Re: Strategic Reserve.

[Martin Silsby <msilsby@tassie.net.au>]

Doesn't the NSW or Victorian railways have a few steam locos set aside for this
type of situation? It would make sense to me.

Roy Wilke wrote:

> No coal or oil - but can't steam locomotives also burn wood? Or anything that
> can be burnt in the loco's firebox, for that matter? Diesels and electrics, I
> take it, are a bit more fussy on what fuel they use.
>
> But getting away from the war-type thing, the idea of a railway retaining a
> 'strategic reserve' of locomotives and rolling stock for unforeseen
> emergencies sounds like a wise thing to do. Floods, for example. If the track
> isn't washed away, the idea of retaining a handful of steam locos or
> diesel-hydraulic locos for use in flood-affected areas wouldn't be a bad
> idea.
>
> David Bromage wrote:
>
> > 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