PKP class ET21
Encyclopedia
PKP ET21 is a name for a Polish
electric freight locomotive
produced between years 1957 - 1971 in Pafawag
. It was the first post-war Polish
electric locomotive, designed in 1955. Besides being delivered for PKP, ET21 locomotives were delivered to the mining industry, where they are used up to now.
: Centralne Biuro Konstrukcyjne Przemysłu Taboru Kolejowego) in Poznań
, basing on instructions from the Railway Electrification Office (Pl.
: Biuro Elektryfikacji Kolei). Electrical part of ET21 locomotive was tightly based on Soviet VL22M locomotive.
Production started in 1957 at Pafawag in Wrocław in co-operation with Dolmel (Bielsko-Biała
), Elta (Łódź), Elester (Łódź) and Apena (Bydgoszcz) companies. After first two units (prototypes) were ready the serial production started. At the beginning those locomotives bore E600 designation, which was changed to E06 and after introducing RN-58/MK0001
norm to present ET21. By the end of 1958 18 new machines were ready.
After producing 70 first units and gaining significant experience Pafawag
decided to introduce several technical changes into locomotives. This included decreasing weight by approx. 8 t., levelling weight on all axles, changing air intake system and crew cabin as well as installing electric carriage heating system.
First locomotives were introduced into Warsaw
-Katowice
-Gliwice
line. As the number of engines was increasing they started serving on all electrified lines in Poland
. After the introduction of the EU06
and EU07
locomotives, the ET21 was systematically transferred to freight only service. Systematical withdrawal of this series began on the brink of 1980s and 1990s and lasts until today. Some units are still used on mountainous areas, especially on Tarnów
-Krynica-Zdrój, Kraków
-Zakopane
and Wrocław-Wałbrzych lines. The only running first-series ET21 locomotive is ET21-57 machine located in Chabówka
railway museum.
Alongside with delivering locomotives for PKP
Pafawag
started selling machines for mining industry, specifically for Coal Mining
Filling Materials Company (Pl.
: Przedsiębiorstwo Materiałów Podsadzkowych Przemysłu Węglowego - PMP-PW). Those locomotives bore designation 3E - first series and 3E/1 - second, modernised series. The first locomotive delivered for PMP-PW was given 3E-10 number, the last one bore 3E/1-77 number.
The main difference between PKP ET21 and 3E locomotives was that coal mining locomotives were lacking in carriage heating systems. 3E and 3E/1 machines were and are still used for transporting filling sand, power plant waste and coal, especially in Upper Silesia
region. It is quite common to use those locomotives in couples, with one of them pulling and the other pushing the train.
In the years 1973-1980 PKP
borrowed several items of 3E/1 locomotives and changed their designation to ET21 with adding additional 9 figure to serial number. Such locomotives were running for PKP for over two years. In exchange PKP sold in the 1980s 14 units of ET21 locomotives to the industry. Those locomotives remained named ET21 but additional 1 figure was added to serial number.
, suited for pulling freight trains weighing up to 2500 t. with top speed of 65 km/h or passenger trains with top speed of 100 km/h.
s with a tram system . The engines propel the axles through 85:24 transmission. There are three ways of connecting the engines: series connection (all six engines in one series), series-parallel connection (three engines in one series - two groups) and parallel-series connection (two engines in one series - three groups).[9] Four-step reduction of engine excitation (up to 50%) is made by bypassing parts of main pole's windings with shunt
s and resistor
s. Shunts and resistors are in parallel connection with main pole's winding. Each engine has four steel main poles, isolated with varnish and four commutation poles made of one steel block.
s, each of them having three axle
s with separate propulsion for each wheel set. Bogies are coupled with each other. Box is supported on bogies with three slides. Middle slide supports it chassis in horizontal position during start and braking.
construction with crew compartments on both ends. It contains two machine compartments and one high voltage
compartment. Moving between crew cabins is enabled by 570 mm wide corridor running along the box wall. machine compartments are reached through the doors in the back walls of crew compartments.
Both crew compartments are equipped in exactly the same way. It includes switch board, hand-brake and electric cooker on the left-hand side, drive controller, direction controller and brakes valves on the right-hand side. Air manometers and Hasler type train event recorder are mounted in front of the engineer's
place. SHP (automatic train brake) button is located next to drive controller. Windscreens are equipped with 150W heater used during winter. Additional, 300W heater is located under the dashboard
in order to heat crew's legs, but this was installed only in modernised 3E/1 version. Crew compartment A has washbasin and clothes locker installed. Sound horn and sander buttons are located on the floor.
In the wall of machine compartments large blinds are used as air intakes. On the opposite side, along the corridor rectangular blins are mounted between windows. Locomotives of 3E series have three windows on each side whilst 3E/1 locomotives have two windows on the side of machine compartments and three windows on the corridor side. There are compressor
s and blower
s on the floors of machine compartments and two air tanks, 220 liters each, are mounted under the roof. In a non-modernised machine battery
box was installed in A crew compartment whilst in a modernised version batteries were placed inside machine compartments. Air tank for raising the pantograph
is located in B crew compartment.
