EP02
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EP02-08, photographed somewhere in
EP02-07, withdrawn on
EP02-02, typical livery from late 60s, Railway
Museum, Warsaw, Poland, July 23, 2002.
EP02-08, preserved at the Kraków
Bieżanów loco depot. Photo taken on August 8, 2004,
by Wojtek ‘Mundek’ Nowak
– thanks for permission!
Another picture of (externally)
refurbished EP02-02, Railway Museum, Warsaw, May 25, 2005.
A very stylish photo of the EP02-02, probably shortly after arrival at
the Railway Museum. Quixi Media collection (used by
permission).
Side drawing of the EP02; source – ‘Electrification
of the PKP between 20th and 21th
centuries’, Warsaw, 2009.
EP02-08 again – this time at the Kraków Prokocim depot, October
10, 1997. Photo by Marek Niemiec (from my
collection).
EP02-07 again, in a much poorer condition; Chabówka, May 6, 2017.
Back to the Railway Museum, Warsaw (in the meantime
renamed Stacja Muzeum):
EP02-02 in rather poor condition. July 6, 2023. |
Warsaw railway junction was
electrified before the WWII; reconstruction started almost immediately after
the termination of hostilities and was completed before 1950. Lack of
suitable locomotives for long-distance trains passing through the capital
remained, however, a problem, as the pre-war railway stock was in most part
either damaged or lost. First eight brand-new electric locomotives were
purchased from the Swedish company ASEA in early 50s (classed E03,
later EP03). Polish industry was not yet able to produce a complete electric
locomotive; it was felt, however, that with electric equipment and traction
motors purchased abroad, such machines could be built. Contacts with the
British Contractors Committee for the
Electrification of Polish Railways, dating from the 30s, had in fact been
revived before the purchase of Swedish machines and in 1949 a contract was
signed for delivery of electric equipment and traction motors for eight
locomotives. Design was completed in 1951. These machines were first
designated E110 (corresponding to allocated service numbers E110 to E117,
factory type 1E), then E02 and finally, in 1958, EP02 in accordance with new
relevant Polish Standard. They were built by Pafawag factory of Wrocław (pre-war Linke-Hofmann).
EP02 was a compromise between
demands and actual capabilities and was never entirely satisfactory. This
resulted from both almost no experience in design of such machines and
limited ability of various sub-contractors to deliver necessary items and
equipment of sufficient quality. First machine, rolled out probably in August
1953, had, for example, journal bearings of axle sets, instead of originally
intended two-row roller bearings; their failures were frequent. Most
important shortcomings, however, were uneasy running, snaking and
considerable vibration, especially at speeds above 70 km/h – rather
disturbing for a locomotive intended in fact for fast trains. Crews complained
of draughts and excessive shocks. More serious were wheel flange fractures.
These problems were never completely solved, but several modifications were
progressively introduced. Reliability, however, was always comparatively low
and failures remained frequent. Experience gained with the EP02 proved, in
the end, very valuable for design of the successful ET21 freight locomotive,
built in series from 1957 onwards.
Electric
traction motors and other electric equipment was almost the same as in the pre-war
EL100 (EP01), but trucks and body (of welded construction) were new, more
modern and different in appearance. Last machine built (E117, then EP02-08)
was fitted with new LKa635 traction motors and different reduction gears,
intended for the ET21. In 1966 EP02-03 (former E112) during a major repair at
the Lubań works was fitted with inter-truck
coupling and improved electric equipment, including some elements adopted
from that used in the ET21. Modifications introduced during overhauls
resulted in significant differences between individual examples, but general
upgrade of the entire series was considered unjustified, due to deliveries of
new and more modern locomotives. Service
of the EP02s with fast trains was comparatively short and after a few years they
were switched to slow trains, remaining in use until early 70s. In September
1971 their service speed was limited to 70 km/h and after a few weeks they
were withdrawn from use. Three were kept as stationary heater cars, the last
of them remaining in this inconspicuous role until 1996. Next passenger
locomotives for PKP were purchased in East Germany (EU04), Czechoslovakia
(EU05) and Great Britain (EU06), the British machine finally going into
license production in Poland. Having in mind that many other locomotives, often
unique, had been scrapped before their historical value was recognized, it is
somehow surprising that three EP02s still exist. EP02-08 is preserved in Jarocin. This locomotive, used as a stationary heating unit
in Przemyśl from about 1975 until November 1996,
was initially plinthed at the Kraków
Prokocim depot and transferred to Jarocin in November 2019. It is not complete and several
items, including traction engines, are missing. EP02-07 is now in the Chabówka rolling stock heritage park. This locomotive,
after sixteen years of service, spent further twenty years as a stationary
heater car in Zakopane; in 1992 it was restored and
brought to Chabówka. EP02-2 is now on display in
the Railway Museum in Warsaw. None of the three is, however, in working order
or even complete. Prototype EP02-01, initially transferred to the Technical
University of Cracow as an educational exhibit, was finally scrapped in 1976. Main
technical data
1)
EP02-08 fitted with LKa635 motors 2)
78:31 in the EP02-08 3)
Some sources give 110 km/h. List of vehicles can be found here. References and
acknowledgments
- article
by Paweł Terczyński (SK
vol. 2/1997); - www.parowozy.pl
(Chabówka railway stock heritage park website). |
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