ALCO RSD-1

ALCO RSD-1
Former US Army ALCO RSD-1, now owned by the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. Donated from the Eglin Air Force Base 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) 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) – 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) Loco weight 247,500 lb (112,300 kg) Fuel capacity 1,000 US gal (830 imp gal; 3,800 L) Prime mover ALCO 539T Engine type Four-stroke diesel Aspiration Turbocharger Displacement 9,572 cu in (157 L) Generator DC generator Traction motors DC traction motors Cylinders Straight-6 Cylinder size 12+1⁄2 in × 13 in (318 mm × 330 mm) Transmission Electric Loco brake Straight air Train brakes Air
Performance figures Maximum speed 65 mph (105 km/h) Power output 1,000 hp (750 kW) Tractive effort 40,425 lbf (179,820 N)
Career Locale North America, Soviet Union Iran

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 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) 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. It was developed to meet the Soviet demands of a locomotive with a lower axle load. On the other hand, due to the traction generator and appurtenant control apparatus being sized for four axles and yet having two additional powered axles, it had poorer performance at higher speeds.

There were three different specifications issued that covered the RSD-1 model; E1645 and E1646 were for wartime production for the US Army, while E1647 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 in 1945 during World War II, as part of the Allied war effort. They were classed there as the Soviet Railways Д^а20 (D^a20) class, also known after 1947 just as Д^А (D for Diesel, A for Alco and 20 for axle load in tons). 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 TE1, TEM1 and TEM2. 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. According to Russian sources, 68 RSD-1 were received, and only two (Д^а20-41 and Д^а20-50) sunk on the way. Some were still in service in the 1980s.

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	13	8000–8012	Persian Gulf Command, Iran
United States Army	44	8013–8056

Specification E1646

Railroad	Quantity	Road Numbers	Notes
United States Army	30	8600–8629	to Soviet Railways Да20-1 to Да20-30
United States Army	11	8630–8640	lost in U-boat attack
United States Army	8	8641–8648	to Soviet Railways Да20-31 to Да20-38
United States Army	1	8649	lost in U-boat attack
United States Army	30	8650-8679
United States Army	20	8680–8699	to Soviet Railways Да20-39 to Да20-58

Specification E1647

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

• Stalin's special for his travel to the Potsdam Conference, Alco diesel DA20-27 on broad gauge at Potsdam in 1945[2]
  Stalin's special for his travel to the Potsdam Conference, Alco diesel DA20-27 on broad gauge at Potsdam in 1945
• 
  RSD-1 returned to the US after serving in Alaska for many years, seen in 2011

External links

• ALCo World: The Russian RSD-1 Copies

Another RSD-1 roster with build dates http://www.thedieselshop.us/Alco_RSD1.HTML