Re: Strategic Reserve.

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

Janos Ero wrote:
> 
> 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.

That's all true, but if it ever came to war the lesson from WW2 is that
transhipping takes time. The "railroad divisions" were supposed to be
able to regauge track about as fast as the combat forces could capture territory.

"Weapons and tactics of the Soviet Army" by David Isby (Jane's, New
Work, 1981) has a brief description of railroad divisions.

Cheers
David