ALCO RSD-1

ALCO RSD-1
Former US Army ALCO RSD-1, now owned by the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. Donated from the Eglin AFB railroad when that operation was abandoned.
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Model RSD-1 Build date November 1942 – May 1946 Total produced 150
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR C-C  • UIC Co'Co' Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) 60 – Russia Length 55 ft 5+3⁄4 in (16.91 m) Width 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) Height 14 ft 5 in (4.39 m) Fuel capacity 1,000 US gal (3,800 L; 830 imp gal) Prime mover ALCO 539T Engine type Four-stroke diesel Aspiration Turbocharger Displacement 9,572 cu in (156.86 L) Cylinders Straight-6 Cylinder size 12½ in × 13 in (318 mm × 330 mm) Transmission DC generator, DC traction motors Loco brake Straight air Train brakes Air
Performance figures Power output 1,000 hp (750 kW) Tractive effort 40,425 lbf (179,820 N)
Career Locale North America, Soviet Union

Former Soviet Railways Д^а20-09 (D^a20-09) on exhibit at the railway museum in former Varshavsky terminal -- Saint Petersburg, Russia. Originally built by ALCO as a model RSD-1 in 1944 and exported to the USSR.

The ALCO RSD-1 was a diesel-electric locomotive built by American Locomotive Company (ALCO). This model was a road switcher type rated at 1000 horsepower and rode on three-axle trucks, having a C-C wheel arrangement. It was often used in much the same manner as its four-axle counterpart, the ALCO RS-1, though the six-motor design allowed better tractive effort at lower speeds, as well as a lower weight-per-axle.

There were three different specifications issued that covered the RSD-1 model; E1645 and E1646 were for wartime production for the US Army, while E1641 was a post-war order for the Mexican National Railways (Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México).

Seventy of the RSD-1s were shipped overseas to the Soviet Union during World War II, where they were classed as the Soviet Railways Д^а20 (D^a20) class, as part of the Allied war effort. These locomotives were also used on the Trans-Iranian Railway. The Soviets subsequently kept many of the RSD-1s after the war, adopting the design to form the basis of their own line of diesel locomotives. A dozen RSD-1s were sunk en route to the Soviet Union when the ship they were on was torpedoed by a German U-boat.

The first 13 RS-1s were requisitioned by the US Army, returned to ALCO and rebuilt to RSD-1s #8000-8012 for use on the Trans Iranian Railroad. This effort was to supply the Soviet Union. See the RS-1 article for the identity of the first 13 RSD-1s.

Original owners

Specification E1645

Railroad	Quantity	Road Numbers	Notes
United States Army	44	8013–8056

Specification E1646

Railroad	Quantity	Road Numbers	Notes
United States Army	50	8600–8649	to Soviet Railways Да20-1 to Да20-50
United States Army	30	8650–8679
United States Army	20	8680–8699	to Soviet Railways Да20-51 to Да20-70

Specification E1641

Railroad	Quantity	Road Numbers	Notes
Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México	6	5700–5705

External links

• ALCo World: The Russian RSD-1 Copies