EL.100 / EP01
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Two EL.100s unloaded from s/s Lublin;
Gdynia, 1936. Source: www.commons.wikimedia.org.
EL.103, probably in
EL.102 at the maintenance workshop in
EL.100 side drawing; source: KMD
vol.2-3/2008.
EL.102, photographed in Warsaw in August 1936.
Source: National Digital Archives (www.nac.gov.pl). Used by permission. |
Reconstruction
of Warsaw railway junction started immediately after WWI, although
preliminary plans can be traced back to 1893. It was decided to build a new
line, running approximately from west to east, right under the city center,
and a new central station. Work began in 1919 and the new line – so-called
‘Diameter Line’ – was opened in September 1933. Electrification of this line
had been planned earlier (preliminary studies had been initiated in 1926),
but world crisis and lack of funds resulted in considerable delays. First
tenders were invited in early 1931, but no contractor was chosen, due to
problems with financing. Final contract was signed between PKP and two
British companies (English Electric
and Metropolitan Vickers) in August
1933 and Contractors Committee for the
Electrification of Polish Railways was set up in Warsaw. First
electrified line (from Pruszków to Otwock via the Diameter Line, 43.5 km, 3000 V DC) was
opened on December 15, 1936; this date is acknowledged as the beginning of
electrification of Polish railways, although – strictly speaking – first
electrified line was a 32-km track between Grodzisk
Mazowiecki and Warsaw (600 V DC), opened in December 1927 and operated by a
private company. In
all, six locomotives were initially ordered. First two (designated EL.101 and
EL.102) were built by Metropolitan
Vickers and shipped to Gdynia in 1936. Four (EL.103 through EL.106 –
factory type 1E) were built by First
Locomotive Factory in Poland of Chrzanów, known
as Fablok.
Electric equipment was supplied by English
Electric and assembly of four locomotives in Chrzanów
was supervised by British specialists. All six machines were classed EL.100
(after service numbers); it was intended to re-class them E01, but this was
never done. They were intended for hauling transit trains through central
Warsaw – which in fact was switching – but could be used for line service
with passenger or even light freight trains. EL.100 was a simple machine,
with riveted body; drawbars and buffers were attached to trucks. There were
no provisions for multiple control (double-heading was not planned) and no
car heating equipment. After
tests and training, EL.100s entered regular service in October 1937 as first
electric locomotives with PKP. They were soon supplemented by four
lighter EL.200s. It was planned to order four more EL.100s from Fablok, again
with electric equipment supplied by English
Electric. Allegedly classed EL.110, these were to be fitted with boilers
for car heating, despite rather discouraging experience with EL.201. It is
not known whether the order was actually placed, but British electric
equipment did arrive at Gdynia in August 1939 and preparations at Fablok were
under way. The outbreak of war disrupted these plans. EL.103 – the very first
electric locomotive built in Poland – was destroyed in Warsaw during German air
raid in September 1939. The remaining five machines were impressed into Ostbahn service
and re-designated E101 through E106 (in accordance with German standards).
They were evacuated westwards in September 1944, but E101 was destroyed
during evacuation. E102, E104 and E105 were transferred to Łódź and remained in service until August 1964; in 1958,
in accordance with new relevant Polish standard, it was re-classed EP01.
Unfortunately, this historic machine was scrapped at the Łódź
Olechów depot, probably in 1968. First
electric locomotives in PKP service were perhaps no star performers,
but certainly they have a place in history and it is a sad thing that no
effort had been made to preserve at least one of them. It is worth mentioning
here that both EP02 (built in Poland by Pafawag) and EP03 (from Swedish
ASEA company), supplied in the 1950s, stemmed from the same basic
design and were similar in appearance and characteristics. Main
technical data
1) Two built by Metropolitan
Vickers and four by Fablok. References and
acknowledgments
-
Monograph First Electric Locomotive of PKP EL.100
(EP01) by Edward Pokropiński (EMI Press, 1995); -
Electrification
of the Warsaw PKP Railway Hub by Marek Ćwikła (Księży Młyn, 2023); -
KMD vol. 2-3/2008. |
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