Virginian EL-2B

Virginian EL-2B

Virginian EL-2B, near Salem, Va., July 11, 1953
Type and origin
Power type Electric
Builder GE Erie Works
Build date 1948
Total produced 4
Specifications
Configuration:
 ​
 • Whyte (4-4-4-4)+(4-4-4-4)
 • AAR (B+B-B+B)+(B+B-B+B)
 • UIC (Bo′Bo′)(Bo′Bo′)+(Bo′Bo′)(Bo′Bo′)
Gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Wheel diameter 42 in (1.1 m)
Length 150 ft 8 in (45.92 m)
Width 11 ft 1 in (3.38 m)
Height 15 ft 6 in (4.72 m)
Adhesive weight 1,000,000 lb (450 t)
Loco weight 1,000,000 lb (450 t)
Electric system/s 11 kV, 25 Hz AC
Current pickup(s) Pantograph
Traction motors 16 × 500 hp (370 kW) GE 746
Transmission AC Synchronous motors(2x)/
DC Generators(4x)/
DC traction motors(16x)
Train heating None
Loco brake Air/Regenerative
Train brakes Air
Performance figures
Maximum speed 35 mph (56 km/h)
Power output 6,800 hp (5,100 kW)
Tractive effort 162,000 lbf (720 kN)
Career
Operators Virginian Railway
Class EL-2B
Number in class 4
Numbers 125–128
Delivered 1948
Retired 1959
Disposition All scrapped

The Virginian Railway's class EL-2B comprised four two-unit electric locomotives with AAR (B+B-B+B)+(B+B-B+B) wheel arrangements. The locomotives were used on the 133-mile (214 km) electrified portion of the railroad, from Roanoke, Virginia to Mullens, West Virginia. These large motor-generator locomotives weighed 1,000,000 pounds (450 t), were 150 feet 8 inches (45.92 m) long, and were capable of producing 6,800 horsepower (5.1 MW).

The EL-2B locomotives were built at General Electric's Erie works in 1948. Numbered 125–128, they were the largest two-unit electric locomotives used in North America.

The locomotives were retired and sold for scrap shortly after the 1959 merger of the Virginian with the Norfolk and Western Railway.

References

    • Newton N. Gregg (1979). Train Shed Cyclopedia, No. 80: Locos of the 40s and 50s (Part 11) from the 1941 LOC CYC and Railway Mechanical Engineer. Newton K. Gregg. ISBN 978-0-87962-083-7. 
    • "ELECTRICS IN THE SOUTHEAST". Retrieved 2009-03-29. 
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