The VL19 (

Cyrillic script The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic languages, Slavic, Turkic languages, Turkic, Mongolic languages, ...

: ВЛ19) was the first class of

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 ...

s designed in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Earlier classes had been designed in the

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and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The VL19s were produced from 1932 to 1938 and became the main freight and passenger DC electric locomotives in the Soviet Union. They were built for 1,500 volt DC but some were later converted to dual voltage. The designation VL was in honour of

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

and "19" Indicates a 19-ton axle load.

Equipment

The locomotives had a Co-Co

wheel arrangement In rail transport, a wheel arrangement or wheel configuration is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed under a locomotive. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and c ...

and there were six 340 kW

traction motor A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric vehicle, electric or hydrogen vehicles, elevators or electric multiple unit. Traction motors are used in electrically powered rail vehicles (ele ...

s giving a total output of 2,040 kW. The gear ratio was 3.74:1 and the wheels were 48 inch diameter. Following the introduction of 3,000 volt DC electrification, some locomotives were converted to dual voltage, 1,500 or 3,000 volt DC.

Preservation

Two locomotives have been preserved: File:Khashuri Locomotive.JPG, VL-19-01 preserved at Khashuri Station,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

File:ВЛ19-35 (г. Екатеринбург).jpg, alt=VL-19-035 preserved at Sverdlovsk station, Ekaterinburg, VL-19-035 preserved at Sverdlovsk station,

Ekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administrat ...

, Russia

References

Railway locomotives introduced in 1932 Electric locomotives of the Soviet Union 1500 V DC locomotives 5 ft gauge locomotives {{Russia-rail-transport-stub