1. REFRIGERATOR TRAINS IN THE USSR 2. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION ON SOVIET RAILROADS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80T00246A050300020001-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 20, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: August 24, 1959
• Content Type: REPORT

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INFORMATION REPORT INFORMATION REPORT
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This material contains information affecting the National Defense of the United States within the meaning of the Espionage Laws, Title
18, U.S.C. Secs. 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
DATE OF
INFO.
PLACE &
DATE ACQ.
1. Refrigerator Trains in the USSR
2. Miscellaneous Information on
Soviet Railroads
REPORT
DATE DISTR. A k& (~k s t /
NO. PAGES 1
REFERENCES RD 50X1-HUM
SOURCE EVALUATIONS ARE DEFINITIVE. APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
a nine-page) report on refrigerator
trains in the USSR and miscellaneous information on Soviet railroads.
STATE X ARMY I j-NAVY r X AIR
F81
AEC
LI
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RAILROADS CF THE USSR
Att .
REFRIGM TOR TRAINS IN THE USSR
The make-up of a refrigerator train
The train is composed of a locomotive, diesel-electric or steam,
a car call the power plant, in.which are installed the 50X1-HUM
diesel motors which produce the electric power; another car, the re-
frigerating plant, in which are mounted the compressors, condensers,
brine pumps, and all the refrigerating apparatus; and finally, a third
car, occupied by the personnel who tend the equipment and by all the
gauges and remote control instruments. The train proper consists of
20 cars refrigerated by calcium chloride brine, which circulates through
coils located in the car roofs.
These trains carry a total of 600 tons of refrigerated cargo,
chiefly frozen products.
The cars are four-axle, with roller bearings, air brakes, and
automatic coupling.
They are metal cars, thermically insulated, of course. The re-
frigerating surface of the coils is about 120 square meters.
The power-plant car has three diesel motors, connected directly
to their alternating-current generators, with a total capacity of
260 horsepower
The temperature inside the car can be maintained down to -100
Centigrade, with a temperature outside of more than 30?C.
The brine, driven by a pump, circulates at a temperature between
minus 15 and minus 17 degrees Centigrade.
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The car couplings of the brine tubes are flexible metal tubing.
Temperature regulation in each car is completely automatic, con-
trolled by solenoid valves. The temperature in the cars can vary, be-
cause the thermostats operate absolutely independently.
The operation of the power plant and the refrigerating plant is
also completely automatic, controlled by start and stop mechanisms
through electrothermal relays.
Consequently, no personnel of any kind ride in these cars.
The refrigerator cars are equipped with electric fans which cir-
culate the air inside the cars to maintain the desired temperature more
easily and avoid fluctuations of temperature as far as possible.
The refrigerating agent used is ammonia.
In view of the special climatic conditions and the great varia-
tions in temperature in the regions through which the train travels, an
electric heating system is also provided, which, like the cooling system,
also operates automatically when the outside temperature is too low.
The personnel car is equipped with living quarters for the seven-
man train crew.
These are specialists in diesel engines and refrigeration machinery,
as well as specialized electricians.
This car also has a panel with thermometers and all kinds of indi-
cators, operating by remote control, by means of which it is possible
to follow the operation of the equipment and observe at any time whether
the train is functioning properly.
There is radiotelegraphic communication with the locomotive, and
consequently with the general network.
These trains are coupled to the locomotives which run on the routes
which the trains travel; but they are completely independent of the trac-
tion system.
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50X1-HUM
Alt
These trains are used to haul refrigerated products, and especially
frozen products, for great distances. They call a distance of 10,000
to 12,000 kilometers "great". The average period of time which they
take to cover those great distances is abcut 2 weeks.
The operational cycle of these trains is calculated at 4 months, at
the end of which they go to bases for repair, overhaul, cleaning, and
preparation Lfor a new run].
They have four big bases with mechanics and shops for all these re-
pairs, the whole length of the railway from the Ukraine and Moscow to
Vladivostok.
Since the work of the personnel is very hard, they are relieved
frequently.
The cars are insulated with a spongy plastic product called IPORCA
Lsic]. 50X1-HUM
fthe cost per ton-kilometer for merchandise hauled on
these trains is about equal to the cost for hauling it in refrigerator
cars using natural ice. The cost is calculated to be 10 kopeks per
ton-kilometer (one ruble equals 100 kopeks).
These cars are 15 meters in length. "Iporca" plastic insulation is
of a uniform thickness of 15 centimeters.
The over-all "K" coefficient for these cars is 0.32.
75 in operation,
these trains_,
are perfected and their performance is satisfactory.
