USATC S160 Class

USATC S160 Class

China KD6, ÖBB Class 956, ČSD Class 456.1, SNCF Class 140U, SEK Class Θγ (THg), MÁV Class 411, FS Class 736, PKP Tr201 and Tr203, Russia class ШA, Renfe class 553, TCDD 45171 Class, JŽ class 37, KSR 8000 series, KNR Sori2 class, SNCB/NMBS type 281
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerMajor J. W. Marsh
BuilderAmerican Locomotive Company (755),
Baldwin Locomotive Works (712),
Lima Locomotive Works (653)
Build date1942–1945
Total produced2,120
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte2-8-0
 • UIC1′D h2
Gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) Russian Railways
1,668 mm (5 ft 5+21⁄32 in) Renfe Operadora
1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Indian Railways
Leading dia.2 ft 9 in (838 mm)
Driver dia.4 ft 9 in (1,448 mm)
Wheelbase51 ft 7+3⁄4 in (15.74 m)
Length61 ft 0 in (18.59 m),
including tender
Adhesive weight140,000 lb (63,503 kg)
Loco weight161,000 lb (73,028 kg)
Tender weight115,500 lb (52,390 kg)
Total weight276,500 lb (125,418 kg)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity20,000 lb (9,072 kg)
Water cap.6,500 US gal
(25,000 L; 5,400 imp gal)
Firebox:​
 • Grate area41 sq ft (3.8 m2)
Boiler5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
maximum diameter
Boiler pressure225 lbf/in2 (1.55 MPa)
Heating surface:​
 • Firebox136 sq ft (12.6 m2)
 • Tubes1,055 sq ft (98.0 m2)
(150 in or 3,810 mm long ×
2 in or 51 mm diameter)
 • Flues567 sq ft (52.7 m2)
(30 in or 762 mm long ×
5.375 in or 137 mm diameter)
 • Total surface2,253 sq ft (209.3 m2)
Superheater:
​
 • Heating area313 sq ft (29.1 m2)
CylindersTwo, outside
Cylinder size19 in × 26 in
(482.6 mm × 660.4 mm)
bore x stroke
Valve gearWalschaerts
Valve type10 inches (254 mm) piston valves
Performance figures
Tractive effort31,492 lbf (140.1 kN)
Factor of adh.4.45
Career
ClassUSATC S160 and country derivatives
Official nameUSATC S160 Class
LocaleUnited States
Europe
China
Korea
DispositionAt least 33 known preserved, possibly more in derelict condition, remainder scrapped

The United States Army Transportation Corps S160 Class is a class of 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotives, designed for heavy freight work in Europe during World War II. A total of 2,120 were built and they worked on railroads across much of the world, including Africa, Asia, all of Europe and South America.

Design

S160 drawing.

During the 1930s, the United States Army Transportation Corps approved an update of a Baldwin Locomotive Works World War I design, to be used, if required, for war transportation. The result was the S159 Class loco. During the early period of World War II, when America was neutral, the government of Franklin D. Roosevelt approved the Lend-Lease supply to the United Kingdom of the S200 Class, a 2-8-2 configuration, designed specifically to fit into the restricted British loading gauge.[citation needed]

With America's entry to World War II, the USATC needed a developed design from which a large number of locomotives could be constructed to run on the wrecked railways of Europe, deploying military hardware and civilian goods. Hence, the development of the S160 Class, designed by Maj. J. W. Marsh from the Railway Branch of the Corps of Engineers, which drew on previous locomotives, using austerity principles, and was built using methods which allowed for efficient and fast construction, and a long life, including axlebox grease lubricators, and rolled plates in preference to castings.[citation needed]

With cast frames (a few had frames which were flame-cut from rolled steel slabs) and cast wheels, the front two driving axles were sprung independently from the rear two driving axles, to cater for running on poor-quality track. The larger tender layout was derived from the similar design of the British WD Austerity 2-8-0, with an inset coal bunker above the water tank to improve visibility when running backwards.[citation needed]

