The British Rail Class 52 is a class of 74 Type 4 diesel-hydraulic locomotives built for the Western Region of British Railways between 1961 and 1964. All were given two-word names, the first word being "Western" and thus the type became known as Westerns. They were also known as Wizzos and Thousands. [1]

Various members of the Western Class 52 fleet that lost headboards clips during their lives, D1025-9, were, of course, built without them at Swindon. Here is your at-a-glance guide to those engines which were built without them or lost them in traffic.

The Class 52 was a wartime development of the pre-war DRG Class 50, using fewer parts and less expensive materials to speed production. They were designed by Richard Wagner who was Chief Engineer of the Central Design Office at the Locomotive Standards Bureau of the DRG.

British Rail (BR) assigned Class 52 to the class of 74 large Type 4 diesel-hydraulic locomotives built for the Western Region of British Railways between 1961 and 1964. All were given two-word names, the first word being "Western" and thus the type became known as Westerns.

Built between 1961-1964, the BR Class 52 “Western” was a staple on the western region of British Railways. The Class 52 was a diesel-hydraulic type locomotive powered by two Maybach prime movers tied to a Voith hydraulic transmission.

British Rail assigned Class 52 to the class of 74 large Type 4 diesel-hydraulic locomotives built for the Western Region of British Railways between 1961 and 1964. All were given two-word names, with the first word being Western, and thus the type became known as Westerns.

After the Western Region had already ordered diesel-hydraulic locomotives, unlike the rest of the country, a more powerful locomotive was needed. This led to the production of 74 twin-engine machines with a total of 2,700 hp. With a top speed of 90 …

Class 52 may refer to: British Rail Class 52; DRB Class 52, German locomotive class; DRG Class 52.70, a Saxon Class III steam locomotive

Although designated Class 52 under the TOPS scheme, no Western ever carried its "52 0xx" TOPS number. As withdrawal was already planned when the TOPS numbering scheme was introduced and because of the cast number plates, it was not considered cost effective to renumber the locomotives.

Information: These unique diesel hydraulic express passenger locomotives were originally classified by British Railways as Type 4 and later reclassified Class 52 under TOPS.