Soviet Locomotive Class LV
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The Soviet locomotive class LV () was a
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
main freight
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...
type. Between 1952 and 1956, 522 locomotives were built.


Development

The class LV locomotive was designed as a successor to the class L
2-10-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-10-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, ten powered and coupled driving wheels on five axles, and no trailing wheels. This arrangement was of ...
, which had been a successful design developed during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. However, by the late 1940s some drawbacks to the design, including poor operating qualities when operating in reverse, had become apparent. In 1949 the General Directorate of the Ministry of Railways authorized the development of a new 2-10-2 locomotive. Voroshilovgrad Works in Voroshilovgrad, Ukrainian SSR (now
Luhansk Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the Cities in Ukraine, 12th-largest city in Ukraine. Luhansk served as the administra ...
, Ukraine), began designing the new locomotive and the prototype was ready in 1951. Initially the class was designated OR18, with the prototype locomotive numbered OR18-01, but the designation was later changed to class LV. In addition to a new
boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centra ...
and firebox, advancements over the class L included a centralized lubrication system, pneumatic grates, power reverse, and
roller bearings In mechanical engineering, a rolling-element bearing, also known as a rolling bearing,ISO 15 is a bearing which carries a load by placing rolling elements (such as balls, cylinders, or cones) between two concentric, grooved rings called race ...
on all axles.Ross, David, ed. (2003). ''The Encyclopedia of Trains and Locomotives.'' Barnes & Noble, p. 224. . Upon arrival at the SZD testing facility in June 1952 the prototype locomotive was closely examined and found to exceed previous types in
tractive effort In railway engineering, the term tractive effort describes the pulling or pushing capability of a locomotive. The published tractive force value for any vehicle may be theoretical—that is, calculated from known or implied mechanical proper ...
and horsepower. It was also shown to be the most efficient design then in operation in Russia, with
thermal efficiency In thermodynamics, the thermal efficiency (\eta_) is a dimensionless performance measure of a device that uses thermal energy, such as an internal combustion engine, steam turbine, steam engine, boiler, furnace, refrigerator, ACs etc. For ...
of 9.27%. Locomotive OR18-01 was placed into revenue service at Lublin Depot in August 1953. Following the successful test of OR18-01, a second locomotive was constructed in November 1953 incorporating minor changes, with two more pre-production locomotives produced during early 1954. Later in that year the first six production locomotives were built and the class designation was changed to LV (though the four prototypes were renumbered with LV18, rather than LV, prefixes). The six production locomotives, LV-0005 to LV-0010, were built with
plain bearings file:NYC 100-driving-axle-friction-bearing.jpg, Plain bearing on a 1906 S-Motor locomotive showing the axle, bearing, oil supply and oiling pad file:Linear-table with detail numbered.png, A sliding table with four cylindrical bearings file:GWR Spo ...
but were designed to be converted to roller bearings later. The success of the initial batch of production locomotives resulted in Voroshilovgrad Works beginning mass production of class LV locomotives in 1955. Locomotives 0011-0112 were produced in the first year, with another 400 locomotives numbered 0113-0522 completed in 1956. Some changes were made during the course of the production run. Different combinations of plain bearings and roller bearings were produced, and starting with number 0026 a six-axle tender was substituted for the four-axle tender used with earlier locomotives. The drawbar connection between the locomotive and tender was also strengthened at the same time. Initially it was planned to construct 3,000 locomotives of class LV, but in February 1956 at the 20th Communist Party Congress it was decided that a broad program of railway modernization would be embarked upon. Diesel-electric and
electric locomotives 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), ...
were to supplant steam locomotives, on which construction would cease. With this decision the production of class LV locomotives was cut off, as was work on a more powerful 2-10-2 under development designated class OR21. At the end of 1956, locomotive LV-0522 became the last steam locomotive completed at Voroshilovgrad Works. The design of the LV is believed to have partly influenced the design of the QJ class locomotive built in the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
in the late 1950s to 1980s.


Operation

The first prototype of class LV entered service on the Moscow-Kursk-Donbas line, operating out of Lublin Depot from August 1953 to April 1954 in testing. Once the type entered production, they were no longer used on this line as they were more powerful than needed. Production locomotives entered service on the
South Urals Southern Ural (, ) encompasses the south, the widest part of the Ural Mountains, stretches from the river Ufa (near the village of Lower Ufaley) to the Ural River. From the west and east the Southern Ural is limited to the East European Plain, We ...
, East Siberian and
Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...
railway lines, where following their introduction train weights increased by 25-30% and coal consumption fell 12-14% on average. Despite good operational results there were obstacles in introducing the locomotives, including the length of locomotives with six-axles tenders, which made it impossible to turn them at depots with turntables smaller than . In 1959, with electrification of the main line of the
Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway ...
, locomotives operating on that line out of Kartali Depot were transferred to the Tselinnoe,
Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...
, Kemerovo and South Urals railway lines. As of 1976 there were still 521 locomotives of the class in operation on the Northern (168 locomotives), Kazakh (209 locomotives), Sverdlovsk (35 locomotives), South Urals (34 locomotives), and West Siberian (75 locomotives) lines. However retirement of steam locomotives began in earnest in the late 1960s and eventually all locomotives of this type were retired.


