INFORMATION CONCERNING THE KIEV-POLTAVA SECTION OF THE SOUTHERN RAILROAD SYSTEM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00047R000400510006-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 2, 2013
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: June 17, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

filth eAl.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/05/02 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400510006-4
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
11417C)FthAATIC)14 FIE:PC)FIT
COUNTRY USSR
SUBJECT Information Concerning the Kiev-Poltava Section
of the Southern Railroad System
PLACE
ACQUIRED
50X1
DATE
ACQUIRED BY SOURCE
DATE OF INFORMATION
TRIO DOCumENT CONTAINS 10400150TION APPOOTINO TRI RATIONAL OgfERSA
Or Tole 001110 114710, 0170111 Tog OCARINA OF Ting 191 SECTIONS 703
ANA 794, Or TOO U.S. 10011, A. AMANDAO. ITS T500I51$11105 04 SM.
LAT1on or ITS CONTENTS TO OA RICAIPT Or AR oRAOTHOSIISO PARSON II
roo01911To eV LAS. Tot KKKKKK UOT1OR OF IRIS FOSS 19 ER901017E0,
SOURCE
50X1
11.10911.71RiniMMINGIMII{
DATE DISTR. /7 Jun 1954
NO. OF PAGES 3 50X1
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
1. Wood ties were used exclusively on the Kiev-Poltava line, pine being
used predominately and a small amount of oak* Oak ties were generally
considered too expensive for overall use, All ties were delivered
untreated and were creosoted by railway employees, They Were not-
'pre-bored for spikes nor were they pre-adzed for tie plates. Because
most of the ties were green wood, much damage was done to them while
being installed. The tips were of such poor quality that the average
life was but three to five years, One factor that reduced the life of
the ties was the fact that the roadbeds were made up of a mixture of sand
and clay which held the moisture and caused the ties to rot quickly.
This was true of both pine and oak ties.
The condition of ties was checked regularly by section crew and a
yearly overall inspection was also made. The replacement rate was
usually about 25% for main lines (averaged about four hundred ties
per kilometer Per year). This was not true of secondary lines and
sidings where replacement requirements were disregarded and ties were
replaced only if urgently needed. As a result, there were many
accidents and derailments on secondary lines and sidings.
3; Officially, ties were not graded; however, the railroad would select
the best ties for the main, heavily traveled lines and use the rest
on sidings and secondary lines. In selecting the main line ties,
the railroad looked for those with a minimum number of knots, a width
of 25 centimeters and at least a thickness of 15 centimeters, However,
if such measurements could not be.met from the ties delivered to the
railroad, they would use whatever Was available, The ties would be
spaced about two-thirds of a me-t4r apart on thel main lines or two ties
each one and one-third meters. ,There were approximately 1,500 ties
per kilometer on the main line and an average of 1,400 to 1,500 per
CLASSIFICATION
SECRET
DISTRIBUTION
?FT
50X1
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/05/02 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400510006-4
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/05/02 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400510006-4
5.EICRET
-2-
kilometer on the secondary lines and sidings.
4, Rails WPre. d.ivied into P:mr?clm,P.,se; type 2-4, type 2, type 3, and type 4.
The latter, type 4 was an olO, preeRevolution-madeeail and was not found
very often. Type 3 was a short, light rail on which production was
discontinued or limited in vantity in the early 1930's.with the
introduction of the new, heavier locomotives of the S type. Type 2 was
used on secondary lines where traffic was a little heavier than ordinary
and on some lightly traveled main lines. Type 3A, however, was the heaviest
and best rail and was used on main lines exclusively depending on the type
of locomotives used (that is, the heaviest) and the density of traffic,
an unable to recall specific weights and measurements of rails, but as an
average, rails were about 24 paces long. Each rail was stamped with the
date of manufacture, plant name, the weight, as well as the type,
5. The technical norm set for the life of a rail was 25 years. However, there
was a-nigh percentage of defective rails and the average was lower than 25
years. Another factor which reduced the life spar was the introduction of
heavier engines and train loads. When rails were removed from main lines
as unservicable, they were usually installed on secondary lines and sidings,
where the: were permitted to remain indefinitely since there was no technical
norm and traffic was much lighter. I never heard ofrerolled rails being used.
