EU05 and EP05
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
EU05-15 (Škoda 4321/1961) in its
original livery, photographed at the Warszawa Wschodnia
station with a train to Berlin. Date unknown (prior to conversion into EP05,
which took place in 1973). This locomotive was finally withdrawn in 1989.
Photo by D. Adamovitch (postcard from my
collection).
EP05-16 (Škoda
4322/1961), probably in
The same locomotive, photographed at the Warszawa Olszynka Grochowska depot on
Side drawing of EP05 by Z. Kołoda (KMD
vol.1/2006).
Derelict EP05-01 (Škoda 4307/1961), photographed at the Warszawa Olszynka Grochowska depot on
...and wreck of the EP05-18 (Škoda 4324/1961), photographed on
the same occasion.
EP05-23 in new (and controversial!) livery,
photographed near the Warszawa Wschodnia station...
... and the
same machine ready to depart with the 5311 train to Przemyśl;
both photos taken on
Two pictures of EP05-01 and EP05-18 during their
transportation to the new location…
…on March 3, 2009. Both photos by Seweryn Dębski (thanks for
permission!). EP05-18, seen here in the foreground, was scrapped some four
months later.
EP05-03, location and date unknown (possibly
Warszawa Wschodnia station); photo from my
collection.
Two pictures taken at some scrapyard on January 29,
1990: the remains of the EP05-24…
…and the body of the EP05-20. Both photos from my
collection.
EP05-18, photographed in Pruszków
on September 17, 1990. Photo from my collection.
EP05-04, Warszawa Wschodnia station, May 12, 1997. Photo
from my collection.
Another photo from my collection: EP05-10, location
and date unknown. Possibly this picture was taken after the collision that
occurred in May 1992 and resulted in EP05-10 being written off.
Soviet ChS3-45, photographed at the Moscow railway
museum on November 15, 2015.
EP05-18 (Škoda
4324/1961), location and date unknown. Photo from my collection.
Another photo from my collection: EP05-22 (Škoda
4328/1961), location and date unknown…
… and yet another: EU05-30 (Škoda
4336/1961), location and date unknown. |
In
1953, Czechoslovak state railways ČSD
accepted the first E499.0 universal electric locomotive, which was a
license-built variant of Swiss Ae 4/4, originally designed for the BLS railway. Until 1958, 100 examples
were supplied by Škoda
works of Plzeň (factory type 12E1), plus ten for
Northern Korea (type 22E1) and two for the Soviet Union (class ChS1, or
ЧС1 in Russian script – type 24E1). These locomotives, commonly
nicknamed ‘Bobina’ (due to the Bo’Bo’
arrangement), enjoyed long service life; some of them were later sold to
Poland (they are described under a separate entry). They served as a basis
for several other designs, including class E 499.1 (it should be kept in mind
that, according to ČSD designation
system then in use, this did not necessarily correspond to a particular
design, but rather to a set of basic parameters). New machine retained the
body of the E 499.0 (however, with rectangular side windows instead of
original round ones and other minor changes) and electric motors, but trucks,
transmission and suspension were modified. In particular, original Sécheron-type coupling of the earlier machine was
supplanted with an indigenous design. Prototype (type 20E1 – still with round
side windows) was built in 1957 and sixty production machines (types 30E1 and
30E2) for ČSD followed between 1959
and 1960. Most of them, later re-designated class 141, remained in use with ČD until early 21st
century; Marco van Uden (http://mercurio.iet.unipi.it) gives
54 examples in the end of 2002, but according to AL in mid-2006 there were only eleven left, used mainly with
local trains. Further 87 locomotives for 1524 mm track were supplied to the
USSR in 1960 and 1961 as class ChS3 (ЧС3 – factory designation
type 29E1). In
late 1950s there was a particular need for fast passenger electric
locomotives in Poland. Electrification of main lines, despite certain
difficulties, progressed quite rapidly, but suitable motive power was in
short supply. Production of freight locomotives (class ET21) was given
priority and started in 1957. Passenger machines were also planned
(eventually these plans materialized in 1965 in the form of license-built
EU07), but for the time being only a handful of obsolete EP02s and EP03s were
at hand, plus several rather unreliable EP04s. It was thus decided to
purchase a number of machines abroad, as an interim measure, and the choice
fell on Czechoslovak 44E1, almost identical with E 499.1 and designated EU05
with PKP. Contract
for thirty EU05s was signed in June 1960 and all were supplied during March
and April 1961 (factory numbers 4307/1961 through 4336/1961). Initially they
were assigned to the Warszawa Odolany depot,
supplanting EU04s. They soon gained the reputation of most modern, reliable
and useful electric locomotives in the PKP
service and were used almost exclusively with express passenger trains;
starting from May 1988, they double-headed the fastest trains in Poland (160
km/h), from Warsaw to Katowice and to Cracow. Nicknamed simply ‘Czechs’, they
were very popular with the crews, although some railway engineers complained
on draughts. Most of them were based in Warsaw throughout their entire life.
