On the Eve of this Historic Occasion (will be on and off topic)

Trains Magazine General Discussion
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On the Eve of this historic occasion I just returned from a tour of a WWII submarine located here in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The U.S.S. Razorback submarine served in the last years of WWII and into 1970.

How is a WWII submarine in any way related to a train? [?] Long story, but it is. [:D] [:p]

Remember before and during WWII many railroads were doing everything possible to aid the war effort. The locomotive builders were doing the same. Alco built not only locomotives for the war effort but tanks as well. It also built gun carriages for 155mm and 105mm guns, condensors for Navy cruisers, marine boilers for the British Merchant Marine, heavy marine forgings for the Navy and Army, springs and warship gun turret parts, bombs [:0] , coolers and heat exchangers for destroyers and MARINE DIESEL ENGINES. [;)] [:)] [:p]

Awwww, now something is beginning to click. [:D] [;)] Marine diesel engines, yes, Alco produced marine diesel engines. [:D]

Alco was not the only locomotive manufacturer to produce marine diesel engines. Fairbanks Morse also produced marine diesel engines and the USS Razorback uses 4 Fairbanks Morse marine diesel engines.

http://www.subnet.com/fleet/ss394.htm

http://www.valourandhorror.com/DB/BACK/D_Day_inv_sites.htm#op%20utah

So not only did our men and women go to war in WWII the railroads and loco manufacturers went as well. I am sure that other people here in the forums can add what other companies such as EMD and GE did to aid the war efforts.

Now you ask what historic occasion eve is this? [?] It is the occasion where the Allied forces stepped foot on European soil and began pushing German soldiers back to Berlin. In other words, June 6, 1944, began the Normandy Invasion or D-Day as many say.

http://www.isidore-of-seville.com/d-day/

I salute those individuals and those companies who served in anyway to aid the war effort. The railroads ce

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Heck, there’s a FAR more immediate locomotive-diesel connection to D-Day than a bunch of sub diesels that FM later tried to utilize on the rails. (Or Alco anything, for that matter!) There were 567s in a bunch of those landing craft. I would argue that in a very real sense their reliability contributed to the successful outcome of those early hours of the invasion…

If you watch some of the older D-Day films that were made using actual war-surplus equipment, you can actually hear the familiar sound of the big GM 2-strokes. It’s almost a shock if you’re not expecting it…

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I’ve always suspected that the reason for the wartime restrictions on diesel locos was due to submarines. I’m not sure exactly when the practice started or which came first, but I believe many of the larger U.S. fleet-class subs were also diesel-electrics i.e. no mechanical connection between the diesel and the prop shaft.

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Way back when, along about '74, we folks (and our trucks) of the 100th Transportation Company, US Army, were loaded onto the USS Harlan County. This was a Navy LST.

The Harlan County was powed by Alco diesels. Freaking huge Alco diesels. We transferred to Army LCUs (don’t know what powered them) and made a landing on the Virginia coast. We then practiced a “Logistics Over the Shore” operation bringing cargo over a beach from ships out in the Atlantic.

It was kind of fun, but then nobody was actually shooting at us.

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In 1972, I was stationed aboard the USS Corporal SS-346 out of New London. I had 4 Gm 16 cyl. diesels engines. They were connected to electric motors which could be used for propolsion and battery charging. On my first nuke sub in 1974, they had the ole Fairbanks Morse opposing piston engines. In my opinion the GM,s were more reliable in marine applications.

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Willy [:)]

Thanks for the post. Now I have a question? [?]

Was the sub powered by nuclear power and the diesels just standby and emergency power or were the diesels the normal power? [?]

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I remember reading a letter in Railway Post Office some years back from a sailor in the Submarine Service stating that he was in an outfit in which steam (even if nuclear-generated) replaced diesel for propulsion.

I will also always remember my father’s service in the 306th Bomb Group (8th Air Force) in support of the landings on June 6, 1944.

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On a nuke sub, all propulsion is steam, converted from the reactor that creates heat. The installed diesel is a back-up for charging batteries and/or propulsion if needed. To run the diesel requires “snorkeling” which can be a dangerous situation depending on your location because it generates noise which makes YOU a target. Sound travels through water @ 4400/ft/sec. versus 1100/ft/sec in air. The object is to be quiet and search and…you know the rest.

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Thanks for all the replies. [:D]

Here is a link to some of the photos of the sub. I will be posting more as time permits. [:)]

http://photobucket.com/albums/v222/JimHwood/Razorback%20SS%20394/

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Interesting post. Learned something about nuclear subs that I didn’t know.

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Oh yes, I agree. [:)]

Just the fact that companies that made locos also made engines for ships and subs is interesting.

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I toured the battleship North Carolina (wilmington, NC) years ago and remember seeing several FM diesels in main engine room. I believe they were all hooked to generators, but also may have had auxiliary hydraulic pumps as well. It’s been too long ago to remember. I believe they were 5 cylinder (10 piston) units. I found the FM opposed piston concept fascinating, but can see how impractical it would be for RR power.
Pat