Diesel-Electric Locomotive, MRS-1

Diesel-Electric Locomotive, MRS-1. . , This was one of thirteen MRS-1 locomotives built by the General Motors Company for the U.S. Army between 1952-53, before the contract was taken over by the American Locomotive Company (ALCo)-General Electric, which produced a further eighty-three. It has six coupled driving wheels, with no leading or trailing wheels, thus referred to as an 0-6-6-0. The diesel-electric locomotive proved to be more efficient than the steam locomotive in that it was able to convert fuel into energy more efficiently and the need to make frequent stops to refuel was virtually eliminated.

Previous experience with operating locomotives in different countries proved to be a challenge for the Army, which took that into account when designing this model. Differing track gauges, couplings, braking systems and truck designs created obstacles when operating American locomotives overseas. The design process behind the MRS-1 was to build a locomotive that could operate on any particular country's rail network and be able to use that country's own rolling stock.

Locomotive No. 1811 was used in Korea from 1952-54 during the latter part of the Korean Conflict. After the war, most of these locomotives were kept as strategic reserves until the 1970s when they began to be sold or sent to military bases for local use. Locomotive No. 1811 was last used in 1991 at Sunny Point, NC during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.