RAILROAD FACILITIES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600010241-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 23, 2004
• Sequence Number: 241
• Publication Date: February 26, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 220~0p44~02/ "?' GI A nDr8O
( FI~73F fi ELL GEI ICE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
COUNTRY USSR
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SECRET
NO. OF ENCLS.
(L MM SEEM)
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SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
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THIS IS UNEVAWATED INFORMATION
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1. The Soviet Union had railroad transport difficulties throughout the period cozered
by our knowletIge, because of a lack of freight cars and locomotives, poor repair
of track, and the fact that the rails were too light (30 kgs/meter).
Iloppsr cars for bulk coumodities were scarce. This meant that much hand unloading
of bulk eomnoditias had to be done. Sometimes even engineers in plants were
called out to help in this manual labor. There were also not enough tark cars;
many of the very old two-axle-type were used. Flat cars and: gondola cars for
carrying heavy loads had to be reserved many months in advance of the shiopimg date.
Tank cars were apparently always loaded to capacity. We knew of no cases where
tank cars w-re returned from an unlcading point still containing large amounts of
POL. If, for exam d, the train document showed that a car had 20 tons of per, and
it had more, t`> azcess could be sold on the black market. As evidence of full
loading of tank or we bast at Kramatorsk, fresh oil on the sides of a tank car
which had come from Baku, indicating that train motion enroute had caused some
liquid to spill out. If an individual was unloading for a plait, where he was re-
sponeibl,e for the job, all POL would be unloaded. But if he did it for a Ministry
where responsibility was not as direct, he might not be as careful to drain every
drop of POL. The only unused freight cars we saw reredsmaged_cars. We doubt
whether the Soviets have any possibility c# building up freight car rsssrces as
it would no, conform to their theory ofmaking full use.of capital goods..Freight
cars were often in bad repair, and sometimes the cargo had to be transferred to
other oars. '~!awever, train breakdowns were not too frequent, and. freight train
wrecks occurred only occasionally. On a trip from Moscow-Poveletskaya station on
Tdo.cow-Donbas line, we were impresed with how poor the rolling stock was.
y. The railroals did r ,t lfave en
out. er+:ss for loading end ra7.oadfag hear Am
',Tv beiisve that there ms little s~sehsrefeel equicaseat for trsnsloadiM at Brest
bscavae of The slowness with which frei
ht
g
moves from Sovsone German to T SR
This conclusion is based on an experience in
Geman shipping same winches from govsone
y to the USSR. This wax an important shipment, and its delay in Brest caused
one of the ministers (probably the Minister for Machinery) to go.to.nvestigate
personally.
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4. To get personal attention by train personnel on freight shipments, and'tD.assure
reasonably prompt delivery of freight shipments, administrative personnel "of
plants often bribe; railroad personnel, Bribes Were also necessary to obtain
passenger ttcketsy those who did not give bribes would sometimes have to wait for
weeks to get tickets. In winter, traffic was often delayed because of the lack
of snow plows. This often hell up train movement for days, In snueer trains opera-
ted pretty much on schedule. :2t the spring and autumn, trucks could ne7ther j'.
liver freight to, nor receive traffic from minor stations (called punkts) because
roads were too muddy.
The origin and dest.nation of a freight shipment is not shown on the outside of the
Soviet freight oars. We are sure of this because we did notice that it .a-s taosn
v, freight cars in Germany. One reason for not putting this information on the
outside of Soviet cars was that people would steal the paper beeaise there was such
s shorts a of writing gaper. We saw soar Soviet freight cars on which the original
sir mover had been crossed out and a nww one painted below the old meaner. Tale
r, ?ron 36 to 4S hours V--_a was usually permitted for the unloading of freight ch.-S.
sicwrever, norm were set for loading and unloading tiles, depending on the facilities
n7aileble at the shipping and receiving points. Zhus,if a coal loading-point had
cu'ksrs from which coal could be dropped into cars, its norm. for loading timr was
n- h less than if loading facilities-weer. not as favorable for rapid loading.
