207E
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207E-001, exhibited at theTrako 2017 fair in Gdańsk, September 27,
2017. Photo by Petr Štefek, source: www.commons.wikimedia.org.
207E-003, Rail Polska, photographed at the Puławy
Azoty station on June 12, 2022.
Photo (a rather poor one) of the 207E-010: Pilawa,
August 1, 2024. |
Perhaps the
biggest surprise at the Trako 2017 fair,
held in Gdańsk in September, was the presentation
of a modified M62 converted into… an electric locomotive. Frankly speaking,
not much was left from the old ‘Gagarin’ – just frame and trucks, the latter
thoroughly modified. The conversion began in 2014 at the Rail Polska works ZTK in Włosienica, basic design being
developed by VIS System company of
Gliwice. For this purpose, one section of the 2M62-1006, purchased from
Estonian railways EVR in February
2005, was used. The body is completely new and the cab offers much higher
comfort for crew, including air conditioning, refrigerator and tea-pot.
Maximum speed is 100 km/h and the locomotive, designated 207E, is intended
solely for freight traffic. ‘New’ locomotive has been dubbed ‘Edgar’. First
tests began in January 2018 at the Railway
Institute test track center in Węglewo, Lower
Silesia. Later they were continued under the supervision of the Rail Vehicles Institute of Poznań. Tests were completed in March 2019 and locomotive
was certified for commercial operation. It is planned to convert thirty M62s,
including twenty for own use (intended as a replacement of ex-Czechoslovakian
classes 182 and 183) and ten for sale or lease. A ‘last mile’ version is also
planned, with auxiliary power provided by a battery rather than a diesel
generator. ZTK has already
purchased about twenty ‘Gagarins’ for future
conversions. Second example, 207E-002, was delivered to Rail Polska in June 2020, 207E-003
followed in October 2021, 207E-004 in March 2022, 207E-005 in August 2022, 207E-006
in January 2023, 207E-007 in September 2023 and 207E-008 in December 2023. In
August 2024 I spotted the 207E-010, which indicates that conversions
continue. All are operated by Rail Polska. It
has to be noted that type 207E is not the only example of M62 conversion into
an electric locomotive. According to www.farrail.net, at least eleven
locomotives of this type have been converted in North Korea, although very
few details are available. One twin-section E2M62 is also operated in
Azerbaijan by state railways ADY
(information from www.railfaneurope.net). Main
technical data
1)
M62 conversions. 2)
Until August 2024, possibly more. References and
acknowledgments
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www.ilostan.forumkolejowe.pl; |
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