Electric locomotive VL80

VL80 (Vladimir Lenin; 8-axle, single-phase, initial designation - H81 - Novocherkassk, 81st model) - a series of cargo main two-section AC electric locomotives 25 kV with an axial formula 2 (20−20). Nicknames: "Aurora", "Vylnik", "Kaiser", "Eighty", "Mazey", "Rocket", and also, depending on the index, "Kashka", "eska", "erka", "Teshka", "Val", in Belarus "Ox".

Locomotive VL80c № 197

History of creation VL80

In the regime of the rapidly developing economy and communications of the Soviet Union, the railway workers faced many difficult tasks. The high demand for transportation on steel lines required new technical solutions. The Ministry of Railways began to urgently lack DC freight locomotives, it became necessary to use more powerful electric locomotives in freight transportation. This especially affected the railways, which were electrified later than the roads in the European part of the country, and their contact networks operated on alternating current 27,000 volts.

NEVZ undertook to solve the problem of creating new equipment, which began the development of a powerful modern eight-axle electric locomotive with two sections (instead of the usual 6-axle DC locomotive). The new modern electric locomotive was called H8O, it was able to develop traction of 40 tons per hour.

Soviet designers have developed many options for crew cabins, electrical mechanisms, traction motors. The new electric locomotive structurally represented two absolutely identical sections with four axles, as well as with non-articulated bogies. The designers placed the couplers on the power frames of the locomotive. Carts began to be used on roller bearings in jawless axle boxes.

New electric locomotives of the VL brand were produced by the Novocherkassk electric locomotive plant from the beginning of the sixties to the mid-nineties of the last century. The new machine was created by VELNII - the research institute of the Soviet electric locomotive building. The plant quickly began to produce new locomotives, designated H81001, as well as H81002, initially, and later, in 1963, they gave them the name VL80-004-05.

Freight electric locomotives of the VL80 brand of all modifications were the main workhorse of the railways of the entire Soviet Union. These two-section powerful AC electric locomotives have received several cargo modifications and are still working properly on the long railway lines of Russia.

Features VL80

VL80 - the electric locomotive received this loud name in honor of the creator of the USSR Vladimir Lenin. A feature of this type of this wonderful cargo constellation of Soviet locomotives was the power supply of machines with single-phase alternating current. The main difference between the new locomotive and the previous VL60 model was a new design solution. This locomotive was produced in two-section and eight-axle versions. This model of Soviet freight locomotives has become the largest series of AC machines in the Union and Russia. Mercury arc units were used as rectifiers, which was later replaced by more advanced silicon rectifiers.

The design of the VL80 electric locomotive

Structurally, the body of the VL locomotive was an analogy to the former H8o with slight changes in the appearance of the old car. The driver's cab was borrowed by the creators from the VL60, and the transition between sections was designed like a wagon, a rubber shirt protected the transition from dust. The bogies were equipped with inter-axle hydraulic shock absorbers, they replaced the previous friction-type shock absorbers.

Traction transformers for VL80 were produced in Estonia. These units were installed in all sections of the novelty. The transformer had a steel magnetic core with three windings. The network winding was connected by a rail circuit to the contact wire. The traction winding fed the traction motors and had two adjusting sections, which were divided into 4 constituent elements. The transformer was completely immersed in the oil tank, in which the oil was circulated by pumps through cooled radiators. The driver was engaged in adjusting the voltage of all traction motors. To do this, he used the EKG-8 group switch.

The rectifier units of an electric locomotive are called mercury ignitrons. They were connected in parallel and fed two traction motors, later the ignitrons were replaced by silicon rectifiers.

ynchronous traction collector electric motors were installed on the overhead lines. The stator of the NB414A motor was made of electrical steel, and the pole coils were made of copper. Traction electric motors were capable of delivering 47.9 tons of thrust at a speed of 48 km / h. In continuous mode, the thrust value was 41.1 tons at a speed of 50. The electric locomotive had a good maximum speed of 110 km / h. To ensure the normal operation of the locomotive, auxiliary machines were used - phase splitters, which provided auxiliary motors with three-phase current.

VL80 is controlled from the driver's cab, which is equipped with each section of the locomotive. The cabin has two workplaces. There was a main post of the driver, as well as a second post for his assistant. Cabin equipment is exactly the same. All the main instruments and controls are located at the driver's workplace. All equipment is assembled in a single unit.

The instrumentation and controls include a signal board, a speedometer, a brake blocker, an alarm valve, a crane for controlling the auxiliary brake, a driver's crane, and a push-button station. The driver's workplace is equipped with a control panel.