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USATC S160 2-8-0 OO Gauge

Built for service in Europe with the US Army Transportation Corps in support of Allied forces during WW2 2,120 S160 2-8-0 goods locomotives were constructed.
800 locomotives were delivered, mostly to South Wales ports for commissioning by GWR and USATC personel at the GWRs Newport Ebbw Junction shed, with around 400 being loaned to the British railway companies prior to the invasion of Europe. Following 'D day' the locomotives were prepared for shipping to France, along with USATC rolling stock to ensure the European railways systems could be got up and running quickly to support the Allied forces.
Despite being built quickly and with some economy in respect of the short intended life many of these locomotives passed to European national railways after the war, serving from Spain to Russia for many years. 26 examples are known to survive in preservation with 8 in the UK, all re-imported from Europe.
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During the 1930s the US Army Transportation Corp (USATC) approved a new design of 2-8-0 locomotive by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, a locomotive generally updated from the WW1 era designs, designated USATC class S159.
While remaining neutral in the opening years of WW2 the US government had authorised the supply of USATC class S200 2-8-2 mikado type locomotives to Britain for service in the Middle East on the lend-lease scheme. Following the forced entry of the US into the war it became obvious a large number of locomotives suitable for service in Europe would be needed to supply Allied forces through the now-inevitable invasion. Major J.W. Marsh of the Railway Branch of the US Corps of Engineers is credited with the design of the S160, a locomotive designed for rapid assembly, able to traverse roughly laid track, robust enough to allow hurried maintenance and small enough to fit the more restricted British loading gauge.
The origin of the S160 designation is not known for certain, Baldwin designated the design '2-8-0-19S' and most engineering drawings carry this code. But S160 would fit the USATC classification sequence, so it may originate with the Transportation Corps.

In total 2,120 locomotives were built, split between the ALCO, Baldwin and Lima locomotive companies. 800 were supplied in 1942/3, shipped to South Wales and placed in service at the GWRs Ebbw Junction depot by USATC and GWR personnel. These were loaned out the the British railway companies, 174 to the GWR, 168 to the LNER, 50 to the LMS and 6 to the SR, for 'running in'. The following batch of 400 locomotives arriving in 1944 were commissioned, but held in store ready for deployment to France following the invasion, following which the 800 loaned out engines were cycled back through Ebbw Junction for servicing before being sent to Europe.

Further batches of the S160 locomotives were built through 1944 and 1945, including locomotives to different gauges to the standard 1,435mm for the Russia (1,520mm) Spain (1,668mm) and India (5ft 6in). At the end of hostilities in Europe the engines were widely distributed, serving with the railways of Austria, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Soviet Union, Spain, Turkey and Yugoslavia. Some engines had remained in the US, or were left behind in North Africa (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) as new engines arrived for the Italy campaign, while under the UN rehabilitation administration engines of the class were also sent to China and Korea.
It is believed a further dozen locomotives built for Mexico and Peru were derived from the S160 design as these similar engines have some dimensional differences.