The USATC S160 was a class of US 1'D (2-8-0) steam locomotives that were used by the United States Army in the Second World War.
| USATC S160 | |
|---|---|
| by Redtrain | |
| Price | 300 Robux |
| Gamepass | War Department Content Pack |
| Statistics | |
| Type | Freight |
| Top Speed | 65 km/h |
| Weight | 125 tons |
| Capacity | 480 tons |
| Length | 18,3 meters |
Liveries
The USATC S160 is available in USATC grey and USATC black.
Historical details
The United States, much like the United Kingdom, designed locomotives to aid the United States Army Transport Corps (USATC) in their war effort. They created a 1'D tender engine and a Ct shunting locomotive that fitted inside the smaller, British loading gauge. Both types were used by the United States in the Southern parts of the Netherlands after it was liberated, sometimes even by Dutch personnel.
2.120 were built by the American Locomotive Company, Baldwin Locomotive Works and the Lima Locomotive Works between 1942-1945. The first arrived in the UK in 1942 and a few hundred were in service under the Great Western Railway (174), London & North Eastern Railway (168), London, Midland & Scottish Railway (50) and the Southern Railway (4). The S160s that arrived later were stored immediately, camouflaged so the German scout planes wouldn't spot them.
The first usage of these locomotives at the front was in 1943, North-Africa, after US troops landed in Morocco. Later, they would also be used in Italy, the liberation of Normandy and the rest of West-Europe.
26 locomotives of the class have been preserved, divided among Greece, the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, Hungary, Turkey, and Italy.
The S160 in the Netherlands
After the South of the province Limburg was liberated, the S160s became a daily appearance. They pulled nearly every train until the US army left in the end of August, 1945. The crew on the locomotives came mostly from the Railway Operation Batallions at first, though later on, Dutch personnel did also use them. The locomotives were still owned by the Americans, but followed the Dutch schedules, albeit under the US dispatching system. A central dispatcher would decide which trains would go where, which resulted in very long shifts for the crews: up to 36 hours. To add to it, the locomotives were already not that popular with the Dutch because of some technical flaws discussed below.
Technical details
The S160s were originally equipped with: steam-powered brakes on the locomotive and tender; a vacuum-brake and Westinghouse-air brake for trains; two Nathan-injectors; Hulson-riddling grate and the driver's position on the right.
The main dimensions of the locomotives were similar to those of the 1'D austerity locomotives from War Department, but differed on about everything else. They had broad, steel fireboxes. The steam dome and two sand domes were placed under the same housing. Directly behind the steam dome were the safety valves. The boiler was connected to the frame at both the front and back, which put so much additional stress on the connecting bolts that these had a tendency to break.
The crown stays were too weak, especially on the side of the inner firebox. This resulted in boiler explosions in many countries where they were used, after the roof of the inner firebox collapsed. In the UK alone, three S160 boilers exploded in 1943 and 1944.
The majority of the class had a pulling lever as regulator that, if the catch of the lever broke loose, would fall into the highest throttle setting. This sudden increase of steam would push the locomotive forwards with a shock, which broke the occasional couplings on trains.
The air pump was placed on the front of the smokebox because it would exceed the British loading gauge if placed on the side of the large boiler. The smokebox itself was fitted with a small door. The locomotives had an exhauster that worked as 'self-cleaning-service', so the firebox only had to be cleaned out once every 10 days.
The tender stood on two Archbar-bogies, as opposed to the 4-axle tenders of the War Department locomotives.
Trivia
- The S160 is one of three American locomotives in the game. (USATC S100, NS 2000)
- 2120 S160's were constructed, being sent all over the globe, this is the second most mass produced locomotive in-game, after the Baureihe 50.
- The Black livery has a Dutch style oil lamp, but the Grey livery has a factory fitted American style lamp.
- The S160 is one of a few mainline steam locomotives to have only 1 lamp.
- The others being SS 13 (De Bril), and the Scrapped NS 2100.
- The S160 has been available since launch, version 0.1, in only the Grey livery.
- The Black livery was added in version 0.4.55.
Doubleheading
Doubleheading compatibility
Steam