If ciaipment reports were bald beyond the tins permitted by an organization, they
would be sent to the Ministry which governed the orgar;zaticn. Breakage was
heavy. This was often due to over-economy in use of'pecking materials. In addition,
loading and unloading was not done carefully] and caused much damays to coca odities,
in part, this breakage was due to lack of-interest by workers,
7, Freight cars were never loaded beyond the market capacity, because there was a
likelihood that the individual,vho did so would be called to account for ;.to
neither was there underloading, except where necessary. For example, if 15-ton
machines were being loaded in a 50-ton box car, the organization would load three
;.iv'hines, for a total of 45 tons, but would not load four machines for a total of
60 tons. The heaviest load carried by a railroad car which was known to us was
a 126-ton steam hydraulic press. It was probably oarried on a 16-axle flat car.
The Soviets have published-handbooks for heavy industries which give axle ivadiegs
and types of cars used for various types of heavy loads. It sclso gives instructs z s
on how to load and secure the cargo. When a freight car is loaded, the pi-ant t=een
it over to a railroad representative in the plant area. the railroad inspec ts_the
ontents, signs the documents for the car, and seals the car. Freight cars;, must be-
sesled in IISSR, because if they were not, the contents would; bestolee
8. Pc odically, wheels and axles would have to be pat'in a lathe to, restore the xnco~
s,=face. New axles bad a diameter of 110-120 as at the point where the bearings
to ,bed; but after succeasly, tannings on the lathe, the dimension night be re uc.I
to as little as 85 mu. This lowered the perAissible maxim- axle, loading',, which
has shown by painting a new tonnage capacity an the side of Abe oar. standards were
sat up to indicate the stile.m dimension of an axle, after which ;the `axle was re
placed.. There were similar standards for wheels. When-a cast wheel reached the,
mints+r dime:aion it was replaced,-` wheels with tires wo_:ld ha.ve'tthe tirs,changed.
9. We believe that Y,,-olling stock with adjustable axles was not practioalr,sad that in.
formation on it war disseminated for propaganda purposes only,
10, Railroads were not a bottleneck for the expansion of basic industries. Each plant
had to have reserves of fuel e.nd raw materials. Although they,'were forbiddesn to
draw on these reserves, they did so when railroads fell behind in deliveries. How-
ever, these factories never used up their'ressrves, since the railroads would always
get dolivepyka back on schedule before it .was too late.. The reserves give some
flexibility to plans and we never heard of a plant having to shut down.beoause it
had used up its reserves.. On the other . hand,, tractor stations sometimes: did; have
to stop work because parts oT fuel had'not been delivered.
31. Freight which is enroute cannot be traced, although the numbers of the oars are
telegraphed ahead, and the documents are mailed ahead. Freight oars are often
lost because they are placed in trains going in the wrong direot?on from a Junction
point. To expedite the movement of a freight car, the factory must send a man with
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cars -o# important freight (we do, to* know It hi rods with the freight trai n,,, or
Trent sb?ad to. junction poizs.by 5asseiger train). At e4oh _junction yard this
man watchos to me; that.tbe trri,$ht war is placed in;!}h.. proper train, end be
bribes, officials or *orkers whore necessary: to sea, xhtt his car is given expedited
service. It was dafini:.'ly necessary U bribe to rece$ve'nornal service.
120 B?fore World War'IT., pas?.enger trains were ofte'h held ups to let freight trains pass.
But tollowing"the wat, pass anger trains were given higher priority. In the 1USS)
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freight trains seem,to more as fast-on the line as passet er trains. Presumably,
train grapnsO in which tae 'schedule of each train is plotted on graph pager, existed
After World War II, main lines weregettin; now, rolling stock, while old rolling
stock was being used. on seccindary lines whioh have weaker tracks., 7rr"woul4 4sti-,
mate about 40% of tine cars in the Donets basin w-re, four-axle.
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14. In the USSR there are through-freight trains running between Moscow and the
Donbas, and also between the Donbas and large cities south of Uoscow. =Sovzone
Gormanyr has far more trains per day omits main lines than does the USSR.
150 Soviet railroad personnel did not wear uniforms until the and of the at. They
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