USATC S100 Class explained

USATC S100 class
Powertype:Steam
Designer:Howard G. Hill
Builder:Davenport Locomotive Works (109),
H. K. Porter, Inc (150),
Vulcan Iron Works (123)
Builddate:1942–1944
Totalproduction:382
Whytetype:0-6-0T
Uicclass:C nt
Driverdiameter:4feet
Minimumcurve:1502NaN2 radius
Length:29feet
Width:9feet
Height:12feet
Locoweight:1006500NaN0
Fueltype:Coal or Oil
Fuelcap:2500sigfig=3NaNsigfig=3 coal, or
oil
Boilerpressure:210lbf/in2
Firearea:First 50: 19.4square feet,
Remainder: 18.3square feet
Fireboxarea:86square feet
Tubearea:790square feet
Totalsurface:876square feet
Superheatertype:None
Cylindercount:Two, outside
Cylindersize:16.5x
Valvegear:Outside Walschaerts
Tractiveeffort:21630lbf
Factorofadhesion:4.65
Operator:USATC
Disposition:At least 25 known preserved, possibly more in derelict condition, remainder scrapped

The United States Army Transportation Corps (USATC) S100 Class is a 0-6-0 steam locomotive that was designed for switching (shunting) duties in Europe and North Africa during World War II. After the war, they were used on railways in Austria, China, Egypt, France, Great Britain, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Palestine, the United States, and Yugoslavia.

Wartime development and use

The S100 is a side tank designed by Col. Howard G. Hill. In 1942, the USATC ordered 382 S100s from Davenport Locomotive Works of Iowa, H. K. Porter, Inc, of Pittsburgh and Vulcan Iron Works of Wilkes-Barre. They were shipped to the British War Department in 1943, where they were stored until 1944. After D-Day, most went overseas but some remained in store.

Construction

BuildersConstruction
numbers
YearsQuantityUSATC numbers
H. K. Porter,
Vulcan Iron Works
Davenport Locomotive Works
H. K. Porter
Davenport Locomotive Works
Vulcan Iron Works
Davenport Locomotive Works
H. K. Porter
Davenport Locomotive Works
H. K. Porter
Vulcan Iron Works

Use after the Second World War

After the Second World War, SNCF bought 77 S100's and designated them class 030TU. Jugoslovenske železnice (Yugoslav State Railways) bought many S100's and designated them class 62. In the 1950s JŽ assembled more examples bringing the number of class 62 to 129. The Hellenic State Railways in Greece acquired 20 S100's and designated them class Δα (Delta-alpha). Österreichische Bundesbahnen in Austria acquired 10 and designated them class 989. Ferrovie dello Stato in Italy acquired four and designated them class 831.

Several were sold into industrial use in the US, including to Georgia Power[1] and Oklahoma Gas & Electric.[2]

The Oranje-Nassau Mijnen, a coal mining company in The Netherlands acquired two S100's (USATC 4389 and 1948)and numbered them ON-26 (Davenport 2533) and ON-27 (Davenport 2513) respectively. The ON-26 survived the scrapyard and was sold to the museum railway Stoomtrein Goes-Borsele.[3]

Other S100's entered British industrial use with the National Coal Board, Longmoor Military Railway, Austin Motor Company and others.

China acquired about 20 S100's, designating them class XK2. In 1946, Egyptian State Railways bought eight and numbered them 1151–1158. The UK War Department loaned six to Palestine Railways. In 1946 PR bought two of these, both of which subsequently entered the stock of Israel Railways in 1948.

Iraqi State Railways bought five, designated them Class SA, and gave them fleet numbers 1211–1215. All five were Davenport-built examples. At least two were still in service in March 1967: 1211 at Basrah[4] and 1214 as the station pilot at Baghdad West.[5]

Southern Railway

Powertype:Steam
Southern Railway USA class
Notes:Sources: and
Designer:Col. Howard G. Hill.
Builddate:1942-43
Buildmodel:S100
Uicclass:C n2t
Driverdiameter:55.23NaN3
Length:29feet
Wheelbase:10feet
Locoweight:46LT
Fueltype:Coal
Fuelcap:17.8Scwt
Watercap:1000impgal
Cylindercount:Two, outside
Cylindersize:NaN×
Valvegear:Walschaerts
Valvetype:80NaN0 piston valves
Boilerpressure:210psi
Tractiveeffort:216302NaN2
Operatorclass:SR: USA
Powerclass:BR: 3F
Numinclass:14 (plus one bought for spares)
Locale:Southampton Docks
Withdrawndate:1962–1967
Nicknames:Yank Tanks
Preservedunits:30064, 30065, 30070, 30072, others of base S100 class
Disposition:Four preserved, remainder scrapped

