- USATC S100 Class
The
United States Army Transportation Corps (USATC) S100 Class is a class of0-6-0 steam locomotive that was designed for use inEurope andNorth Africa duringWorld War II forswitching . Several were later used on railroads inAustria ,Great Britain ,France ,Greece ,Italy , Yugoslavia and evenChina andIran .Overview
In 1942 the USATC ordered 382 of the class from
Davenport Locomotive Works ofIowa ,H. K. Porter, Inc , of Pittsburgh andVulcan Iron Works ofPennsylvania to a design by Col.Howard G. Hill . They were then shipped to Great Britain in 1943 and stored there awaiting the invasion ofMainland Europe . AfterD-Day , they were shipped to Europe.After the war
SNCF bought 77 and classified them as theSNCF 030TU Class . 15 were bought by the Southern Railway including one for spare parts, forming theSR USA Class . Austria had 10. 4 were sent to Italy. Several went toJZ (Yugoslav Railways ), where they were known asJŽ Class 62 , and they assembled some more in the1950s . Chinese had around 20 engines, forming theChinese State Railways XK2 Class .Others found industrial use in Great Britain with the
National Coal Board ,Longmoor Military Railway ,Austin Motors , etc.Later influence
Several later designs were produced by European railways.
JŽ added to their Class 62 by ordering several similar examples fromDjuro Djakovic ofSlavonski Brod ,Croatia . These differed in minor details, but principally the use ofplate frame s instead ofbar frame s, resulting in a higherboiler pitch . This in turn leads to shoulder on thesteam pipes (compared to a straight) and smaller domes, which have a flatter top.The Poles built several
TKh Ferrum locomotives of similar outline, though there are various differences such as the use of 2 domes instead of 3, driving onto the second axle instead of the third, different cab, etc.The unsuccessful
Great Western Railway (GWR) 1500 class also was inspired by the S100 in the use ofoutside cylinders and shortwheelbase . Many S100s had been used by the GWR in South Wales during the war.Preservation
Several of these locomotives survive around the world, some in working order. In Normandy (France), the "WD 6102" (SNCF 030 TU 13) is waiting some help to return in working order on the beautiful Caen-Flers line.
External links
* http://www.project62.supanet.com/USAlocohistory.htm
* http://www.gregoriou.itgo.com/custom4.html
* [http://www.semgonline.com/steam/usa_01.html Information on the Southern Railways locomotives]
* [http://membres.lycos.fr/depotvirtuel to discover the 030 TU 13 (WD6102)]
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