War locomotive BR 52: Why Hitler’s workhorses still run

BR 52
Where Hitler’s war locomotives are still in use

The 52 series supplied the German Wehrmacht. The war locomotive was built 7,000 times and was simply constructed. It was only supposed to last six years. The last veterans are still working today.

The Third Reich’s war machine was based on the rail network, not the highway. Hitler himself had ordered the construction of 100,000 trucks in preparation for war because they were more flexible. But after the attack on the… USSR showed the superiority of the railway. The routes became longer and longer, frost and mud dissolved roads. And last but not least, trucks were dependent on scarce oil, while locomotives at the time ran on coal.

The 52 series was designed for use in war; it did not use rare metals and was quicker to build than its civilian predecessors. Even though its immediate predecessor, the BR 50, had already anticipated many simplifications.

A war locomotive for all purposes

The aim was to only produce one standard locomotive that could be built by all manufacturers. The locomotive not only had to be easy to manufacture, there were further specifications that were based on the war. The axle load was only allowed to be 15 tons so that the locomotive could also be used on branch lines. It was designed for temperatures of minus 35 degrees. The driver’s cab was closed so that the train driver and stoker could endure the winter in Russia. The tender and locomotive were connected with a bellows. All parts susceptible to frost were moved under the cladding, the otherwise black locomotives were painted camouflage gray, non-ferrous metals were replaced with steel parts and in the end over 1000 parts were saved.

A locomotive could move a train of 2,000 tons on the plain at 50 km/h. At the peak of production in 1943, 51 locomotives were completed in one day. Hitler’s America special train was initially pulled by class 01.10 express locomotives with streamlined panels, but was then converted to the war locomotives. In the end, war locomotive 52 became the most built locomotive in Germany – over 7,000 examples were manufactured.

In service in the East until the 1980s

After the war, the war locomotive continued to be used not only in FRG and GDR, but in almost all formerly occupied countries. What is most amazing is their long service. The war locomotives were designed for a short service life of only 6 to 10 years. In fact, they were until the end of the Used in regular service in the GDR and other Eastern Bloc countries in the 1980s. In West Germany the 52s were phased out in the early 1960s.

Last veterans in Bosnia-Herzegovina

Aside from museum locomotives that complete trips for enthusiasts, a handful of the Class 52 are still in use as factory locomotives to this day. To date, two locomotives transport 2,000 tons of coal from a mine in Šikulje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, to a power plant. Almost 80 years after it was put into service. A separate depot in Bukinje keeps the last five veterans running. Actually, commercial operation may not be worthwhile. But in Bosnia-Herzegovina there was a lack of money to purchase new diesel locomotives. The 52 series is fired with coal from the mine, so no diesel has to be purchased.