52 1853 photographed at Henschel with the 5-axle condensing tender. Courtesy Henschel via A. Gottwaldt.

In July 1944, Henschel & Sohn of Kassel provided a brief description of their condensing steam locomotive based on the well established and successful BR 52 Kriegslokomotive. This description, probably a sort of press release, read as follows.

Henschel built the new locomotive based on experience gained in the mid-1930s from an 0-10-0 (E) coupled to a condensing tender. In the new BR 52 KON, three 88 in. (2,235 mm) diameter axial fans operating at about 1,000 rpm in the tender were powered by steam turbines. (KON is the abbreviation for the German word Kondenz or condensing in English.) Cooling air that passed over the heat exchangers in the tender was admitted through adjustable louvers in the side of the tender. These could be completely closed during cold winter weather. Condensing surface of the five-axle tender, 3’2’T 16 KON, was 19,350 ft² (1,800 m²). The condensed water, which was still at a temperature of 90 C (194 F), was then sent back to the boiler. The net result was a locomotive that weighed an additional five tons and engine performance was only marginally better because of the power required by the steam turbines.

Due to its length, the BR 52 KON was always subject to certain restrictions. The original five-axle condensing tender was as big as could be made in order to travel long distances without replenishment. This resulted in an engine-tender wheelbase of 76 ft (23,185 mm) and so could not be turned on the largest standard 75.5 ft (23 m) turntable. These engines, therefore, had to be turned on a Y but even that was not without problems. There were standard loading gauge problems at some locations. Since the tenders contained some rather expensive equipment, running tender first was not permitted. Top speed for this type was 31 mph (50 km/h) but this was increased to 43 mph (70 km/h) after the war for those engines then in Bundesbahn service.

As German withdrawal from the Soviet Union continued, long runs became less of an issue and a smaller KON tender, the 2’2’T 13.5, was introduced. Wheelbase was shorter by 52 in. (1.32 m) and so this tender coupled to a BR 52 could be turned on a 75.5 ft (23 m).

Initially, the BR 52 KON was intended for service in the arid steppes of the southern Soviet Union. Henschel delivered the first of these engines (52 1850) in February 1943 to the locomotive testing and evaluation facility in Berlin-Grunewald. By then 240 of these engines were on order. Between March 1943 and February 1945 Henschel delivered numbers 52 1851 to 2017 and 52 2021. When the war ended in May 1945, 167 engines were completed.

Starting in June 1945, engines 52 2018 to 2025 (except 52 2021) were delivered. In 1946 52 2026 and in 1947 52 2028 were also finished. In all and with permission of the Western occupying powers, total deliveries came to 178 machines.

With few exceptions, during the war the 52 KON engines were placed in service in Berlin-Schöneweide. A few remained in Berlin but the vast majority wound up in the southern Soviet Union. At least three (52 1973, 1977 and 1992) went to Belgium. These were returned after the war and taken out of service in 1951. The Reichsbahn offices in Warsaw sent most  

of them to Dnjepro in the Soviet Union and Cernauti in eastern Romania. They served well in these regions. In the meantime, engine 52 1850 was evaluated extensively in the unusually hot August of 1943.

Starting with 52 1883, these locomotives were fitted with Witte smoke deflectors. Then, in order to use the 22-meter (72-ft) turntables, water capacity of the tenders was reduced to and shorter four-axle condensing tenders were built. They were designated 2’2’T 13.5 KON. At war’s end the majority of the BR 52 KONs were in the western occupation zone but only four of the 110 engines was serviceable. In all, 13 engines were in Berlin-Schöneweide in the Soviet occupation zone from where they were eventually assigned to Posen in Poland.

The BR 52 KONs went on to perform quite well after the war both with the DB and DR. Also, it is worth noting that the DRG also has some plans for a KON version of the BR 42.

Sources:

"Die Lokomotiven der Baureihe 52 – Geschichte, Einsatz und Verbleib," Michael Reimer, Lokrundschau Verlag, ISBN 3 931647 03 X, 1996.

"Loco Profile 18 – German Austerity 2-10-0," Brian Reed, Profile Publications Ltd, October 1971.