The EU20 is an

electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a Battery (electricity), battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime mover (locomotive), ...

type formerly operated by the

Polish State Railways The Polish State Railways ( , abbr.: PKP S.A.) is a Polish state-owned holding company (legally a sole-shareholder company of the State Treasury) comprising the rail transport holdings of the country's formerly dominant namesake railway oper ...

(PKP) in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

History

In production for a mere three years (1955–1958), the series was built at the '' Lokomotivbau Elektrotechnische Werke'' works — commonly shortened to ''LEW'' — in

Hennigsdorf Hennigsdorf () is a town in the district of Oberhavel, in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. It is situated north-west of Berlin, just across the city border, which is formed mainly by the Havel river. History The town was first mentioned in 1375, ...

, East Germany. During this time, 34 units were produced with the intention for use as a mixed-traffic locomotive – hence its EU designation – though the reality is that the EU20 saw more use as a freight locomotive than a passenger one. EU20s were the first electric locomotives to be used on the route between

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

. The class gained notoriety for its frequent breakdowns due to overheating of

resistors A resistor is a passive two-terminal electronic component that implements electrical resistance as a circuit element. In electronic circuits, resistors are used to reduce current flow, adjust signal levels, to divide voltages, bias active e ...

, and the lack of additional cooling facilities found in other locomotives.

Technical data

Mechanically, the EU20 was identical to the earlier EU04 (also built by LEW), sharing the same traction engines,

rectifier A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC), which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC), which flows in only one direction. The process is known as ''rectification'', since it "straightens" t ...

s, and

gas compressor A compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. An air compressor is a specific type of gas compressor. Many compressors can be staged, that is, the gas is compressed several times in steps or ...

Operational history

During the series' 26-year service, most units were assigned to the

Piotrków Trybunalski Piotrków Trybunalski (; also known by #Etymology, alternative names), often simplified to Piotrków, is a city in central Poland with 71,252 inhabitants (2021). It is the capital of Piotrków County and the second-largest city in the Łódź Voi ...

depot. EU20s were withdrawn over a 6-year period, beginning in 1976, with the last locomotive being withdrawn in 1981.

Preservation

EU20-24 has been preserved as an exhibit at the

Warsaw Railway Museum The ''Stacja Muzeum'' is located at the former Warsaw Główna PKP railway terminus and is very close to the Warszawa Ochota railway station. The museum's exhibits are divided into permanent and temporary collections — the latter being di ...

, and is the only surviving example from the series.

References

External links

Lokomotywa elektryczna EU20-24 - stacjamuzeum.pl
Railway locomotives introduced in 1955 Co′Co′ locomotives 3000 V DC locomotives Polish State Railways electric locomotives Standard-gauge locomotives of Poland LEW locomotives Co′Co′ electric locomotives of Europe {{poland-rail-transport-stub