Re: Strategic Reserve.

[David Bromage <dbromage@omni.com.au>]

David Bromage wrote:
> I've never heard of a strategic reserve of locomotives in the UK, but
> several countries in Central and Eastern Europe had locomotive reserves
> in case of war.

I should clarify this by adding that it was the Soviet military and the
Ministry of Transportation, not the various state railways, which
maintained the strategic reserve of locomotives in eastern Europe. A
good summary can be found in "Soviet Locomotives: The Union Legacy" by
Frank Stenvall. 

About 300 Kriegsloks were still in storage in 1991. Some were in East
Germany and others in Poland, Hungary and Romania. Some were sold to MAV
in (I think) 1965, and later returned to the Hungarian strategic reserve
when replaced with diesels. A handful of Kriegsloks were converted to
broad gauge, but about 6000 Er and L class locos were also in storage so
there was little need for them. 

Unfortunately most of them were cut up by the cash strapped Russians,
but some in the former East Germany survived and have been restored. One
ex-reserve steam loco hauled a trainload of departing Russian troops as
its test run. Dramatic irony indeed!

For examples, see:

http://www.bahnhofplatz.com/tog/ztog.dir/ztog_br52.html
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/3976/bdz/bdzstratres.html (list
of the entire Bulgarian strategic reserve!)

Sweden and Finland also had reserves. There is a company selling ex-SJ
reserve locomotive to American tourist railroads.

Cheers
David