USSR RAILROADS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600040510-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 21, 2011
• Sequence Number: 510
• Publication Date: September 17, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
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1 ... 751, ., n. ..,. ...,, i ........ ... : .. l..l.. .. ....
DATE DISTR. /7 Sep 1953
NO. OF PAGES
NO. OF ENCLS,
MISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
1. Q. What was the average life of freight cars in the USSR?
A. The life of a freight car depended upon the type of load hauled and the road-
beds over which the cars moved. Cars were usually constructed of oak timbered
frames and pine sides. There were very few steel cars. The overall average
of wooden cars was about 20 years. The cars being used for hauling coal, ore,
construction material and other heavy products, particularly in th. Kuzbas
ai Donbas areas, had an average life of about 10 years.
2. Q. What via the average daily and yearly run (in kme and in hours) of a locomotive
crew? What was the time out for repairs of various classes?
A. All personnel xorks an eight-hour day as a rule. A locomotive crew cannot
exceed 12 hours n day. This limit is imposed as a safety factor. However,
time spent in waiting for a train to be readied to move is only counted at
half time. Therefore, a crew would be on duty for more than 12 hours if part
of this time was "standby" time. A total of 192 hours is set for a normal
work month. Therefore, a.locomotive crew can vori 192 (monthly hours) times
12 months, less two weeks (vacation) or a yearly total of 2208 hours. Th
the USSR there is a regulation tbat.a locuamotlve can be operated only by two
crews. This system, called "Sparennyy", or "coupled" in English, was estab-
lished to fix responsibility. Previously, crews were assigned haphazardly.
Now, a locomotive crew is assigned to a nm between Station A and Station B.
a distance of 7; kin It takes five hours to,make the run. After arriving
at Station B a new or different locomotive is attached. The original locomotive
and crew, with another train attached, returnsto Station A, after checking,
refueling and watering. This means that the locomotive and crew travels
approximately 150 loss a day or 10 hours operating time as an average.
The annual run, in kms, can be figured as follows: Each month there is a three
CLAS ! (CATION CURFIDJiTIAL/SECURITY INFORMATION
DISTRIBUTION
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/21: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600040510-1
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/21: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600040510-1
CONFID e'TI_AL/SECURITY INFORMATION
-2-
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day period during which the locomotive is laid up for inspection and miscellaneous
small repairs. Taking into consideration also a perind of capital maintenance which
takes place every five years and which is approximately three months in duration^we
can arrive at the following: Each year there is approximately one half month lost
through capital maintenance, then adding the 36 days a year for the monthly inspec-
tion periods, we have a figure of 51 days operating time which is lost. Th 31 days
a year from 365 gives a total operating time of 314 days per year. At an average
daily run of 150 kilometers, a total figure of 47,100 hams is arrived at for the
? there of each type (freight, passenger, sw:itchiog_2
yearly run of a locomotive
3 Q At the locomotive division point
a the Kiev cyute eng ees
were generally divided into two classes. passenger and freight. Old., obsolete anginal
that were not golna to haul passengers or freight were used for switching. There
were also small Diesel engines but these were very ararce,
the Ukraine in 1945-there were the following classes o _oc
FREIC iT
SU Old, obsolete passenger locoaaotiveo .rss;1 fox faei),ht. Built prior
to 1917
SA ? ? ..
R
AB .1 O
Is (Yosef Stalin) - built around 1936 or 1937, one of the first stream-
lined freight models. The maxinr.rm speed was 110 kms per hour; the
working speed was about 60 kras.
M (believed to be named for Molotov) built. about 1936 or 1937, one of
the first streamlined models
KV (Klemrentiy Voroshilov) built appr?oxmat_:iy 1930 or 19.35
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still in production
VV n
SHCH E CH (riot. !mown for wiua ruye?.7 b t b,_tw n i 1~IlO and '1916 originally,
but still in production
FD (Feiiks Dzcrzhinskiy - former NXVD head, most modern locomotive,
1936-1937 model.
In 1939 or 1940 there was published in the USSR a R1ai1Lo ' Caa?de::ce Book which gave the
types and speeds and power of the various locos tive.. hese figures
fairly accurate. Undoob edi,y a.c.opy of this book could ' found at the Library o
Congress.
4. Q. Of these locomotives (or of any one type), how many were (o) operating on the line,
(b) waiting ready to go out on a run, (c) in reserve in operable r_ona9.ition,