T478.4 is a class of diesel locomotives designed, manufactured and used in the former Czechoslovakia and now used in the

Czech republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

(ČD Class 754) and

Slovak republic Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's ...

(ZSSK Class 754). The locomotive is based on the T478.3 locomotive series. The most important difference was an electric train heating generator instead of the steam heating generator used on T478.3. To provide additional power needed for the heating generator, the prime mover power output was increased to 1470 kW, but the maximal power at the output of the traction generator remained the same as on Class T478.3. Another important new technology used on these locomotives was an electronic control system with an electrically controlled air brake valve and an automatic speed regulator, which was able to control not only the power output, but also the air brake. Their distinctive cab design has led to the nickname "Brejlovec" ("Goggles").

History

In 1974, after the evaluation of the newly built T499.0 prototypes and considering their high weight and complexity, the Federal Ministry of Transport of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

sent a request to the

ČKD ČKD (Českomoravská Kolben-Daněk) () was one of the largest engineering companies in the former Czechoslovakia and today's Czech Republic. It is famous for the Tatra T3, a tramcar that sold 13,991 units worldwide. History ČKD was formed i ...

design bureau to make a project of a locomotive similar to Class T478.3, but equipped with electric train heating generator. The first two prototypes were finished in December 1975. After trials, series production of 84 locomotives started in 1978. More locomotives were ordered, but the manufacture was terminated by a deliberately-set massive fire that destroyed the ČKD diesel engine plant at Smíchov district in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

in 1980. The Ministry cancelled the contract for another 96 locomotives before the plant was rebuilt.

Operation

The locomotives were used for heavy passenger and freight service, often double-headed. Since the main line electrification quickly progressed in the years following their manufacture, their importance somewhat decreased in the 1990s. During the rail market reorganisation in the 2000s, they were passed to the national passenger operators - Czech Railways in the Czech Republic and

Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko, a.s. (ZSSK) (') is a Slovak state-owned passenger train company based in Bratislava. In 2002 a company Železničná spoločnosť was established as a successor of personal and cargo transport part of the ...

in Slovakia. The two prototypes were withdrawn in 2011 and completely rebuilt to ČD Class 750.7. The series production locomotives remain in passenger operation until today (2020), some of them were withdrawn after accidents or fires. Since 2014, a few of the Czech locomotives have been modified for operation in Poland and leased to Polish rail operator

PKP Intercity PKP Intercity is the subsidiary of the PKP Group responsible for long-distance rail passenger transport in Poland. It operates around 350 trains daily, connecting large agglomerations and smaller towns in Poland. It offers its services under ...

Gallery

File:Lokomotiva 754.jpg, 754 007 File:ČD Class 754 - detail - side view.jpg, Side view detail File:754 037-0 PKP Intercity (pożyczona od ČD) z pociągiem TLK Flisak.jpg, alt=754 037-0 PKP Intercity/ČD, 754 037-0 PKP Intercity/ČD

In Fiction

*The GeoTrax toy line character "Goggles" is based on the ČSD Class T 478.4. Unlike the real T 478.4s, Goggles is portrayed as a single cab locomotive rather than a dual cab locomotive.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Csd Class T 478.4 Diesel–electric locomotives of the Czech Republic Diesel–electric locomotives of Slovakia ČKD diesel–electric locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1975 Diesel–electric locomotives of Czechoslovakia Bo′Bo′ locomotives Standard-gauge locomotives of Czechoslovakia Standard-gauge locomotives of the Czech Republic Standard-gauge locomotives of Slovakia

History

Operation

Gallery

In Fiction

See also

References