Preserved Locomotives


In working condition

* LV-0123 — Sverdlovsk Region, Russia: restored to working order at Tikhoretsk in 2017 * LV-0165 — Chrysostom Depot,
Troitsk Troitsk (, ''Tróick'') is the name of several types of inhabited localities in Russia, inhabited localities in Russia. Modern localities ;Urban localities *Troitsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, a town in Chelyabinsk Oblast; *Troitsk, Moscow, a town in Tro ...
,
Chelyabinsk oblast Chelyabinsk Oblast; , is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia in the Ural Mountains region, on the border of Europe and Asia. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chel ...
, Russia * LV-0182 — Podmoskovnaya Depot, Moscow, Russia * LV-0233 — Tikhoretsk, Krasnodar Region, Russia * LV-0283 — Podmoskovnaya Depot, Moscow, Russia * LV-0522 — Moscow, Podmoskovnaya Depot, Russia


Conserved

* LV-0041 — At
Tikhoretsk Tikhoretsk () is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is the administrative center of the Tikhoretsky urban settlement and the Tikhoretsky District of the Krasnodar Territory. Population: Administrative and municipal status Within the framew ...
, Russia, for restoration to working order * LV-0192 — Podmoskovnaya Depot,
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
, Russia * LV-0355 — At Tikhoretsk for restoration to working order * LV-0415 — "Pioneer Park" the October Railway, Lebyazhe,
Leningrad oblast Leningrad Oblast (, ; ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). The oblast has an area of and a population of 2,000,997 (2021 Russian census, 2021 Census); up from 1,716,868 recorded in the 2010 Russian census ...
, Russia


In museums

* LV18-01 — Lebyazhye Railway Museum, Lebyazhye, Lomonosovsky District, Leningrad Oblast, Russia * LV18-002 —
Russian Railway Museum The Russian Railway Museum is situated next to Baltiysky railway station in Saint Petersburg. The museum was established in 1978, its current site and exhibition opened to public on 1 November 2017. The museum utilizes the nineteenth century ...
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
, Russia * LV-0040 —
Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siber ...
Railway Museum, Russia * LV-0202 — Brest Railway Museum, Belarus * LV-0225 —
Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...
Railway Museum, Russia * LV-0268 — Samara Railway Museum, Russia * LV-0333 —
Rostov Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...
Railway Museum, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia * LV-0407 — Donetsk Museum, Ukraine * LV-0420 — October Railway Museum, Shushary, Russia * LV-0428 —
Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk; , is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, seventh-largest city in Russia, with a population ...
Railway Museum, Russia * LV-0441 — Moscow Railway Museum, Russia * LV-0487 —
Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...
Railway Museum, Uzbekistan


Memorial steam locomotive

* LV-0190 — Kyzylordy,
Qyzylorda Kyzylorda ( , formerly known as Kzyl-Orda (), Ak-Mechet (Ак-Мечеть), Perovsk (Перовск), and Fort-Perovsky (Форт-Перовский), is a city in south-central Kazakhstan, capital of Kyzylorda Region and former capital of the ...
, Kazakhstan * LV-0197 — Vologda Depot,
Vologda Vologda (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda (river), Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. Population: The city serves as ...
, Russia * LV-0478 — Pechora Depot,
Komi Republic The Komi Republic (; ), sometimes simply referred to as Komi, is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the northeast of European Russia. Its capital city, capital is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Syktyvka ...
, Russia


Abandoned

* LV-0044 —
Zlatoust Zlatoust (; ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Ay River (in the Kama River, Kama drainage basin, basin), west of Chelyabinsk. Population: 181,000 (1971); 161,000 (1959); 99,000 ...
, Russia * LV-0092 —
Embi Embi (, ''Embı'') is a town in Mugalzhar District in Aktobe Region of western Kazakhstan. The town is on the left bank of the Emba River. Population: History Embi (or Emba) was founded in the 1900s, when the railroad connecting Orenburg a ...
, Kazakhstan * LV-0096 —
Shchuchinsk Shchuchinsk (, ''Şuchinsk''; , ) is a city in northern-central Kazakhstan, located 75 kilometres south-east of Kokshetau on Lake Shchuchye. It is the seat of Burabay District (form. Shchuchinsk District) in Akmola Region and is the centre of a l ...
, Aqmola, Kazakhstan * LV-0348 —
Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...
, Kazakhstan * LV-0387 — Shchuchinsk, Aqmola, Kazakhstan


See also

*
Russian Railway Museum The Russian Railway Museum is situated next to Baltiysky railway station in Saint Petersburg. The museum was established in 1978, its current site and exhibition opened to public on 1 November 2017. The museum utilizes the nineteenth century ...
,
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
*
The Museum of the Moscow Railway The Museum of the Moscow Railway () is situated next to Paveletsky Rail Terminal in Moscow. The museum reopened to private visitors in 2011 and it reopened to the general public in January 2012. It's the object of cultural heritage of Russia. ...
, at
Paveletsky Rail Terminal Moscow Paveletsky station () is one of Moscow's ten main railway stations. Originally called Saratovsky Railway Station, it was renamed after the settlement of Pavelets, when the railroad heading southeast from Moscow reached that point in 1899 ...
,
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
*
Rizhsky Rail Terminal Rizhsky station (, ''Rizhsky vokzal'', Riga station) is one of the ten main railway stations in Moscow, Russia. It was built in 1901. As well as being an active station it also houses the Museum of the Moscow Railway (Moscow Rizhsky station), Mos ...
, Home of the Moscow Railway Museum *
Finland Station St Petersburg–Finlyandsky (), also known as Finland Station () , is a railway station in St. Petersburg, Russia, handling transport to westerly destinations including Helsinki and Vyborg. The station is most famous for having been the lo ...
,
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
*
History of rail transport in Russia Russia was and is the largest country in the world. Its geography of north–south rivers and east–west commerce, plus, importantly, the mostly flat terrain, made it very suited to develop railroads as the basic mode of transportation. Today R ...


References

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