All high voltage devices and resistors are located inside high voltage compartment. In modernised version of ET21 locomotive this is placed in the middle part of the box. It is possible to completely remove the framework of high voltage compartment. Locomotive's roof is divided into several parts and over the high voltage compartment it is removable.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
electric freight locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
produced between years 1957 - 1971 in Pafawag
Pafawag
Pafawag is a Polish locomotive manufacturer based in Wrocław. The company became part of Adtranz in 1997 as Adtranz Pafawag, and in 2001 part of Bombardier Transportation...
. It was the first post-war Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
electric locomotive, designed in 1955. Besides being delivered for PKP, ET21 locomotives were delivered to the mining industry, where they are used up to now.
History
Mechanical part of the locomotive was designed in the Rolling-stock Industry Central Bureau of Construction (Pl.Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
: Centralne Biuro Konstrukcyjne Przemysłu Taboru Kolejowego) in Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
, basing on instructions from the Railway Electrification Office (Pl.
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
: Biuro Elektryfikacji Kolei). Electrical part of ET21 locomotive was tightly based on Soviet VL22M locomotive.
Production started in 1957 at Pafawag in Wrocław in co-operation with Dolmel (Bielsko-Biała
Bielsko-Biała
-Economy and Industry:Nowadays Bielsko-Biała is one of the best-developed parts of Poland. It was ranked 2nd best city for business in that country by Forbes. About 5% of people are unemployed . Bielsko-Biała is famous for its textile, machine-building, and especially automotive industry...
), Elta (Łódź), Elester (Łódź) and Apena (Bydgoszcz) companies. After first two units (prototypes) were ready the serial production started. At the beginning those locomotives bore E600 designation, which was changed to E06 and after introducing RN-58/MK0001
PKP classification system
PKP classification system is a system of assigning letters and numbers to series and individual locomotives used by the PKP - Polish national railroad operator....
norm to present ET21. By the end of 1958 18 new machines were ready.
After producing 70 first units and gaining significant experience Pafawag
Pafawag
Pafawag is a Polish locomotive manufacturer based in Wrocław. The company became part of Adtranz in 1997 as Adtranz Pafawag, and in 2001 part of Bombardier Transportation...
decided to introduce several technical changes into locomotives. This included decreasing weight by approx. 8 t., levelling weight on all axles, changing air intake system and crew cabin as well as installing electric carriage heating system.
First locomotives were introduced into Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
-Katowice
Katowice
Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...
-Gliwice
Gliwice
Gliwice is a city in Upper Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Gliwice is the west district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union – a metropolis with a population of 2 million...
line. As the number of engines was increasing they started serving on all electrified lines in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. After the introduction of the EU06
PKP class EU06
EU06 is a class of electric locomotives in service with the Polish state railway PKP.-Technical details:EU06 has driving cabs at both ends. The locomotives are equipped for multiple working which allows one driver to drive two coupled engines from one cab. One locomotive can haul passenger trains...
and EU07
PKP class EU07
EU07 is the name for a Polish electric locomotive in service of the Polish railway operator PKP. This locomotive was designed as universal locomotive, and as such is used in both for freight and passenger traffic.-Technical data:...
locomotives, the ET21 was systematically transferred to freight only service. Systematical withdrawal of this series began on the brink of 1980s and 1990s and lasts until today. Some units are still used on mountainous areas, especially on Tarnów
Tarnów
Tarnów is a city in southeastern Poland with 115,341 inhabitants as of June 2009. The city has been situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999, but from 1975 to 1998 it was the capital of the Tarnów Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east-west connection...
-Krynica-Zdrój, Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
-Zakopane
Zakopane
Zakopane , is a town in southern Poland. It lies in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998 it was in of Nowy Sącz Province, but since 1999 it has been in Lesser Poland Province. It had a population of about 28,000 as of 2004. Zakopane is a...
and Wrocław-Wałbrzych lines. The only running first-series ET21 locomotive is ET21-57 machine located in Chabówka
Chabówka
Chabówka is a village located on the outskirts of the southern Polish town of Rabka, in the Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship. With population of 1,600 , Chabówka is a popular tourist attraction because of its location, near the Gorce Mountains.It also is an important rail junction,...
railway museum.
Service outside PKP
Polskie Koleje Panstwowe
is the dominant railway operator in Poland.The company was founded when the former state-owned operator was divided into several units based on the requirements laid down by the European Union...
Pafawag
Pafawag
Pafawag is a Polish locomotive manufacturer based in Wrocław. The company became part of Adtranz in 1997 as Adtranz Pafawag, and in 2001 part of Bombardier Transportation...
started selling machines for mining industry, specifically for Coal Mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
Filling Materials Company (Pl.
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
: Przedsiębiorstwo Materiałów Podsadzkowych Przemysłu Węglowego - PMP-PW). Those locomotives bore designation 3E - first series and 3E/1 - second, modernised series. The first locomotive delivered for PMP-PW was given 3E-10 number, the last one bore 3E/1-77 number.