In 1968 EU05-29, experimentally fitted with new reduction gear – reduction
ratio changed from 84:37 to 77:44 – attained 174 km/h during an experimental
run – as far as I know, this national locomotive speed record was beaten only
in 1999 by the EU43-001 prototype. The record-breaking machine was written
off in 1991 and initially intended for preservation, but finally scrapped in
January 1997. Between 1971 and 1977, further 26 machines (starting from
EU05-26, s/n 4332/1961) were modified in this manner, in order to increase
maximum speed from 125 to 160 km/h; they were intended for fast passenger trains.
New gears and wheelsets were supplied from Czechoslovakia. This modification
did not include EU05-09, EU05-12 and EU05-19, withdrawn in 1965, 1969 and
1962, respectively (written off after being damaged beyond repair in crashes
– all were eventually scrapped). The latter, together with the EU05-11,
participated in one of the most tragic train crashes in the PKP
history, on October 9, 1962, near Batorówka, which
took the lives of possibly over sixty passengers (official sources gave 34).
EU05-19, which hit a derailed passenger car at almost full speed, was written
off after only one year in service. In May 1973 designation was changed to EP05,
service numbers being retained; green livery, typical for electric
locomotives serving with PKP, was
changed to orange and red (as with indigenous class EP08). Second
modification of eleven machines (early 80s) included fitting pneumatic
couplings and multiple control. In 1991, four locomotives were fitted with
7AL4846 engines, differing only in couplings. Apart from three
above-mentioned machines, five EP05s were written off as a result of crashes. It
was intended to withdraw EP05s in 1992, but as a result of problems with new
locomotives from Pafawag (EP09) they
remained in service for much longer. In 2000, four (of five still in the PKP
rosters) still remained in operation. Two, EP05-16 and EP05-23, were
withdrawn in 2002, but they were once again overhauled and restored in
service in January 2004. EP05-16 was finally withdrawn in July 2007,
following a serious traction engine failure. EP05-23 (4329/1961), after a
scheduled revision in 2007, was repainted and now carries new PKP Cargo
red and white livery – needless to say, many railway fans grind their teeth,
although by now this livery has already become historical! It hauled a
scheduled train from Cracow to Warsaw for the last time on May 14, 2008.
After ultimate withdrawal it was kept operational at the Warszawa Olszynka Grochowska depot.
Refurbishment began in August 2016 and on February 7, 2017, EP05-23 was outshopped for official presentation in its original red
and orange livery. There are plans to use this locomotive with special
trains. EP05-22, in old green livery and with original EU05-22 service
number, was plinthed in 2000 at the Prokocim depot in Cracow. In September 2019 it was
transferred to a railway fan society in Wrocław and
will possibly be restored to an operational condition. EP05-01 and EP05-18
(the latter in a very poor condition) after final withdrawal were stored at
the Olszynka Grochowska
depot in Warsaw, awaiting a decision on their ultimate fate. In March 2009
they were transferred to a new location in Warsaw, at the PKP premises
(many thanks to Seweryn Dębski
for information and photos!). EP05-18 was finally scrapped in July 2009.
EP05-01 was initially intended for preservation (although no location was
proposed), but fell victim to the cutter’s torch in August 2015. Main
technical data
1)
Reconstruction – designation changed to EP05 in 1973 2)
Including 87 for SZD
(1524 mm track – class ChS) 3)
Multiple control in some machines 4)
Some sources give 2344 kW 5)
Replaced by 7AL4846 in four machines. List of
vehicles can be found here.
References and
acknowledgments
-
Monographic article by Bogdan Waga
(KMD vol. 1 and 2/2006); -
MAL, AV vol. 1
(information on Czechoslovakian machines); -
Account of service with PKP by Paweł Terczyński (SK
vol. 2/2000); -
http://rafikx.republika.pl
(website by Rafał Onysk); -
SK, various issues; -
Rafał
Onysk and Seweryn Dębski (private communication – thanks a lot!); -
SS
vol. 130 – information on refurbishment. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
