The Virginian EL-C, later known as the New Haven EF-4 and E33, was 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 or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas ...

built for the

Virginian Railway The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads. History ...

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

in August 1955. They were the first successful production locomotives to use Ignitron (mercury arc) rectifier technology. Although they proved to be a successful design, no more EL-Cs were built, due to the small number of railroads that had

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...

and the advent of improved electric locomotive technology. They were among the last mainline electric freight locomotives in the United States.

Background

In the mid-1920s the

had adopted an 11 kV 25 Hz AC electrification for its coal-heavy main line between Mullens, West Virginia and Roanoke, Virginia. To work this line the Virginian bought 36 EL-3A

boxcab A boxcab, in railroad terminology, is a locomotive in which the machinery and crew areas are enclosed in a box-like superstructure (from boxcar). It is a term mostly used in North America while in Victoria (Australia), such locomotives have been ...

locomotives from Westinghouse. The Virginian added four EL-2B locomotives from

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, but the original fleet was showing its age. In the mid-1950s the Virginian decided to continue electrification in lieu of dieselization, and ordered new locomotives from GE to replace the original boxcabs.

Design

GE employed then-new ignitron

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 reverse operation (converting DC to AC) is performed by an Power ...

technology, first used on the experimental Pennsylvania Railroad E2c and E3b locomotives. The rectifiers converted the overhead AC to DC. A transformer stepped the voltage down from 11 kV to feed the rectifier. The DC voltage from the rectifier was then smoothed by a reactor before it was passed on to the traction motors. There were six traction motors, one for each axle. Starting tractive effort was ; maximum power output . The maximum speed of the locomotive was . Each locomotive had six axles in a C-C configuration. They were long and weighed .

History

GE delivered 12 locomotives, numbered 130–141, to the Virginian between October 1956 and January 1957. The locomotives performed well in freight service and the Virginian retired the EL-3As as planned. The situation changed dramatically in December 1959 when the long-discussed merger between the Virginian and the

Norfolk and Western Railway The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...

occurred. The routes were largely parallel, and the N&W had scrapped its own electrification scheme in 1950. The N&W renumbered the EL-Cs 230–241 and kept them running, but change was coming. The N&W routed only eastbound traffic over the former Virginian, with all westbound traffic going over the N&W main line. The electrification system became surplus to requirements and was shut down on June 30, 1962. N&W rebuilt one EL-C, 230, as a

road slug In railroading, a slug is a version of a diesel-electric locomotive which lacks a prime mover, and often a cab. It derives the electrical power needed to operate its traction motors and motor controls from a fully-powered mother locomotive. ...

, but the experiment proved unsuccessful. In 1963 the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad stepped in. The New Haven was cash-strapped but in need of power to replace 1910s-era boxcabs on its electrification between New York and New Haven. The N&W sold all 12 locomotives, including the slug as a parts source, for $300,000. The New Haven designated the locomotives EF-4 and renumbered them 300–310. The locomotives gained their fourth owner in 1969 when the New Haven became part of

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...

. With the change in ownership came a new designation, E33 (following the old

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

nomenclature), a renumbering to 4600–4610, and a new assignment: protecting freight schedules on the

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...

and the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line. No. 4600 was wrecked and never entered service. A fifth and final change in ownership came in 1976 when the bankrupt Penn Central became part of

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...

. Retained and repainted by

, all 10 E33s were retired at the end of March 1981 when Conrail shut down its electric freight operations.

Preservation

Conrail sent its remaining E33s back to GE as trade-ins. Two were preserved: ex-Virginian No. 131, painted as

4601 which was at the

Railroad Museum of New England The Railroad Museum of New England is a railroad museum based in Thomaston, Connecticut. Through its operating subsidiary known as the Naugatuck Railroad, the museum operates excursion and freight trains on the Torrington Secondary between Waterv ...

(RMNE) and ex-Virginian No. 135 at the Virginia Museum of Transportation. RMNE sold No. 4601 to the

Illinois Railway Museum The Illinois Railway Museum (IRM, reporting mark IRMX) is the largest railroad museum in the United States. It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area at 7000 Olson Road in Union, Illinois, northwest of downtown Chicago. Overview Histo ...

in 2015

Notes

References

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External links

The Virginian Railway EL-C Rectifiers
{{GE electrics General Electric locomotives 11 kV AC locomotives Virginian Railway locomotives New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad locomotives Electric locomotives of the United States Preserved electric locomotives Freight locomotives Conrail locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 1955