The main difference between PKP ET21 and 3E locomotives was that coal mining locomotives were lacking in carriage heating systems. 3E and 3E/1 machines were and are still used for transporting filling sand, power plant waste and coal, especially in Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
region. It is quite common to use those locomotives in couples, with one of them pulling and the other pushing the train.
In the years 1973-1980 PKP
Polskie Koleje Panstwowe
is the dominant railway operator in Poland.The company was founded when the former state-owned operator was divided into several units based on the requirements laid down by the European Union...
borrowed several items of 3E/1 locomotives and changed their designation to ET21 with adding additional 9 figure to serial number. Such locomotives were running for PKP for over two years. In exchange PKP sold in the 1980s 14 units of ET21 locomotives to the industry. Those locomotives remained named ET21 but additional 1 figure was added to serial number.
Technical data
ET21 is a Co-Co electric locomotiveElectric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...
, suited for pulling freight trains weighing up to 2500 t. with top speed of 65 km/h or passenger trains with top speed of 100 km/h.
Engines
The locomotive is equipped with six LKb-635 (though some sources give LKa-635) engines which are mounted on the bogieBogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
s with a tram system . The engines propel the axles through 85:24 transmission. There are three ways of connecting the engines: series connection (all six engines in one series), series-parallel connection (three engines in one series - two groups) and parallel-series connection (two engines in one series - three groups).[9] Four-step reduction of engine excitation (up to 50%) is made by bypassing parts of main pole's windings with shunt
Shunt
Shunt may refer to:* Shunt - a hole or passage allowing fluid to move from one part of the body to another* Shunt - a device allowing electrical current to pass around a point in a circuit...
s and resistor
Resistor
A linear resistor is a linear, passive two-terminal electrical component that implements electrical resistance as a circuit element.The current through a resistor is in direct proportion to the voltage across the resistor's terminals. Thus, the ratio of the voltage applied across a resistor's...
s. Shunts and resistors are in parallel connection with main pole's winding. Each engine has four steel main poles, isolated with varnish and four commutation poles made of one steel block.
Bogies
A Co-Co type of the locomotive means it is equipped with two bogieBogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
s, each of them having three axle
Axle
An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to its surroundings, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle...
s with separate propulsion for each wheel set. Bogies are coupled with each other. Box is supported on bogies with three slides. Middle slide supports it chassis in horizontal position during start and braking.
Body
The body and chassis are completely weldedWelding
Welding is a fabrication or sculptural process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. This is often done by melting the workpieces and adding a filler material to form a pool of molten material that cools to become a strong joint, with pressure sometimes...
construction with crew compartments on both ends. It contains two machine compartments and one high voltage
High voltage
The term high voltage characterizes electrical circuits in which the voltage used is the cause of particular safety concerns and insulation requirements...
compartment. Moving between crew cabins is enabled by 570 mm wide corridor running along the box wall. machine compartments are reached through the doors in the back walls of crew compartments.
Both crew compartments are equipped in exactly the same way. It includes switch board, hand-brake and electric cooker on the left-hand side, drive controller, direction controller and brakes valves on the right-hand side. Air manometers and Hasler type train event recorder are mounted in front of the engineer's
Railroad engineer
A railroad engineer, locomotive engineer, train operator, train driver or engine driver is a person who drives a train on a railroad...
place. SHP (automatic train brake) button is located next to drive controller. Windscreens are equipped with 150W heater used during winter. Additional, 300W heater is located under the dashboard
Dashboard
A dashboard is a control panel placed in front of the driver of an automobile, housing instrumentation and controls for operation of the vehicle....
in order to heat crew's legs, but this was installed only in modernised 3E/1 version. Crew compartment A has washbasin and clothes locker installed. Sound horn and sander buttons are located on the floor.
In the wall of machine compartments large blinds are used as air intakes. On the opposite side, along the corridor rectangular blins are mounted between windows. Locomotives of 3E series have three windows on each side whilst 3E/1 locomotives have two windows on the side of machine compartments and three windows on the corridor side. There are compressor
Gas compressor
A gas compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume.Compressors are similar to pumps: both increase the pressure on a fluid and both can transport the fluid through a pipe. As gases are compressible, the compressor also reduces the volume of a gas...
s and blower
Blower
Blower may refer to:* USS Blower , a submarine of the United States Navy* a ducted centrifugal fan, especially when used in a heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning system* a supercharger on an internal-combustion engine...
s on the floors of machine compartments and two air tanks, 220 liters each, are mounted under the roof. In a non-modernised machine battery
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
box was installed in A crew compartment whilst in a modernised version batteries were placed inside machine compartments. Air tank for raising the pantograph
Pantograph (rail)
A pantograph for rail lines is a hinged electric-rod device that collects electric current from overhead lines for electric trains or trams. The pantograph typically connects to a one-wire line, with the track acting as the ground wire...
is located in B crew compartment.
All high voltage devices and resistors are located inside high voltage compartment. In modernised version of ET21 locomotive this is placed in the middle part of the box. It is possible to completely remove the framework of high voltage compartment. Locomotive's roof is divided into several parts and over the high voltage compartment it is removable.
Nicknames
- Telewizor (TV set) - from the shape
- Sputnik