p. 21.
  2. 梅小路蒸気機関車館｜蒸気機関車群 D52形468号機 Archived 2009-09-01 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese) Retrieved on August 22, 2009.

Media related to D52 steam locomotives at Wikimedia Commons

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