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Ex-U.S. Arrmy Locomotives in European Museums or Display
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Author:  TDS1994 [ Thu May 22, 2025 11:27 pm ]
Post subject:  Ex-U.S. Arrmy Locomotives in European Museums or Display
An effort is being made to develop a roster of all ex-U.S. Army / Military Locomotives located in European museums or as static displays.

Any insight would be appreciated. Thank you.
Author:  Dick_Morris [ Fri May 23, 2025 12:59 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ex-U.S. Arrmy Locomotives in European Museums or Display
The most common steam locomotive is probably the "S-160" USATC Consolidation. 2,120 of them were made and after the war around 1,000 of them ended up in Poland and Hungary where they operated into the 1950s. Others that operated initially in Europe ended up in China and North and South Korea, but as far as I know the only ones of those that still exist were returned to the UK for use on preservation railroads.

(Note that "S-160 wasn't the designation used by the military or by Baldwin or Lima, on 800-1,000 engineering drawings (mostly done by ALCO), or in reports of meetings between the builders and military when they were being designed. It was assigned by Torret in his books on wartime locomotives many years after the locomotives were made and was based on an internal ALCO designation. "War Department 2-8-0" or "U.S. Government 2-8-0" were both terms used to identify them in the official documents.)

A Google search for "USATC Locomotive" will find a Wikipedia article that I have found to fairly accurately report where they are today. I have personal communicated with people associated with around five that are operational regularly on preservation railroads in the UK and one each operational and occasionally steamed in museums in Hungary and Poland.

Images are a booklet describing Nathan lubricators, injectors, etc., that the
Army required the manufacturers to include with the locomotives and a photo of one being assembled at ALCO shared with me by Kevin Kohls.

Attachments:
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Author:  John T [ Fri May 23, 2025 8:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ex-U.S. Arrmy Locomotives in European Museums or Display
There is at least one ex-Army Whitcomb at Stoomtrein Goes Borsele (SGB) in The Netherlands. The Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway has a WWI Baldwin gas mechanical loco. There are two at Tacot des Lacs in France. There is also an Army 2-6-2T at Tacot des Lacs.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/simonmcox/2806561349
Author:  joe6167 [ Fri May 23, 2025 10:48 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ex-U.S. Arrmy Locomotives in European Museums or Display
There's one in Warsaw.

https://stacjamuzeum.pl/tabor/lokomotyw ... tr203-451/

You can research surviving members of the class using the Polish designations.

History of the locomotive
The locomotive represents the American war type S160 Consolidation, built in 1942-45 in the number of 2121 copies by the labels: Lima Locomotive Works, American Locomotiwe Company and The Baldwin Locomotive Works.

The project, prepared for European conditions, provided for the construction of a universal locomotive, while maintaining an upper limit of axial load of 16 t, adapted to the British rolling stock gauge and basic track gauge: 1435, 1524 or 1676 mm.

Beginning in 1942, some locomotives were transported by sea to Great Britain, from where they were transferred to France according to the invasion plan in Normandy.

75 copies of these locomotives were sent to Poland as part of UNRRA supplies and were marked as the Tr201 series and 500 from demobil purchases, which received the designation Tr203.

Tr203 steam locomotives were common in all engine rooms, working in servicing passenger and freight trains and, above all, on maneuvers. Several machines were sold to industry. Among them was the Tr203-451 locomotive, which began service in the Rybnik engine house, and ended it in Nasielsk. After being removed from the PKP inventory (on October 7, 1974), it was surrendered to ZNTK in Pruszków, from where in April 1977 it was transferred to ZNTK Wrocław, where she worked until September 1982.

The steam locomotive underwent renovation in 2021, including on sandblasting, supplementing the missing plating, maintenance of the driver's and tendra booth, corrosion protection, application of painting layers compatible with the original painting during service on PKP and on protection with an antigraphite layer.

Parking place:
Museum station
Specification
Manufacturer: Lima Locomotive Works (USA)
Factory number and year of production: 8739/1945
Axle system: 1 ’ D
Maximum speed: 80 km / h, from 1955 65 km / h
Steam excess pressure in the boiler: 1.58 MPa (16 at), since 1956. 1.3 MPa (13 at)
Wheel diameter of wheelsets: 838.2 / 1447.8 mm
Tendra series: 25D203
Water / coal supply: 24.6 m ³ / 9.1 t
Mass in the official state of the steam engine together with the tender: 132,000 kg
Length with bumpers: 18,600 mm
Stay up to d
Author:  joe6167 [ Fri May 23, 2025 10:57 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ex-U.S. Arrmy Locomotives in European Museums or Display
There's another one at the "Museo Nazionale Ferroviario Di Pietrarsa" in Pietrarsa Italy

#FS 736.114.
Author:  Patrick Fahey [ Fri May 23, 2025 12:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ex-U.S. Arrmy Locomotives in European Museums or Display
Hi
Maybe this might help,, on your search engine, type in
Preserved U.S. army Locomotives, in Europe you should find your answer,, I hope this is a help.. Pat.
Author:  TDS1994 [ Sat May 24, 2025 7:47 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ex-U.S. Arrmy Locomotives in European Museums or Display
Joe6167 -- Your translation of the Polish information and spec. data is appreciated.

