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
AAR wheel arr	C-C
UIC class	Co'Co'
Gauge	4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) standard gauge 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	Straight-6 Four-stroke diesel
Aspiration	Turbocharger
Displacement	9,572 cu in (157 L)
Generator	DC generator
Traction motors	DC traction motors
Cylinders	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.^[1] 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.^[1]

Variations

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).

Soviet Union

Alco locos

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).^[1] 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.^[1] Some were still in service in the 1980s.^[1]

Soviet locos

Diesel locomotive TE5-20-032 in the Railway Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia

The Soviet-built TE1 (ТЭ1) was almost identical to the Alco product but locomotives after #TE1-20-122 had 41.5 inch, instead of 40 inch wheels. The TE2 (ТЭ2) was a twin-unit version of the TE1. The TE5 (ТЭ5) was a cold climate version of the TE1. The cab was extended to provide covered access to the engine inspection doors and a boiler was added to keep the cab warm when the engine was not running. ^[2]

US Army

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 Д^а20-1 to Д^а20-30
United States Army	11	8630–8640	lost in U-boat attack
United States Army	8	8641–8648	to Soviet Railways Д^а20-31 to Д^а20-38
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 Д^а20-39 to Д^а20-58

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^[1]
RSD-1 returned to the US after serving in Alaska for many years, seen in 2011

^ http://scaletrainsclub.com/board/download/file.php?id=55008&sid=e25a9b2a6cd75ffc669ffdc4982a61f3&mode=view

References

1 2 3 4 5 Rakov, V.A. Lokomotivy otechestvennyh zheleznyh dorog 1845-1955, Moscow, 1995, ISBN 5-277-00821-7 (Russian), p. 371-372.
↑ Westwood, J.N. (1963). Soviet Railways Today. London: Ian Allan. p. 71.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to ALCO RSD-1 locomotives.

ALCo World: The Russian RSD-1 Copies

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

Diesel-electric locomotives built by ALCO

Switchers	ALCO 300 ALCO 600 HH600 HH660 HH900 HH1000 S-1 S-2 S-3 S-4 DL420 S-5 S-6 T-6 SB-8/SSB-9

RS, RSC and RSD series	RS-1 RS-2 RS-3 RS-11 RS-27 RS-32 RS-36 RSC-1 RSC-2 RSC-3 RSD-1 MRS-1 RSD-4 RSD-5 RSD-7 RSD-12 RSD-15

Cab units	Rebel power car DL-103b DL-105 DL-107 DL-108 DL-109 DL-110 DL-202 DL-203 FA FB PA PB

Century series	C415 C420 C424 C425 C430 C628 C630 C636 C855

Diesel-hydraulics	DH643

Export locomotives	DL560C RSD-39

Unproduced locomotives	C428 C620 C624 C636F C636P C650DH

List of ALCO diesel Locomotives

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