The Southern Railway (UK) bought 15 S100's (14 for operational use and one for spare parts) and designated them USA Class. They were purchased and adapted to replace the LSWR B4 class then working in Southampton Docks. SR staff nicknamed them "Yank Tanks".[6] [7]

By 1946 the SR needed either to renew or replace the ageing B4, D1 and E1 class tanks used in Southampton Docks, but Eastleigh Works was not in a position to do so in a timely manner or at an economic price. The replacement locomotives would need to have a short wheelbase to negotiate the tight curves found in the dockyard, but be able to haul heavy goods trains as well as full-length passenger trains in the harbour area.The railway's Chief mechanical engineer, Oliver Bulleid therefore inspected the surplus War Department tank locomotives. The Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST locomotives stored at the Longmoor Military Railway proved to be unsuitable for dock work because of their 11feet wheelbase and inside cylinders, and also many of the survivors were in poor condition. However, the S100s stored at Newbury Racecourse had a 10feet wheelbase, outside cylinders and had hardly been used. Those available for sale had been built by the Vulcan Iron Works of Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania and H. K. Porter, Inc, of Pittsburgh.

Bulleid therefore took Vulcan-built locomotive WD4236[8] on approval in May 1946 and tested it thoroughly over the next few months. When it was found to be suitable, this locomotive and a further thirteen were purchased in 1947 for £2500 each. Six of these had been built by Porter and the remainder by Vulcan. However, when it was discovered that there were differences in dimensions between the locomotives from different builders the SR exchanged its Porter built locomotives for Vulcans, but could only do so with five examples. The railway therefore accepted one Porter locomotive at a reduced price and purchased another to provide spare parts. Thus, the thirteen further locomotives entered traffic between April and November 1947 as soon as they had been adapted.

Construction and adaptation

Following purchase, members of the class were fitted with steam heating, vacuum ejectors, sliding cab windows, additional lamp irons and new cylinder drain cocks. Further modifications became necessary once the locomotives started to enter traffic, including large roof-top ventilators, British-style regulators (as built they had US-style pull-out ones), three rectangular cab-front lookout windows, extended coal bunkers, separate steam and vacuum brake controls and wooden tip-up seats. This meant that it took until November 1947 for the entire class to be ready for work. Radio-telephones were later installed on the footplate to improve communication on the vast network of sidings at Southampton.

The class was allocated the British Railways (BR) power classification 3F following nationalisation in 1948.

Numbering

The original locomotive carried the War Department number 4326, and the subsequent purchase were numbered between 1264 and 1284 and between 1952 and 1973. Thirteen of the locomotives were re-numbered in a single sequence from 61 to 73 by SR but 4326 retained its War Department number. The locomotive used for spares was not numbered. After 1948 they were renumbered 30061–30074 by BR. Six examples were transferred to departmental (non-revenue earning) use in 1962/3 and renumbered DS233–DS238.

Livery

During the Second World War they were painted USATC black with white numbering and lettering 'Transportation Dept.' on the tank sides. Prior to nationalisation, the locomotives were painted in Southern black livery with 'Southern' in "Sunshine Yellow" lettering. The lettering on the tank sides was changed to 'British Railways' during 1948 as a transitional measure. Finally, the class was painted in BR Departmental Malachite livery, with BR crests on the water tank sides and numbers on the cab sides.

Operational details

For fifteen years the entire class was used for shunting and carriage and van heating in Southampton Docks. They performed well and were popular with the footplatemen, but the limited bunker capacity often necessitated the provision of relief engines for some of the longer duties. Two examples were fitted with extended bunkers to address this problem in 1959 and 1960, but a more ambitious plan to extend the frames and build larger bunkers was abandoned in 1960 due to the imminent dieselization of the docks. They also often suffered from overheated axleboxes which was less of a problem when shunting but prevented them from being used on longer journeys.

