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
Career
Retired24 December 1972

The design of D52 was based on the 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.

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

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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