Re: Strategic Reserve.

[Janos Ero <erojr@spammail.cern.ch>]

David Bromage wrote:
> 
> Exnarc wrote:
> > Of cause after you returned all these mythical steam engines to service with
> > the Strategic Reserve of stored steam fitters, you could un thaw your
> > Strategic Reserve of Qualified Drivers and Firemen.
> 
> The Soviet army had thousands of troops to do just that. They had entire
> engineering divisions trained to regauge track in captured territory to
> 5' gauge and operate trains over it.

I am not sure this is true. (Well, I have no closer info about the Soviet
strategic planning). But they forced all East European allied countries
to buy from their 2000HP diesels (first as Class M62 in Hungary). These
were all normal gauge locos but they were also built in broad gauge
version with a regauging background. Thus I would rather guess that
for their startegic plans they intended to use normal gauge trains
with all those Soviet locomotives they sold everywhere in Eastern Europe.

AFAIK most Soviet freight cars were also capable for regauging,
but don't forget that the Soviet clearences were considerably 
higher and a bit wider than the European ones! Thus to allow 
running Soviet trains (other than flatcars) they also would
have to rebuild many bridges and tunnels!

BTW the very first of these locos, the MAV M62,001 is still operating!

Janos Ero