There are also some groups of two cars, with a refrigerating plant
connected as shown in the following figure:
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At t.
The refrigerating-plant compartment has a diesel motor coupled to a
generator, which supplies the power to run the compressor, fans, etc.
The other compartment in the other car, in which the personnel ride, has
50X1-HUM
a control and instrument panel also.
Two men constitute the crew of Lone of] these groups; they work in
shifts.
They also have a kind of car with a compartment for the diesel-
electric unit and compressor and refrigeration machinery.
The two-car groups described above are also used for long hauls,
coupled to passenger trains, or forming special trains.
The cars with independent units are used for shorter distances and
are coupled to fast passenger trains.
these last two types of cars are in an experimental
stage.
In addition, they have 60,000 ice-cooled refrigerator cars. The
ice is placed in tanks in the sides and in the roof. The cars are being
modified so that all the tanks will be in the roof, for they prefer to
carry the ice in roof tanks.
The load of ice per car is about 6.5 tons. The cars are four-axle,
13.5 meters in length.
The modern metal cars are 17 meters long and have roller bearings,
which enable them run at a speed of 100 kilometers an hour.
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50X1-HUM
There are also dry-ice refrigerator cars, but 80 percent of the
cars are refrigerated with natural ice.
They form and collect this natural ice by a clever method, utiliz-
ing the temperature of the atmosphere. The consumption of natural ice 50X1-HUM
is 18 million tons, compared with 2.75 million tons of artificial ice.
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,,u.\ i HUM
They prefer diesel-electric locomotives and use them almost ex-
clusively, using only a few mechanical ones for switching locomotives.
Most of the locomotives have a small number of axl-s. 50X1-HUM
have locomotives of up to 6,000 horsepower, with a weight per
axle of 20 tons. 50X1-HUM
They have one of the most modern diesel-electric
locomotives, with a radio, a device for limiting speed, and cab signal-
ling.
with the speeds of up to 150
kilometers per hour which the trains traveled, it was e3sential that the
track be in the best condition.
They have rails 25 meters in length, 65 kilograms to the meter.
They use welded stretches of track, varying in length from 800
to 1500 meters, depending on the profile of the line and on the cli-
mate of the region in which it is located. The ties are of wood,
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50X1-HUM
although they are beginning to use prestressed concrete. The ties
50 centimeters apart (from center-to-center, of course) except on curves,
where they are 44 centimeters apart.
The joints of the rails never rest on ties
They have all the usual equipment in the way of jacks, mechanical
tools, gauge testes, etc.
a powerful jack) places the length
of track at the exact distance Lfrom the next length] calculated for that
site on the basis of the temperatures, so that expansion will not cause
trouble.
When they replace track or lay a new stretch, once the ground has
been tamped, they have a special train for laying prefabricated track,
with gantry cranes and a system which enables them to lay
15 kilometers per hour.
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They have about 200,000 kilometers of broad-gauge lines besides
8C,000 kilometers of the same gauge in factories, mines, and enterprises
(they cannot be called private lines, for they all belong to the state,
but they operate independently of the national network).
Forty percent of the length of lines is double-track, but these
figures of 200,000 and 80,000 kilometers do not count the double track
where there is such.
They have multiple tracks almost nowhere.
They have electric, diesel-electric, and steam traction. They use
coal for steam traction
The electric power network is almost all 1,500-volt, although they
have some 3,000 volt. They are experimenting with supplying alternating
current at 22,000 volts, with good results.
They use electric traction in places where working conditions and
climate are especially difficult.
They have a plan for the electrification of major lines, and in
comparison with the 5,000 kilometers which is electrified now they
expect:
In 1950, a total of 13,000 kilometers, as far as Lake Baykal.
In 1970, a total of 30,000 as far as Vladivostok.
In 1975, a total of 55,000 kilometers.
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rin)1-HI IAA
.vtt
in 1970 steam traction will have practically dis-
appeared, with electric and diesel-electric traction substituted. They
are using this latter especially in the south of Asia [sic] and in the
50X1-HUM
50X1-HUM
They have 20-ton freight cars, with roller bearings, which run in
trains at 100 kilometers an hour.
They also have special cars of all kinds, besides the well-known
ones. The only special car
was for the transport of live fish. 50X1-HUM
h are also hauled for consumption,
used only for pisci culture and for
transporting fish for stocking lakes, ponds, and rivers.
At the present time, passenger cars are all made of metal, and
they are insulated with the same material as the refrigerator cars;
They use automatic coupling,
I This coupling, of
course, rsduces the shock, and it has an uncoupling device controlled
from the sides of the cars,
they inspect the axles of all rolling stock
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