Railroad Park

A GUIDE TO THE LOCOMOTIVES AND RAIL CARS AT THE TRANSPORTATION MUSEUM

Rail rolling stock is moved around periodically as the cars are maintained and painted. As a result, individual cars are sometimes absent or in a different order. Therefore, this guide does not begin and end in a particular place, but does address each car.

Brief History of Rail at Eustis

Development of rail at Fort Eustis began during World War I, when track was laid to support railway artillery guns. The theory of heavy coast artillery fire was taught at the Coast Artillery School, Fort Monroe, while the practical demonstrations by heavy railway artillery took place at Camp Eustis. After World War I, the 52nd Coast Artillery Regiment (Railway), the Army's only railway artillery regiment, was stationed at Fort Eustis until 1931.

By the beginning of World War II, the unused track had deteriorated. Upgrading and repair commenced at once, and Fort Eustis rails were tied into existing commercial systems on the Virginia peninsula. Not until 1946 did the Army move railway training from Camp Francis E. Warren, Wyoming, Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, and Camp Shelby, Mississippi.

The 774th Transportation Group (Railway) provided training at Fort Eustis. The 774th included two battalions - the 714th Railway Operating Battalion (ROB) and the 763rd Railway Shop Battalion (RSB). The 714th Railway Operating Battalion was the last active Army rail battalion, being absent only during its Korean service. During cutbacks after the Vietnam war, all rail battalions were inactivated.

STEAM LOCOMOTIVE 2-8-0 No. 607 & TENDER. Foreign and domestic service.

Steam locomotives of this type were built by American Locomotive Company, Baldwin Locomotive Works and Lima Locomotive Works between 1942 and 1945. Built to run on standard 56-1/2" gauge track, they had good operational reputations and were familiar sites on British railways in the months preceding the Normandy landing. The tender carries ten tons of coal and 6,500 gallons of water.

This locomotive, originally No. 5187 in World War II and renumbered No. 607 in 1952, was one of the last steam locomotives built by Lima Locomotive Works in 1945. It was also the last Army steam locomotive in actual operation, arriving under steam at the museum in May 1972.

The Army donated other 2-8-0 series Army locomotives to private rail organizations in Texas, Virginia, Alabama, and West Virginia.

STEAM LOCOMOTIVE 0-6-0 No. V-1923. Foreign service.

Of typical American design, 382 of these oilburning, 42" gauge locomotives were built by Davenport, Porter and Vulcan for foreign service. This particular locomotive was one of the last of the narrow gauge engines built under Army contract in 1942 by Vulcan Iron Works for service in Japan, Australia, Sudan, West and South Africa and New Zealand. It was used for light switching duties, moving rolling stock from one track to another.

This engine arrived at Fort Eustis in 1945, receiving only basic maintenance from 1953 to 1959, when the Army used it for hands-on student training at the Transportation School. Water for the steam operation was stored in the large saddle tanks on the side of the boiler. The original shipping cradle, where it rests today, is clearly marked ' 1942.'

AMBULANCE WARD CAR No. 89568. Foreign service.

This prototype medical foreign service car is one of several cars developed to test contingency ambulance train capability. They were designed to operate independently with full staff, either in a rail yard or siding, or as part of an ambulance train. They were also fitted with standard European coupler systems and adjusting wheels to fit various European track gauges.

This Ambulance Ward car was built in 1953 by the St. Louis Car Company, and was one of 63 built under Army contract.

More comfortable than hospital cars built in 1944 under wartime austerity restrictions, these cars were fitted with upholstered bench seats and two rows of fold-down bunks overhead with improved mattresses. They had showers and allelectric (not coal) kitchens. There were separate quarters for a nurse, a doctor and six enlisted medical personnel.

RAILWAY CRANE, LOCOMOTIVE, STEAM, WRECKING. Foreign and domestic service.

Built by Brown Hoist Company in 1952, this 75-ton crane was designed for both foreign and domestic service. Weighing almost 170,000 pounds, its self-propelled double hoist and secondary single-hook cable provided lift capability for loading heavy material and equipment. It was issued in the 1950s to the 714th Railway Operating Battalion at Fort Eustis for student training.

RAILWAY FLAT CAR, 50-TON. Foreign and domestic service.

This 50-ton wooden decked flat car, manufactured by American Car & Foundry in the 1940s, was used to transport up to 100,000 pounds of cargo on domestic (U.S.) Railways.

The coupling system was modified, making it a universal or combination car, with European hook-and-link on one end and U.S. automatic couplers on the other. It is essential in the movement of the museum's other European cars with U.S. locomotives.

