TRANSLOADING FACILITIES AT CHERNYAKHOVSK AND BIRKENFELD

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R009900170004-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 27, 2003
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: February 6, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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FEB 1952 04_""
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Dooumant X10. ------------- ?? --
COUNTRY USSR (Kaliningrad Oblast)
SUBJECT Tranaloading Facilities at Chernyakhovsk
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Class.
Auth.i N m 4N -2
AU2 09 a.,
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
OF THE UNITED STATES, WITHIN THE MEANING OF TITLE 18, SECTIONS 793.
AND 790, OF THE U.S. CODE, A$ AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR REVS-
LOTION, OF ITS CONTENTS TO OR RECEIPT DY AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS
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SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
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1. In East Prussia, facilities for trancloading from standard to Soviet gauge
are available only on the Poznan-0lshtyn-Korshe-Zheleznodorozhnyy (54-21N,
21-19E)-Chernyakhovak (54-38N,4-49E) line near Chernyakhovak. The freight
station in Chernyakhovck was converted into a tranzloading point,and a new
trsnaloading station ryas eatabiished in Birkenfeld, five km southwest of
Che zVakkovsk station on the GhnZ?ryakhovsk-Zheleznodorozhnyy line. Both
Soviet gauge and combined Soviet-standard-gauge lines lead into the Chern-
yakhovsk area from the east. There are the double-track, Soviet-gauge
Sovetsk (55-03N,ZL-514)-Chernyakkovak line; the Chernyakkovck-Birkenfeld
line, nhick kas.a Soviet-gauge and a standard-gauge track; the standard-
gauge, single-track Birkenfeld-Zheleznodorozlnyy line,, and the Chernyakkovsk-
Kaliningra.d line, which is believed to have two Soviet-gauge. tracks. How-
ever, according to some sources, the latter line has both Soviet-gauge and
standard-gauge tracks.
Chern3rakhovsk Transloading Point
2. Cherriy.akkovak is the junction of the Poznan-Riga and the Kaliningrad-
Viln,us trunk lines. In the summer of 1945, the Chernyakkovck station,
wkicn had about 20 tracks, was converted into a freight tranaloading
point. The station area is about 900x400m The installations include:
a station building, which is still in ruins an engine abed; a concrete
loading-ramp 300 meter` long, cix.to eight meters wide,and 1.2 meters
high; a wooden loading-ramp 280 meters long, 1.5 meters wide, and 1.2
meters high; a cart road; an engine house for a 110-ton crane; an equip-
ment storage room; a dayroom for railroad personnel; three mobile cranes
with lifting capacities of from 6 to 18 toffs; and a 110-ton crane manu-
factured at the Artelt Plant. in Ebers-ralde. 'There are 25 tracks, in-
c1uding nine Soviet.-gauge t.rar.ke_ At'Tn..
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INFORM. 1
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3. Until June 19949,aali troods ,.rrivirjg 4.t the satation daw t.rarts _f er?r~ c eitner:r
, by hr..nd. or by crane. Conver?aio~n of freight cars from standard to Soviet
age wars not ohi;erved. When good were tr:Ani.loaded by hand, tdr:a -,rorkerg
ere assigned to each eat...rndard-gauge c.r. They re,, uired,,for the ?tran
lco, ad.irig of cement in Sacks, one ,to to hours; of s:aa.lt, onL to two hours;
of potash, four to fivi hours; of coal, f ive to #ix hour,a; of pre.f a.bric ted
hous:es,five to six hourrb; of timber, trio to three hours.. Tra,nsaloaa.diner
visas. done mainly by German PWs detained. in Chernyakhovsk.
In in emergency,. the Soviet labor baattalicri, Unit MMa.rarov(saic),uhich h 4d
36a..,to 380 men,and which was located in Clydesrlyaakkovs,k in 1949, Bras also
a.a' signed to translo.,,ding work. After 1949, sugar rva,ss traniloaded only
by members of this labor b.,sttadlion. Work bias usually done in three
shifts. Vp to 1949 Soviet-gauge cars often were not available in ade?
qura.te numbers. Until 1947?-1948, these cars, among which-,ere many
converted German, Polish, Hungarian,Ruma.nian, and Bulgarian cars, vrere
in poor condition. The condition of the cars improved during 1948.
