There are more than a few steam locomotives sitting in parks across Japan, enjoying their retirement.

I wanted to acknowledge the ones I happen across for all their hard work, so I started the Static Life Steam Locomotives Project, SLSL for short.

^{_{A map of the Static Life Steam Locomotives & more about the project is here.}}

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Lots of people head out to Hiratsuka around this time of year for its massive tanabata festival – but I’ve never been one for crowds. Some distance away from the station, there’s a little block of buildings tucked away – a cultural centre, the city museum and the city library – and to the rear of these, you can find this D52 locomotive.

The sign tells us that this D52 was used on the Gotenba line until the end of June 1968 (Showa 43) when the line was electrified. Instead of being scrapped, this loco was moved to its current relaxing location by a ragtag bunch of heroes who joined forces to save it.

The D52 was one of the most powerful locomotives built, and was used for hauling freight, particularly on incline heavy lines such as the Gotenba. It was introduced in 1943 (Showa 18) – this particular locomotive was built in 1945 (Showa 20) and would have had some adjustments due to lack of materiel during the war.

There are only 7 D52 left in the country – if you were feeling particularly D52 inclined, you could visit 5 in one day; one is at Yamakita (previously…), there’s another in Gotenba itself, one in Numazu, one in Sagamihara and … well, this one.

The other two are a bit of a trek – Kyoto and Hiroshima, although I can feel that completionist itch just jonesing to be scratched…

Here’s a breakdown of the details about this train, taken from the appendix to Steam Locomotives of Japan, Naotaka Hirota: Kodansha International (1972).

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TYPE D52 (2-8-2 tender locomotive)

Built by Kisha Seizo Kaisha Ltd., Kawasaki Sharyo Co., Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd. etc.

CYLINDER: 550 x 660mm
BOILER PRESSURE: 16.0kg/cm²
FIRE GRATE AREA: 3.85m²
TOTAL HEATING SURFACE: 244.5m²
– SUPER HEATING SURFACE: 77.4m²
– EVAPORATIVE HEATING SURFACE: 167.1m²
– HEATING SURFACE OF SMOKE TUBES: 147.4m²
– HEATING SURFACE OF FIRE BOX: 17.5m²
– HEATING SURFACE OF ARCH TUBES: 2.2m²
BOILER CAPACITY: 9.5m³
LARGE SMOKE TUBES (diameter x length x number) 140 x 5000 mm x 35
SMALL SMOKE TUBES (diameter x length x number) 57 x 5000 mm x 94
WEIGHT OF ENGINE (in working order) 84.30t
WEIGHT OF ENGINE (empty) 73.75t
ADHESIVE WEIGHT OF ENGINE (in working order) 64.60t
WEIGHT OF TENDER (in working order) 54.10t
WEIGHT OF TENDER (empty) 17.10t
WATER CAPACITY : 25.0m³
FUEL CAPACITY : 12.00t
VALVE GEAR : Walschaert’s
INTRODUCED : 1944

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You can visit D52-403 by going here.