JNR Class C52

JNR Class C52
C52 1 at an unknown date
Technical specifications
Manufacturer(s)	ALCO-Schenectady
Build date	1925
Total produced	6
Classification	4-6-2
Dimensions	65 ft 9 in × Unknown × 12 ft 7 in
Rail gauge	3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Valve gear	Walschaerts with Gresley conjugated
Cylinders	3
Boiler pressure	198.7 psi
Firegrate area	167.8 m²
Fuel type	Coal
Heating area	59.8 m²
Service information
Years in-service	1926 – 1947
Running numbers	C52 1 – C52 6 (originally 8200 – 8205)
Disposition details
Preserved	None
Number operational	None
Number scrapped	6

The JNR Class C52 (originally the JNR Class 8200) was a three-cylinder 4-6-2 Pacific-type steam locomotive operated by the Japanese National Railways from 1926 to 1947.

History

The C52s were used mainly as passenger locomotives and was an experimental locomotive of sorts when compared to other locomotives of the time. The locomotives were retired in 1947. The C52s were also used to collect data which would then be used for the construction of the C53s, and were acquired to sample the latest American three-cylinder steam technology. Six locomotives were built by the American Locomotive Company, which was the minimum order; the locomotives' tenders were built locally by Hitachi.

The exterior of the trains was much more Americanized than most, sporting details such as air compressors, Elesco or Worthington feedwater heaters, firebox doors and an automatic lubrication system. An oddity about the trains is that they were equipped with Gresley conjugated valve gear, something that was only used on one other JNR locomotive. The locomotives were also equipped with five-chime whistles.

No C52s survived into preservation. The earlier Class 8200 locomotives are unrelated to the C52s.

Trivia

• The C52s were the last steam locomotives to be imported into Japan; all future steam locomotives would be locally built.

Gallery

References

• Wikipedia.org