Construction

Builders Construction
numbers
Years Quantity USATC numbers
American Locomotive Company
70431 – 70455
1942
25
1600 – 1624
70278 – 70302
1942
25
1625 – 1649
70457 – 70483
1942
27
1650 – 1676
Baldwin Locomotive Works
67661 – 67685
1943
25
1677 – 1701
64641 – 64665
1942
25
1702 – 1726
67561 – 67660
1942
100
1727 – 1826
Lima Locomotive Works
8058 – 8101
1942
44
1827 – 1870
8102 – 8157
1943
56
1871 – 1926
American Locomotive Company
70514 – 70531
1942
18
2032 – 2049
70532 – 70540
1942
9
2050 – 2058
70541 – 70633
1943
93
2059 – 2151
Lima Locomotive Works
8158 – 8247
1943
90
2152 – 2241
Baldwin Locomotive Works
69485 – 69574
1943
90
2242 – 2331
69589 – 69639
1943
51
2332 – 2382
American Locomotive Company
70749 – 70808
1943
60
2400 – 2459
Lima Locomotive Works
8317 – 8376
1943
60
2500 – 2559
8262 – 8291
1943
30
2560 – 2589
Baldwin Locomotive Works
69818 – 69867
1943
50
2590 – 2639
69903 – 70038
1943
136
2640 – 2775
Lima Locomotive Works
8429 – 8456
1943
28
2776 – 2803
American Locomotive Company
70959 – 71008
1943
50
2804 – 2853
71051 – 71186
1943
136
2854 – 2989
71455 – 71459
1943
5
3200 – 3204
71460 – 71634
1944
175
3205 – 3379
Baldwin Locomotive Works
70337 – 70516
1944
180
3380 – 3559
Lima Locomotive Works
8473 – 8612
1944
140
3560 – 3699
American Locomotive Company
71895 – 71944
1943
50
3700 – 3749
73394 – 73475
1945
82
4402 – 4483
Lima Locomotive Works
8814 – 8858
1945
45
5155 – 5199
8623 – 8662
1944
40
5700 – 5739
8678 – 8699
1944
22
5740 – 5761
8700 – 8707
1944
8
5762 – 5769
8708 – 8797
1945
90
5770 – 5859
Baldwin Locomotive Works
72058 – 72112
1945
55
6024 – 6078

British deployment

800 locomotives were constructed in 1942/3 in thirteen batches, split between ALCO, Baldwin and Lima Locomotive Works. Shipped to South Wales and dispatched from the Great Western Railway locomotive depot at Ebbw Junction, Newport, the first 43 locomotives were transferred to the London & North Eastern Railway's Doncaster Works for completion, and later running in over the East Coast Main Line. This started a pattern whereby each of the four British railway companies eventually deployed a total of 400 S160s under the guise of "running in," but factually replacing damaged stock and increasing the capacity of the British railway system to allow for shipping of military pre-invasion equipment and troops. The eventual deployment of S160's were:[citation needed]

The second batch of 400 S160s were prepared for storage by USATC personnel at the Great Western's Ebbw Junction locomotive depot in the immediate run-up to D-Day. After the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the locomotives were deployed across Britain again began to be collected and be refurbished at Ebbw Junction in preparation for shipment to Europe.[citation needed]

Operational failures

The S160s were designed for quick and efficient building, not long-term operations, thus compromises in design led to some difficulties in operation. The axle-box grease-lubricators were not very efficient, particularly when maintenance procedures lapsed or were delayed for operational war reasons, and so axle-boxes often ran hot. Braking was poor by modern standards, with a Westinghouse steam brake used for the locomotive,[citation needed] which was woefully insufficient, due to the long distance from the driver's valve to the brake cylinder.[citation needed]