Dick -- The two attachments were welcomed resources.

Thank you very much to everyone who took the time to respond; your collective information has been very helpful. RyPN once again proves to be a valuable base of knowledge.

Craig
Author:  PaulWWoodring [ Sat May 24, 2025 3:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ex-U.S. Arrmy Locomotives in European Museums or Display
Photo I took of Chinese class KD-6 (S-160), possibly Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton, at Fushun open pit mine in July 1987.

(I removed my original scan for an improved version per advice from a friend more experienced with Photoshop. Dick Morris please substitute this one for the original to use, thanks).

Attachments:
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Author:  Dick_Morris [ Sat May 24, 2025 8:03 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ex-U.S. Arrmy Locomotives in European Museums or Display
PaulWWoodring, do you mind if I post your Chinese photo on the Engine 557 Restoration Company's Facebook page?

The three manufacturers of the S-160s were ALCO, Lima, and Baldwin. Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton didn't exist until after the war.

About the only way to tell the manufacturer of an unknown S-160 if you can't determine the USATC number is the shape of the builder's plate (missing on your photo). If you can actually inspect the locomotive, a serial number is stamped on the rear of the frames (at least that's true of those from Baldwin). The numbers were also stamped on a number of components such as side rods and valve gear at the factory, but in service the parts were swapped between locomotives. Even the factory would mix things up, the cab and cylinder block on ARR-557, BLW serial number 280 19s 809, have the numbers of other locomotives that never came to Alaska.
Author:  LeoA [ Sat May 24, 2025 9:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ex-U.S. Arrmy Locomotives in European Museums or Display
Dick_Morris wrote:
The three manufacturers of the S-160s were ALCO, Lima, and Baldwin. Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton didn't exist until after the war.


BLH built export steam until 1955 or thereabouts.

Isn't Tennessee Valley Railroad #610 such an example? It's a S160 type from what I've always read, albeit built for the US Army later in the Korean War instead of for overseas export.
Author:  PaulWWoodring [ Sat May 24, 2025 10:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ex-U.S. Arrmy Locomotives in European Museums or Display
Dick_Morris wrote:
PaulWWoodring, do you mind if I post your Chinese photo on the Engine 557 Restoration Company's Facebook page?

The three manufacturers of the S-160s were ALCO, Lima, and Baldwin. Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton didn't exist until after the war.

About the only way to tell the manufacturer of an unknown S-160 if you can't determine the USATC number is the shape of the builder's plate (missing on your photo). If you can actually inspect the locomotive, a serial number is stamped on the rear of the frames (at least that's true of those from Baldwin). The numbers were also stamped on a number of components such as side rods and valve gear at the factory, but in service the parts were swapped between locomotives. Even the factory would mix things up, the cab and cylinder block on ARR-557, BLW serial number 280 19s 809, have the numbers of other locomotives that never came to Alaska.


No, I don't. Please include a photo credit with your use of it.

The caption for the image came from my notes at the time during the trip. I'm sure the description of the builder came from one or more of the others on the trip. A couple of them did get up close to the running gear to see if they could find any serial numbers that might be a clue. I think I remember someone saying one component was stamped "LLW", and thought that might be for Lima. I was a little fuzzy back then as to when Baldwin merged with Lima-Hamilton (I was the youngest person on the trip at 30), also the exact dates some of these engines were built was not clear, although I am now sure that they were delivered to China before the 1949 Revolution, so yes, it would be either a Lima or Lima-Hamilton product, if that stamp is for the builder of the entire engine, and not just the specific component.
Author:  John T [ Sun May 25, 2025 8:42 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Ex-U.S. Arrmy Locomotives in European Museums or Display
The Lima-Hamilton merger was in April 1947 and the B-L-H merger was in 1951.
Author:  Dick_Morris [ Sun May 25, 2025 10:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ex-U.S. Arrmy Locomotives in European Museums or Display
TVR #610 is a slightly evolved S-160. The cylinder bore is slightly larger and from memory, there is one tube less in the boiler. Two visual clues of an S-160 were also deleted. The smoke box door is centered and the compressor changed to two-cylinder and is located under a running board and the sand dome cover doesn't cover the steam dome.
Author:  Dick_Morris [ Sun May 25, 2025 10:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Ex-U.S. Arrmy Locomotives in European Museums or Display
Paul - Thanks.

S-160s were built from 1942 through 1945. Most were pretty much to the same design. There were several groups that deviated from the standard version, I believe all were built by Baldwin. There was a batch of 5' gauge locomotives that went to the USSR and a batch of 5'6" gauge locomotives that went to India. There were also about 11 that were built to U.S. specifications with power reverse, knuckle couplers, air powered fire box door, bell, steam generator and electric lights, and pilot. The last batch from Lima had screw type reversers and there were a few built for oil firing. After the war the S-160s became surplus and the U.S. provided them to allies, including Hungary, Poland, Korea, and China. The Alaska Railroad also got a few via surplus.
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