RAILWAY FLAT CAR, 40-TON. Foreign service.

Capable of transporting 80,000 pounds, this 40-ton flat car was manufactured in 1940 by U. S. Pressed Steel Car Company. It was used solely for foreign service, as indicated by the European hookand-link system.

Braced for shipping on top is a standard World War 112-1/2 ton cargo truck, the CCKW-353. This early closed-cab version was later modified to a canvas cab to reduce shipping weight.

RAILWAY SNOWPLOW - SPREADER DITCHER CAR.

O. F. Jordan Company of East Chicago, Indiana delivered this car in November 1953 for testing at Fort Eustis.

Designed for year-round use, this car required a 1600 HP diesel-electric locomotive or 2-8-0 class steam locomotive (like the No. 607) in order to provide sufficient air supply and traction for successful operation. Primarily used for track maintenance, the vertically stowed "arms" are lowered when in use. During the winter, it cleared snow and ice in yards, terminals and on tracks. During other seasons, it spread and leveled ballast, formed slopes and banks, built and widened roadbeds, and cut away excess ballast. The car is capable of 25 miles of ditching and roadbed shaping in one day.

RAILWAY TANK CAR, PETROLEUM. Domestic service.

One of thousands of tank cars manufactured for the Department of Defense, this tank car, built in 1949, was last used to carry aviation fuel. It is all steel construction with standard wheels and a 10,000 gallon capacity.

RAILWAY CABOOSE Domestic Service. (see top of this article)

At the rear of every freight train is the caboose, serving many purposes for the conductor and rear brakeman. Typically it was outfitted with a kitchen and sleeping facilities for the train crew. The origin of the word "caboose" is vague, but it was an accepted term for the last car on a train by 1879.

Caboose lookouts - cupolas or bay windows - were provided for the train crews to signal locomotives and following trains, and also to view their own train. Normally a caboose would not have both, but one or the other.

The 763rd Railway Shop Battalion built this caboose in the late 1950s. It utilizes both the bay windows and a 'Montana Rail Link' cupola, a tall cupola centered on the roof. The base is a 36-foot box car, and it contains one large and one small room, and two bunk areas. It was used on Fort Eustis until 1972.

BERLIN DUTY TRAIN CARS

The German sleeper car and caboose are from the Berlin duty train, operated by Transportation Corps personnel from 1945 until 1989, when Germany was unified. The train made scheduled runs in and out of West Berlin through Soviet checkpoints, transporting thousands of American military members, dependents and others on official duty.

A typical passenger train pulled three sleeper cars, and a caboose or escort/guard car. The conductor, radio operator, military policeman and the train commander (usually a Transportation Corps lieutenant) rode in the escort/guard car.

Prior to boarding, passengers surrendered to the Military Police their ID cards, passports and "flag orders" (orders printed in Russian and English), certifying they were entitled to be on the train. The conductor carefully checked discrepancies, because the Russian guards conducted a side-by-side comparison of ID cards and orders, refusing entry for any not in order. A typical freight train pulled mail and freight cars, and the caboose/escort car.

With the unification of Germany and fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, this complicated procedure was no longer necessary, and the Transportation Corps ceased to perform this duty. The German government donated the cars to the Museum in 1991. They were transported to the Military Traffic Management Command at Rotterdam, The Netherlands where they were loaded on the LSV-4 Bunker (Logistics Supply Vessel) arriving at Fort Eustis in August 1992.

COMING SOON

LOCOMOTIVE, DIESEL-ELECTRIC, 0-6-6-0,120-TON, MRS-1. Foreign and domestic service.

This versatile locomotive was introduced as a standard heavy switching and road service engine. Designed specifically for the Army, it reduced the number of different types of locomotives from post-World War II.

The largest in the Army fleet, it was built by the Electro Motive Division (EMD) of General Motors Corporation, and designed with multi gauge trucks (wheel sets) that could be adjusted from the standard 56-1/2 inch to 66 inch gauge. The 66-inch gauge was used in India, Pakistan and Argentina.

These locomotives were in service from the Korean War era until 1991. This particular MRS-1 served the Army at the Marine Ocean Terminal at Sunny Point, N.C. during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

Hovercraft

In addition to the trains, a hovercraft vehicle sits towards the back. I am not sure exactly what it is, as the pamphlet I picked up makes no mention of it, but it apparently operates like most other hover vehicles, with air pressed downward under the vehicle and confined by the skirts all around.

More Fort Eustus US Army Transportation Museum

Introduction
Museum Building
Railroad Park
Cargo Handling Yard
Aviation Pavilion
Marine Park
Summary

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