A more serious issue was the condition of the steel fireboxes originally fitted to the class which rusted and fatigued quickly. This was partly due to their construction under conditions of austerity, and the hard water present in the docks. This came to a head in 1951 when several had to be laid aside until new fireboxes could be constructed. Thereafter there were no further problems.

The class was replaced from their shunting duties at Southampton from 1962 by British Rail Class 07 diesel-electric shunters, when the first member of the class was withdrawn, but the remainder were still in fairly good condition. The survivors were used for informal departmental purposes such as providing steam heating at Southampton or shunting at Eastleigh Motive Power Depot, before the withdrawal. 30072 became the pilot locomotive at Guildford Motive Power Depot and continued to carry out this duty until the end of steam on the Southern in July 1967. Six examples were officially transferred to ‘departmental’ duties and renumbered. These went to Redbridge Sleeper Depot (DS233), Meldon Quarry (DS234), Lancing Carriage Works (DS235 and DS236), and Ashford wagon works (DS237 and DS238; where they were named Maunsell and Wainwright).

Nine examples remained in service until March 1967 and five of these survived until the end of steam on the Southern Region four months later. Two of these engines, 30065/DS237 and 30070/DS238, were sold to Woodham Brothers in South Wales in March 1968. However, before they could make their journey, their bearings ran hot and were declared "unfit for travel" which lead to the two tank engines being dumped at Tonbridge. Five months later, they were taken to Rolvenden where they were purchased for preservation.[9]

Stock list

USATC No.SR No.BR No.Dept No.BuilderYearWithdrawnNotes
1264 61 30061 DS 233 Porter 7420 1942 March 1967
1277 62 30062 DS 234 Vulcan 4375 1942 March 1967
1284 63 30063 Vulcan 4382 1942 May 1962 Withdrawn due to collision damage
1959 64 30064 Vulcan 4432 1943 July 1967 Preserved
1968 65 30065 DS 237 Vulcan 4441 1943 August 1965 Preserved
1279 66 30066 DS 235 Vulcan 4377 1942 August 1965
1282 67 30067 Vulcan 4380 1942 July 1967
1971 68 30068 Vulcan 4444 1943 June 1964
1952 69 30069 Vulcan 4425 1943 July 1967
1960 70 30070 DS 238 Vulcan 4433 1943 October 1962 Preserved
1966 71 30071 Vulcan 4439 1943 July 1967
1973 72 30072 Vulcan 4446 1943 July 1967 Preserved
1974 73 30073 Vulcan 4437 1943 December 1966
4326 74* 30074 DS 236 Vulcan 4488 1943 August 1965 Never carried SR number[10]

Postwar design influence

Several European railways produced designs based on the S100. JŽ added to their class 62 by ordering several similar examples from Đuro Đaković (factory) of Slavonski Brod, Croatia. These differed in minor details, principally the use of plate frames instead of bar frames, resulting in a higher boiler pitch. This gives the steam pipes a shoulder instead of being straight, and requires smaller domes with a flatter top to fit JŽ's loading gauge.

The British Great Western Railway (GWR) had used many S100s in South Wales during the Second World War. The GWR 1500 Class was partially inspired by the S100 in its use of outside cylinders and short wheelbase.

Continuing commercial use

A small number of former JŽ 62's remain in commercial service, more than 65 years after they were built. At least two work as switcher locomotives (shunter locomotives) at the ArcelorMittal steel plant in Zenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina.[11]

Survival and preservation

More than 100 S100s survive: either preserved, stored, or derelict. Most are in Europe or North America, but there are also two in China and one in Egypt. Project 62 has an online database of them.[12]

Private owners in Baraboo, Wisconsin, are currently restoring S100 #5002. #5002 was used for the Naval Yards in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and later sold to the EJ Lavino Company in Pennsylvania, then sold to Tombstone Junction and later to the Kentucky Railroad Museum.