A major fault of the S160 was use of a single water gauge of a Klinger design, unfamiliar to U.K. crews; it was necessary to open the top and bottom cocks slowly or the check valves would close, trapping water in the gauge and giving a false reading. If the valves were not fully open, the crews could be misled into thinking that the water level was adequate, even though it was becoming dangerously low. When a low water condition allowed the crown sheet to overheat, the stay bolts holding the crown sheet would fail with little warning, resulting in a boiler explosion. In a space of ten months, three UK S160s suffered a collapse of the firebox crown, with the first leading to the death of a GWR fireman on No. 2403 in November 1943. Although there are claims that the stay bolts or firebox design were less than for domestic locomotive boilers, the locomotives were equipped with a "boiler built to comply in all aspects with the A.S.M.E. Boiler Code, except that the shell shall have a factor safety of 4."

Deployment

Judging accurately the actual deployment of 2120 locomotives is difficult, but the following numbers are referenced:

Europe

The British locomotives, together with those shipped direct from America were also similarly deployed first with troops reclaiming Europe, and then subsumed throughout European national railways as replacements for their destroyed stock after the war:

MÁV 411.061 on the Budapest to Szob line at Zebegény in 1971
Loco 6046 at Didcot
S160 USATC Class No.5197 at Churnet Valley Railway

Africa

At the same time as S160s were being deployed into Britain, when General Patton led American troops in Operation Torch into the North African Campaign, their Transport Corps brought the S160s with them. These locomotives moved across the north of the continent as Patton's troops waged war, and when the troops moved to Italy the majority of their S160s moved up with them. These locomotives, supplemented with those directly imported from America, were eventually to create a group of 243 locomotives, subsumed by the Italian State Railway's to become the FS Class 736 class.[citation needed]

Americas

607 at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum

Asia

The KD6-487 hauling a heritage tourist train in Diaobingshan, Liaoning, China

Under the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, a number of S160s were deployed to China and South Korea.[citation needed] In addition to this, a 1944 batch of 60 from Baldwin were sent to India and locally assembled.[citation needed]

Class designation

Although "S160" has been popularly adopted as the class identification for this design of War Department Consolidation, it can not be verified as an official designation despite considerable research. The S160 designation is not found in 1942 and 1943 Baldwin drawing indexes, the Lima drawing index for the class, nor in meeting minutes in which representatives of the War Department and the three builders made several design decisions prior to production. It is also not found in any of approximately 900 engineering drawings which are still in existence. The Baldwin designation for the design, 2-8-0-19S, is found in their drawing indexes, on some drawings, and is stamped onto major locomotive components on examples built by Baldwin.[citation needed]

Variants

There were several major variants of the S160 class, excluding in-life design development:

Preservation

Mainly due to their numbers, rather than the design or build quality, at least 26 examples of the S160 have survived into preservation, making them one of the most numerous survivors of all Mainline Steam Locomotives:

USATC No. Builder Post World War II Owner Current Owner Location Image Notes
1631 Alco 70284 MÁV 411.388 Great Central Railway (Nottingham) Ruddington, Nottinghamshire
under restoration
2138 Alco 70620 MÁV 411.380 Churnet Valley Railway Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire Source of strategic spares for 5197 and 6046
2364 Baldwin 69621 MÁV 411.337[citation needed] Churnet Valley Railway Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire Chassis only, source for strategic spares for 5197 and 6046
2627 Baldwin 69855 Alaska Railroad 556 City of Anchorage Anchorage, Alaska Restored for static display in 2015.
3523 Baldwin 70480 Alaska Railroad 557 Engine 557 Restoration Company Wasilla, Alaska Under restoration for operation from August 2012 through present (as of March 2025).
5846 Lima 8784 US Army 606 Crewe Railroad Museum Crewe, Virginia Re-lettered to Norfolk and Western #606[citation needed]
5187 Lima 8846 US Army 5187; US Army 607 US Army Transportation Museum Fort Eustis Military Railroad
[citation needed]
2628 Baldwin 69856 US Army 611 Bill Miller Equipment Sales Eckhart Mines, Maryland Fitted with Franklin Type B Rotary Cam Poppet valve gear,[citation needed] which is intended for use on the PRR 5550 project, undergoing restoration. Tender supposedly used behind Pershing No. 28 in Texas.[citation needed]
2630 Baldwin 69858 US Army 612 Age of Steam Roundhouse Sugarcreek, Ohio
From Southeastern Railway Museum, Duluth, Georgia[citation needed]
1702 Baldwin 64641 Reader Railroad Great Smoky Mountains Railroad Bryson City, North Carolina
Operational[citation needed]
5197 Lima 8856 Fushun Industrial Railway, #KD6.463 Churnet Valley Railway Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
Overhaul began 2013, returned to service February 2017.[citation needed]
? ? Fushun Industrial Railway, #KD6.487 Tiefa Railway
Preserved on the Tiefa railway.
6046 Baldwin 72080 MÁV 411.144 Churnet Valley Railway Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
Overhaul finished July 2012, Returned to service December 2012.[citation needed] Withdrawn for 10 yearly overhaul in April 2022, and returned again in September 2023.
2253 Baldwin 69496 PKP Tr.203.208 Peter Best Grosmont, North Yorkshire (North Yorkshire Moors Railway)
6 June 2019 Full restoration completed by Steam Powered Services in Stockton. Renamed Omaha Beach (shortened to 'Omaha') honouring the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. 2024-2026 converted to oil firing.
5820 Lima 8758 PKP Tr.203.474 Keighley & Worth Valley Railway West Yorkshire
Returned to service in January 2014 following overhaul[citation needed]
3278 Baldwin 70340 FS 736.073; SEK Θγ575 Richard Stone Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
#701 Franklin D. Roosevelt, under overhaul at Churnet Valley Railway, last steamed at Watercress Line in 1999.
5164 Lima 8823 PKP Tr.201.51 Polskie Koleje Państwowe Jaworzyna Śląska [citation needed]
2438 ALCO 70787 PKP Tr.203.296 Polskie Koleje Państwowe Jaworzyna Śląska [citation needed]
5801 Lima 8739 PKP Tr203-451 Polskie Koleje Państwowe Warsaw Railway Museum [citation needed]
2781 Lima 8434 MÁV 411.264 Railway station Hatvan Plinthed[citation needed]
6056 Baldwin 72090 MÁV 411.358 Railway station Hegyeshalom
Plinthed[citation needed]
1786 Baldwin 67679 MÁV 411.005 Unknown Komarom Boiler only.[citation needed]
2206 Lima 8212 SEK Θγ 525 OSE Thessaloniki Old Depot stored[citation needed]
2524 Lima 8341 TCDD 45172 Turkish State Railways Çamlık Railway Museum [citation needed]
2879 Alco 71076 TCDD 45174 Turkish State Railways Ankara Railway Museum
[citation needed]
3292 Alco 71547 FS 736.083 Museo Ferroviario Piemontese Turin Awaiting restoration[citation needed]
3324 Alco 71579 FS 736.114 FS Pietrarsa railway museum [citation needed]
— Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton 75503 US Army 610 Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum Chattanooga, Tennessee
Out of service for its 1472 inspection & rebuild. 610 is technically not an S-160 but classified as a type A, constructed in 1952[citation needed]
