Diesel-Electric Locomotive, RSD-1

One of seventy diesel-electric locomotives built by the American Locomotive Company-General Electric, the RSD-1 was used on the Trans-Iranian Railroad during World War II, with electrical current supplied to the main generator through a 1000 hp six-cylinder diesel engine that drove the generator. Identified as a 0-6-6-0DE because it had six coupled driving wheels and no driving or trailing wheels, it took part in US Army operations that transported supplies through Iran to the Soviet Union from 1943 to 1945, primarily working in pairs to haul northbound freight trains over mountainous regions. After the war, these locomotives were shipped back to the US, where they continued hauling freight on military installations, were used for training, or were sold to railroad companies. This particular locomotive was manufactured in 1941 for a commercial railroad company, but before its delivery in 1942 it was sent to the Army for use in Iran. After the war it returned to the US and was sold to the Alaska Department of Transportation, where it was renumbered in the 10XX series, then later served with other government agencies before being donated to the Smithsonian Institution in the early 1980s. Ownership of the locomotive was transferred from the Smithsonian to the US Army in 2011.

Newport News, Virginia · United States