ALCO RSD-1
Former US Army ALCO RSD-1, now owned by theTennessee Valley Railroad Museum. Donated from theEglin 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 163
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR C-C  • UIC 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 ft5+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 ALCO6-244T,6-539T Engine type Straight-6Four-strokediesel 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,North Korea

TheALCO RSD-1 is adiesel-electric locomotive built by theAmerican Locomotive Company (ALCO). This model was aroad switcher type rated at 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) and rode on three-axletrucks, having aC-C wheel arrangement. It was often used in much the same manner as its four-axle counterpart, theALCO RS-1, though thesix-motor design allowed better tractive effort at lower speeds, as well as a lower weight-per-axle. It was developed to meet the need to supply the Soviet Union over theTrans-Iranian Railway starting in mid 1943. 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]

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 theSoviet Union in early 1945 duringWorld War II, as part of theAllied war effort. They were classed there as the Soviet Railways Д^A20 (D^A20) class, also known just as Д^А after 1947 (D for Diesel, A for Alco and 20 for axle load in tons).^[1] They were used in ordinary line service rather than shunting, especially in southern parts of the Soviet Union (Turkmenistan), where water for steam locomotives was scarce.^[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 andTEM2. Two RSD-1s were sunk en route to the Soviet Union when the ship they were on was torpedoed by a GermanU-boat (Д^A20-41 and Д^A20-50) and 68 were received.^[1] They entered service from March 1945, and some were still in service in the 1980s.^[1] The D^A20-27 hauledStalin's train toPotsdam Conference, and its positive evaluation was among reasons to copy the design^[1] (the Soviet Union built only 51 diesel locomotives before the war, so it had not enough experience with designing).^[2]

The Soviet-built TE1 (ТЭ1), initially designed TE1-20, was areverse engineered copy of the Alco product, adapted to metric system and Soviet norms.^[3] They were almost identical, but locomotives after #TE1-20-122 had 1050 mm (41.34 inch), instead of 40 inch wheels (1016 mm).^[3] The designation meant T -teplovoz (diesel engine), E - electric transmission, model 1, 20 ton axle load.^[3] A production lasted from 1947 until 1950 and 300 were made (including 2 of TE5 class).^[3] TheTE2 (ТЭ2) utilized engine and electric components of TE1, but was as a twin-unit version, with a wagon-type body and utilized two-axle bogies.^[4] TheTE5 (ТЭ5) was a cold climate version of the TE1. The cab was extended for most of the locomotive to provide covered access to the engine and a boiler was added to keep the cab warm when the engine was not running.^[5] Only two (or five) TE5 were built, within TE1 series.^[3]

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.

• 
  RSD-1 being delivered to the US Army Transportation Museum at Fort Eustis, seen in 2011
• 
  RSD-1 at theSouthern California Railway Museum

• Rakov, Vitaliy (1995).Lokomotivy otechestvennyh zheleznyh dorog 1845-1955 [Locomotives of domestic railways 1845-1955] (in Russian). Moscow.ISBN 5-277-00821-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toALCO RSD-1 locomotives.

• ALCo World: The Russian RSD-1 Copies

Another RSD-1 roster with build dateshttp://www.thedieselshop.us/Alco_RSD1.HTMLArchived 2007-11-02 at theWayback Machine

• C-C locomotives
• ALCO locomotives
• United States Army locomotives
• Diesel–electric locomotives of the United States
• Railway locomotives introduced in 1942
• Standard-gauge locomotives of the United States
• 5 ft gauge locomotives
• Standard-gauge locomotives of Mexico
• Diesel–electric locomotives of the Soviet Union
• Diesel–electric locomotives of Mexico

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• CS1 maint: location missing publisher
• CS1 Russian-language sources (ru)
• Commons category link from Wikidata
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