3524 Baldwin 70481 SEK Θγ 532 OSE Thessaloniki Old Depot stored[citation needed]
2226 Lima 8232 SEK Θγ 535 OSE Thessaloniki Old Depot stored[citation needed]
3299 ALCo 71554 FS 736.090; SEK Θγ 576 OSE Tithorea Depot stored. Oil burner, bought from Italian FS (Class 736) in 1959[citation needed]
3420 Baldwin 70377 FS 736.158; SEK Θγ 584 OSE Thessaloniki Old Depot stored. Oil burner, bought from Italian FS (Class 736) in 1959. Has tender from Θγ 689[citation needed]
3698 Lima 8611 FS 736.207; SEK Θγ 593 OSE Thessaloniki Depot stored. Oil burner, bought from Italian FS (Class 736) in 1959[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ↑ American Locomotive Company Frame drawing 466S119000[full citation needed]
  2. ↑ "The USATC S160 2-8-0s". The London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) Encyclopedia.
  3. ↑ Boddy et al. 1983, p. 99
  4. ↑ "Installation and service guide for Klinger reflex gauges for saturated steam". Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Tr201 and Tr203". locomotives.com.pl. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  6. ↑ Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification No. 43-F-19 for United States Government class 2-8-0 19S.[full citation needed]
  7. ↑ "30937.co.uk".
  8. 1 2 "USATC S160 2-8-0 No. 5197 & 6046". The Churnet Valley Guide.
  9. 1 2 Rakov 1995, pp. 338–339
  10. ↑ Tourret 1977, pp. 63–64
  11. ↑ "USATC steam and diesel locomotives 1942-1947". www.gregoriou.itgo.com. Archived from the original on 5 April 2005.
  12. ↑ http://www.ratrust.org/Photos/Spain/Locomotives/Narrow_Gauge__W_/N_G__West/n_g__west_23.html[permanent dead link]
  13. ↑ "Rail Album - USATC S-160 2-8-0s Part 1". www.railalbum.co.uk.
  14. ↑ "Longmoor Military Railway - MikeMorant".
  15. ↑ "NdeM steam locomotives".
  16. ↑ Ross, Donald (2021). "Nacionales de Mexico Steam Locomotives". Don's Depot. Archived from the original on 4 July 2008.
  17. ↑ Cotterill, Duncan (2002). "Chinese Steam Locomotive Profiles: KD6 Class 2-8-0s". Railography. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  18. ↑ Hayato, Kokubu, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), p. 110, ISBN 978-4-10-303731-6
  19. ↑ Schmidt, Florian. "A Glimpse of North Korea's Railways". Continental Railway Journal. Archived from the original on 2 May 2008.
  20. 1 2 "Korean National CS-2 2-8-0s". donsdepot.donrossgroup.net. 6 August 2023. Archived from the original on 6 May 2008.
  21. 1 2 3 Hughes 1979, pp. 35–36
  22. ↑ The Baldwin Locomotive Works Drawing Record, Sales Order No. 42302, 9 July 1942[full citation needed]
  23. ↑ Baldwin Locomotive Works Drawing Index for Sales Order Number 43306, 7 August 1943[full citation needed]
  24. ↑ Lima Locomotive Works Direct Locomotive Card Index, United States War Department Type 2-8-0, with updates annotated through 27 April 1945.[full citation needed]
  25. ↑ U.S. War Department Memoranda of Interview dated 18 and 2 May 15 and 16 June 1942.[full citation needed]
  26. ↑ Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification No. 43-F-19 for Class 2-8-0 19S nos. 476 to 479 (Alaska Railroad 551 through 554), 20 July 1943[full citation needed]
  27. 1 2 3 "Ruddington S160 trip put up for sale". Steam Railway. No. 535. 19 August 2022. p. 21.
  28. ↑ "Delaney Park Locomotive 556 Improvement Project". Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  29. ↑ "Engine 557 Restoration Company". HeritageRail Alliance. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  30. ↑ "ARR Locomotive #557 - History is where you find it!". www.alaskarails.org.
  31. ↑ "Railography : Class Profiles : KD6 Class 2-8-0". Railography : Info and Features. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  32. ↑ "Batt Holden Update 20/08/2024". www.churnetvalleyrailway.co.uk. 20 August 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
  33. ↑ Tweedy, Katherine (5 June 2026). "Omaha steam locomotive has oil conversion completed". railadvent.co.uk.
  34. ↑ "Third S160 for Chedderton in Restore and Run Arrangement". Steam Railway. No. 504. April 2020. p. 28.

Bibliography