Nebe,four--axle cars were frequently seen after 1948. A Soviet lieutenant
colonel Petroshensko (fnu) supervised all traniloading operations. Up
to June 1949 an average of about 18 eastbound trains, loaded 'sith goods
of various types from the DDR, were trans.loaded every week. Most West-
bound trains were empty. Until August 1946, trains arriving fron the
west were operated by German personnel. However, since a large number
of PWs and German. civilians fled on these trains, German railroad per-
sonnel was no longer allowed to operate beyond Zheleznodorozhnyy,whai.ch
is on the Soviet-Polish border. Most trains arrivi.ng in Chernyakhovsk
from the DDR were escorted by military personnel.
ing Point
Birkenfeld Transloe
. Birkenfeld transloading point was built by Soviet Construction Staff 45,
with the help of German Ms,, in th e summer of 1945. Since the project
covered an area of approximately 3,000x350 meters, almost none of the Mw
was in a. position to obtain a survey of the entire ins;taallaLtion.. The des-
criptions are therefore not absolutely reliable. Birkenf eld. is a station
where the goods arriving from the DDR are stored in the 84 large storage
sheds before being forwarded according to-type of goods and destination.
The storage sheds, 30x15x,3 meters in size, are arranged in six rows. A
Soviet and a standard gauge, possibly .nke form of a third rail, run
,between two rons of sheds, On the side facing the track the wtoriage
Sheds have aloading-raanp, with a road six to eight meters wide running
along the opposite side of the building. The individual sheds are 20
meters apart.. In the middle of both lonkitudinal.sides of the sheds
there is a gliding door four meters wide. The sheds have gable roofs
which are covered with tar paper. The floors of the sheds consisted of
crushed stone. The station area was surrounded by a barbed-wire fence,
and the erection of aL second fepce eras begun in 1947. Electric lights
and spotlights were init.illed bctneen the rong of storage sheds. The
traansloading station was guarded by Sovietsoldiers. In addition to
this new transloading station, there was :a transloading point at the old,
small Birkenfeld railroad station, which had two wooden loading-ramps,
-each :about 200 meters long, a wide one for transloading medium loads,
and a, narrow one for light loads. In 194.8 there were two German rail--
road cranes in Birkenfeld, operated by German PWs.
5. Most"of the goods arriving at the railroad station was transloaded by
hand. Conversion of freight cars from standard to Soviet gauge was not
observed. An average of t w6 loaded ti a.ins daily arrived from the DDE
to be unloaded at Birkenfeld, while about seven eastbound trains were
loaded every week. In 1945?1946, mostly German ammunition and artillery
pieces were stored; in 1947, primarily foodstuffs and dismantled maachin_,
cry, in addition to scrap, prefabricated huts, sugar, cement, and potash.
Almost no goods aarrivwd from the West." Until May 1948, when the PW1 camp
in Birkenfeld as deactivated, about 250 F'Ws were available for tra.ns-
lo;a.ding'duties. Each train was unloaded or transsloaded - immediately .after
arrival. If P64 were not available in Adequate nutibe;rs, Soviet soldiers
ir,re also t: mtiloyed for translo a.ding operations.
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6. No information his been received on the other transload.ing pointaybecai.uae
since 1946 German personnel has not been allowed to operate t.rainaa beyond
.Zhel.eznodorozhnyy, vahere they are taken over by Soviet train crevrs. In the
Polish--Soviet agreement on Soviet transit traffic it as rotated that a
total of eig} t Soviet-interest trains, four in each direction,, may pass
through Zhel.eznod.orozhnyy daily.
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onunent. Coordinates in this report are approximate.
1. Comment; dais atation has been
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