In 2006, one was purchased for preservation from steelworks in central Bosnia and was sent to Britain.[13]

USATC No.BuilderPost World War II OwnerLocationImage
1310Davenport 2481SEK Δα61Thessaloniki, Greece
1311Davenport 2482Anshan Steel XK2-51Sujiatun, Liaoning, China
1396H.K. Porter 7510 62-084Gračac, Croatia
1415H.K. Porter 7529SEK Δα53Thessaloniki, Greece
1430H.K. Porter 7544Benxi Steel XK2-28Benxi, Liaoning, China
1923Vulcan 4770U.S. Army Transportation Museum
1959Vulcan 4432SR 64 later BR 30064Privately owned
1960Vulcan 4433SR 70 later BR 30070Kent and East Sussex Railway
1961Vulcan 4434ÖBB 989.01 later Zuckerfabrik Siegendorf 2Probstdorf, Austria
1968Vulcan 4441SR 65 later BR 30065Kent and East Sussex Railway
1972Vulcan 4446SR 72 later BR 30072Ribble Steam Railway
1987Vulcan 4460SEK Δα65Tithorea, Greece
1999Vulcan 4472SEK Δα55Railway Museum of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
4383Davenport 2532SNCF 030.TU.22Musée vivant du chemin de fer, Longueville, France
4389Davenport 2533Oranje-Nassau coal minesStoomtrein Goes - Borsele, Netherlands
4400Davenport 2549SEK Δα57Thessaloniki, Greece
5001H.K. Porter 7461Granite Rock Co. 10California State Railroad Museum
5002H.K. Porter 7462EJ Lavino & Co 2U.S. Army Transportation Museum
5006H.K. Porter 7466Oklahoma Gas & Electric 5Oklahoma Railway Museum
5014H.K. Porter 7488Goldfield, Nevada
5019H.K. Porter 7499Albermarle Paper Co 1Old Dominion Chapter NRHS
5042H.K. Porter 7584 62-046Chemin de fer touristique Haut Quercy, Martel, France
5050H.K. Porter 7593Georgia Power Company 97Southeastern Railway Museum
6008Davenport 2597SEK Δα63Railway Museum of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
6013Davenport 2602SEK Δα59Thessaloniki, Greece
6102H.K. Porter 7682SNCF 030.TU.13Saint Pierre du Regard, France
6172Vulcan 4542SEK Δα60Thessaloniki, Greece

USA class

Four British examples of the USA class have been preserved:

Two JŽ class 62 locomotives built by the former Yugoslav Railways to foreign design have been acquired for use on the North Dorset Railway and given British liveries. There are minor technical differences.

In fiction

An engine of this prototype appears in the Thomas & Friends TV series as Rosie.[16]

References

Sources

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Locomotives - Southeastern Railway Museum . Southeastern Railway Museum. 22 December 2016 .
  2. Web site: PORTER 0-6-0T - Oklahoma Railway Museum . Oklahoma Railway Museum.
  3. Web site: Loc 4389 van Stichting Stoomtrein Goes Borsele. nl. De Nederlanse Museummaterieel Database.
  4. Web site: Image no. br670501. The Restoration & Archiving Trust. https://web.archive.org/web/20081120080214/http://www.gwrarchive.org/site/sitel2pg/Iraq/sg/gallery/br670501.html. 20 November 2008. 2007.
  5. Web site: Image no. br670322. The Restoration & Archiving Trust. https://web.archive.org/web/20081120080214/http://www.gwrarchive.org/site/sitel2pg/Iraq/sg/gallery/br670501.html. 20 November 2008. 2007.
  6. Web site: USA 0-6-0T . Southern Railway E-Group . 3 November 2018.
  7. Web site: May 25, 2018 . Yank Tanks in Southampton . 2022-08-10 . PressReader.
  8. Book: Ballantyne, Hugh . Southern steam in colour . 1985 . Jane's publishing company Ltd . London . 0-7106-0336-3 . 15 .
  9. Web site: Glasspool . David . SR USA Class 0-6-0T . Kent Rail . 15 November 2020.
  10. Web site: SREmG.
  11. Web site: Home. Project 62. 31 December 2008. 7 July 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130707202620/http://www.project62.supanet.com/index.htm. dead.
  12. Web site: Project 62's Register of USA Class 62 0-6-0T Steam Locomotives . Project 62 . 18 September 2020.
  13. News: Walton . Nicholas . Britons rescue Bosnian steam train . 18 September 2020 . BBC News . BBC News . 12 December 2006.
  14. Web site: New home for Bluebell Railway's USA Dock Tank steam locomotive . 8 June 2022 .
  15. Web site: Home. Project 62. 24 May 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20130707202620/http://www.project62.supanet.com/index.htm. 7 July 2013. dead. dmy-all.
  16. Web site: Rosie – Character Profile & Bio. Thomas & Friends - Official Website. August 26, 2017.