Rails wore flat .very quickly (about two years) en the main lines because of
? the rapid introduction of newer, heavier engines.
6. Coal was the only fuel. used on. the Kiev-Poltava line. The amount CI' fuel
consumed depended on. the -type of locomotive used and the lead of the train.
The most. common type locomotive_ used on the freight run was the Joseph Stalin
whicheveighedp I believe, about 50 metric tons without tender. - The distance
from Kiev to Poltava wee about 307 kilometers and the trip, including stops, took
between 10 end 15 hours. While the technical speed norm was 15 km, the actual
speed was beten 30 and 35 kmph, To pull ail averaae train of about 75 cars
and a.gx0 weight, including locomotive of 2,400 metric tope, about one car
load, of y.al was consumed for the trip between Darnitsa and Poltava.. .Qne:
cox' Ifja* eoal weighed about 1,800 metric tons. ?I would like to point
out that .anyemore than 75.. loael.ed cars or ai ! iced heavier than 2,400 mt for
a train proved to be too difficult to switch and handle. Likewise,. an empty
train of Mote than two hundred cars was too cumbersome to handle, The average
passenger train had. from 12 to 15 cars, on the Kiev-Poltava-run. Various types
of locomotives were used but being lighter and smaller than freight locomotives,
they used less fuelp While, the technical speed norm for passenger trains was:
60 kmp'eG the actual speed was about 75 kmph. I am not familiar with actual
fudl. consumption figures. Om the whole the degree of utilization of loco-
motives was very low. Attempts to alleviate the situation were made by trying
otheretypes Of fuel, heavier loade (trains), extension or lengthening of
sidings, Use of beavier:rails, and, to improve the coordination of all traffic.
However, -all attempts to improve alwaye failed to produce the expected results.
,ea
7. The KievePoltava section,was-, rot electrified as of 1943 nor wereany diesel
locomotiveeetsed. For. nignalingo? the ,telegraph and manual (zhezlovaya)
system. were'used. There was one major bridge, of about 20 spans (single
track),,over the. Dnepr liver at Kiev. It was about one kilometer .in length
and about:20.:Veters above the water,- This particular bridge was destroyed
duringliOrld:War 11, Below Darnitsa two tunnels were started just before
WorldWarai-underthe Dnepr. WO4: wAS stopped on them during the ware
never heard of the Germans doing anything with them.
.8. The hump was used at Poltava and about five freight trains were made up .
daily, -A total of 28 to 32 freight. trains .passed through Poltava --as an
average around 1940. Being a. ."home depot", there were about 115 _freight
locomotives at. Poltava, six switehind locomotives?and 15 passenger, locomotives.
Freight, locomotives were of the-"Shch" and "Ekho" types and passenger....
locomotives of the "S" and"Stalin" types.
9. The line was divided into two sections, track madntainance and repair
service. Veen had two sections about 150 km long and each had about
five hundred wor'kers, divided into repair teams. Each team had a technician.
foreman and between 10 and 15 workers. Only about one half of the workers
SECRET
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/05/02 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400510006-4
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/05/02 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400510006-4
SECRET
were qualified. qualified Thieves due in part to the several "purges" the railroe
systems went through plus the fact that punishments were severe for
infractions of rules and failure to accomplish required norms, causing a
large turnover in workers. This, turnovertinlabor was solved in 1940 by
freezing workers to their jobs
755.224
755224
755.51
334N
234N
" 334N
-end-
755.35
755.35
755.2t1
234N
334N
34N
755.51
234N
755,81
234N
755.223
234N
7557'(
3314N
755.223
334N
75.321.
334N
761,114
334N
761 .306
334N
762.4o6
334N
SECII:60"
50X1
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release @ 50-Yr2013/05/02 : CIA-RDP82-00047R000400510006-4