D52's - What do they haul?

[Krackel Hopper]

hey hey,

 

Been looking at steam locos quite a bit lately.  Maybe it's because I want an excuse to buy a roundhouse.. heh.. either way.. I'm interested in knowing what sort of rolling stock goes with steam..

 

the MicroAce D52-1 has really struck my fancy.  Were D52's known for hauling anything specific?  Being some of the biggest in Japan, I was wondering if they were designed for a specific purpose.  Were the D52's dual purpose (passenger & freight)?  From what I can find, the D51's were a multipurpose engine across the country.. were the D52's specific to a region or widespread like the D51's?

 

Any info would be great!  Mostly, what rolling stock should I be looking at?

 

Thanks,

Jon

[bikkuri bahn]

The D52 was a war era engine built from 1943-46, in response to an increase in freight tonnage on main lines due to sea lane interdiction by US forces (minelaying), restricting Japanese coastal shipping.  It used a bigger boiler that the D51, and was the most powerful steam locomotive design in Japan at 1660 hp.  It was designed to haul 1200 ton freight trains on the Tokaido, Sanyo, Hakodate, and Muroran main lines. A total of 285 were built.  After the war, the D52's were withdrawn from Hokkaido and were concentrated in Honshu and Kyushu.  The D52's that worked the Gotemba line out of the Kozu Roundhouse (this line was the former Tokaido Line before the opening of the Tanna Tunnel) were especially well known, due to relative proximity to Tokyo, the picturesque nature of that line (Mt. Fuji views), and also that they hauled passenger trains. The last D52 types finished out their careers by returning to Hokkaido, working heavy freight trains on the Hakodate and Muroran Main Lines.

 

*after the war, due to GHQ restrictions on new passenger locomotive construction, 49 surplus D52 type boilers were used to build the C62 express passenger locomotive type.

 

As for distribution, as mentioned above, the D52 was a heavy freight locomotive, with a high axle loading, so was restricted to main lines.  A variant, the D62 (2-8-4 Berkshire type) probably had a wider route availability.  As for rolling stock, any freight cars will do, including container flats.  For passenger, brown (crimson) post-war box seat passenger stock would be most appropriate.