Alright Everyone. So, As you are probably aware, there is currently 1 USATC S160 that's currently operational in the United States: Great Smoky Mountains Railroad 1702. So, I have a question regarding the locomotive's original home. I hear one source say the locomotive operated in Fort Bragg, NC, but steamlocomotive.info says the locomotive originally ran in Fort Bennings, GA. So, which is it? Can anybody clear this up for me?

Purely from memory, but wasn't this locomotive from Warren and Saline River, then to Reader RR and then a succession of shortline/tourist lines?

IIRC, Reader sent a representative to Mexico in the 60s and purchased some major parts from the NdeM that improved her appearance.

Fort Eustis, then Reader Railroad, if memory serves.

Tourret's "United States Army Transportation Corps Locomotives" (published in 1977) states that the 1702 and two other S160s "were at Fort Eustis around 1947 and were probably there during the war."

Hull's "Shortline Railroads of Arkansas" (published 1969) says the 1702 (Baldwin, 1942) was sold in 1946 to the Warren & Saline River, retired in 1961, and sold to the Reader in 1964.

Alan Maples

Greetings:
Bob Lemuth's Baldwin list shows it at Fort Eustis until sold to the Warren & Saline River in 1946 (which agrees with R. Tourret).
Be well,
J.David

As for the rest of the S-160s that remained in the U.S. -

Of the reported 2,120 S-160s that ware built, only a few operated in the U.S. The Alaska Railroad bought seven (ARR-551 - 557) new from Baldwin. All were modified for U.S. use with knuckle couplers, power reverse, generator, automatic fire door, bell, pilot, and a few other changes. Five others were apparently obtained by the ARR as war surplus. Of these, two (562 and 562) were obtained in May, 1948 and had previously operated at Camp Claiborne. It appears that the other three were obtained as war surplus but were new when acquired. These three were apparently configured for European use and the U.S. modifications were done by the Alaska Railroad. As best as I can tell, the only other S-160s were those at Ft. Eustis. Including 1702, I can account for five S-160s at Ft Eustis (606, 607, 611, and 612). 610, manufactured in 1952, was a variation on the S-160 design. I understand that some, but not all of the Ft. Eustis S-160s had power reverse adn it is likely that those configured similarly to the ones that came to Alaska. So . . . there were apparently only 17 S-160s that remained in the U.S. 1702 was the only one that went into commercial service. The Alaska Railroad was Federally owned and operated until 1985, when it became an independent corporation owned by the State of Alaska.

I have found no evidence that the S-160 designation was used by the military or the builders when the locomotives were built. I understand it was coined by Tourret when he misinterpreted some information from ALCO. It is not used on drawings or in meeting minutes made during the design process and attended by the project engineer and representatives of the three builders.

Tourret appears to have erred in saying two of the ARR locomotives had been to Europe. The two he says returned from Europe were the two that came from Camp Claiborne. Comparing operating rosters for Camp Claiborne and acquisition information from the Alaska Railroad, there was only a short time time when the locomotives aren't positively located and it is highly unlikely that a used locomotive would have been shipped to Europe and then to Alaska during that short time.

A minor addition to Dick's comments on the "S-160" consolidations.

#1601, #3409 and #3410 all operated on the Claiborne and Polk as confirmed by photographic evidence and surviving train sheets. 1601 was the first Alco built "S-160" and the others were Baldwin built. 1601 went to the ARR as the 562, 3409 became the 561 and the 3410, the 560.

Regarding Fort Eustis, keep in mind that it was not always the home to the Transportation Corps. During World War II it was a Coast Artillery Replacement Training Center. I've seen pictures of rail-mounted artillery and heavy mortars on the post during the post-WW I era but I don't have any specifics on what motive power was there at the time. The Transportation School didn't arrive until 1946.

During the last decade most TC training was relocated to Fort Lee, VA, although rail training and some others remain at Joint-Base Langley-Eustis, the consolidation of the former Langley AFB and Fort Eustis. The Transportation Museum is still at Eustis, too.

Thanks for the correction.

Another bit of trivia - This group has almost consecutive builders and USATC numbers. The last three still exist.

ARR-555, USATC 2626, BLW 69854
ARR-556, USATC 2627, BLW 69855
US Army 611, USATC 2628, BLW 69856
US Army 612, USATC 2630, BLW 69858

So, the engine is originally from Fort Eustis?

That looks like the most likely candidate. There doesn't appear to be much on line about the Ft. Eustis railroad when it used steam, except at the very end of that era. The circa 1967 booklet, "Rails to Possum Trot" says, "This trim 2-8-0 was originally built in 1942 for the U.S. Corps of Engineers for use in Europe during World War II. Somehow or other, the locomotive never was shipped overseas and ended up stored at Norfolk, Virginia at war's end. An Arkansas short line - the Warren and Saline River - purchased the engine in 1946 and used it until 1961 when it dieselized." (The USA Transportation Corps was formed from part of the Corps of Engineers around the time that the S-160 design was being developed.)

It's interesting that 1702 has retained its original USATC number through at least four subsequent owners. (In addition to the railroads already listed, it apparently also operated on the Fremont and Elkhorn Railroad in Nebraska after leaving the Reader.)

I remember the off-set smokebox door was centered by cutting out a crescent on one side and welding it into the other, thus moving the hole. I believe there's more about this in Ziel and Foster's "Steam in the Sixties".

I have been researching USATC Consolidations for over six years. As I stated a few posts up, I had become convinced that "S-160" wasn't a valid designation for the design as it was not used on any documentation. Yesterday I found a source that proved me wrong. The attached comes from a nine-page specification for the locomotive prepared by ALCO. It gives the "locomotive type" as "280-S-160." A similar specification from Baldwin gives the class as 280 19 S. No designation is given on the Lima specification. Although S-160 only applies to locomotives built by ALCO, at least there is a source showing where it came from.

I see a locomotive weight of 160,000 lbs. Probably where the designation came from.

I see...