Steam locomotive DR BR 52 with tender and signal COBI 6287 - Historical Collection 1:35

You know that:

• The first locomotive of the 52 series with the number 52.001 was completed by the German company Borsig on 12 September 1942.
• Immediately after completion, the eight-car train set off on a 5000 km test run through the occupied territories of Europe.
• The designers of the locomotive sought to significantly simplify the design suitable for rapid production, and so the steam locomotive consisted of about 5,000 components, 1,000 fewer than the previous Series 50 model.
• The machine was primarily intended for the war logistics of the German Reich Railways and was produced in large numbers in many European factories such as Henschel, Schwartzkopp, Ciegelski, and also Škoda Plzeň.
• Series 52 locomotives were popular in Czechoslovakia. Here they also gained the nickname "German".
• A great advantage was the closed cab, which meant greater comfort for the operator, especially in winter.
• Tender T32 of the tub type carried a supply of coal and water. The water consumption of steam locomotives is 7-8 greater than coal consumption and the size of the aforementioned bunkers also corresponded to this.
• Interesting was the technical design of the attached tender which allowed full speed reverse running.
• With the advent of diesel locomotives, the 52 series gradually became obsolete and the last one was produced in 1950.
• The locomotives remained in service the longest, until the 1980s, in Turkey on the older lines around Izmir.
• The exact number of units produced is unknown. According to surviving records, approximately 6,285 were produced.

Locomotive technical parameters:

• dimensions: length 22,98 m, height 4,4 m, gauge 1435 mm
• weight 102 700 kg
• water storage capacity 30 m³
• firebox area 193.7 m²
• 1,192 kW steam engine with a steam pressure of 16 bar
• maximum speed 80 km/h
• traction power 15 000 kg
• maximum towed weight 635 000 kg

Tender technical parameters:

• length 11,1 m
• total weight 70 000 kg
• water capacity 32 m³
• coal reserve 11 - 22 tonnes (depending on type)
• maximum approved speed 80 km/h

Janusz Wisniewski, the engineer of the Polish Railways:

'The locomotive was indestructible. It was enough to put on a big oil can and I could go around the whole globe."