The Indian locomotive class WDS-6 is a

diesel-electric locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conv ...

used by the

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...

mainly for shunting and also for performing departmental duties. The model name stands for

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

(W), Diesel (D), Shunting (S) engine, 6th generation (6). As of April 2022, 375 units of this class are currently in use all over India.

History

This class was designed in 1975 to address the need for a powerful shunting locomotive with the ability to haul 20- to 24-coach rakes. The previous

WDS-4 The WDS-4 also known as Pappu is a class of diesel-hydraulic locomotive used by Indian Railways for shunting and departmental operations. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), Diesel (D), Shunting (S) engine. The WDS-4 was once used all ove ...

class was found to be grossly underpowered for this kind of operation. A WDS-6 locomotive basically consists of a

YDM-4 The class YDM-4 is Indian Railways' workhorse diesel locomotive. The first units were imported fully built from the American Locomotive Company (Alco) in 1961. Since 1968, it has been manufactured in India by the Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW), Va ...

powerpack (a 6-cylinder, 4-stroke, inline, turbo-supercharged

ALCo The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomo ...

engine) mounted on a

WDM-2 The Indian locomotive class WDM-2 is a class of diesel-electric locomotive that was developed in 1962 by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), Diesel (D), Mixed traffic (M) engine, ...

body frame. Beginning in 1975, these were initially manufactured solely by BLW, Varanasi, but later, the Parel Workshop started building them using CKD (completely-knocked-down) kits provided by DLW. WDS-6 units can be easily recognized by their low short hoods (with two cab windows above these) and flat-ended cabs on the long-hood end. Many of them were sold and transferred to private industrial concerns and public sector undertakings (PSUs) in huge numbers, but still display their IR road numbers.

Locomotive sheds

Technical specifications

Gallery

File:WDS-6AD locomotive used in Indian Railways.jpg, WDS-6AD locomotive in outer area of Saharanpur Junction. File:ERS WDS6.jpg, Ernakulam based WDS-6 File:A Tondiarpet-based WDS6 locomotive at Chennai Central Station.jpg, A Tondiarpet-based WDS6 locomotive at Chennai Central Station.

References

RDSO document for WDS-6archived copy
*https://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-loco2d.html *https://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-specs.html#WDS-6 *https://www.irfca.org/apps/locos/list {{DEFAULTSORT:WDS-6 S-6 Co-Co locomotives Banaras Locomotive Works locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1975 5 ft 6 in gauge locomotives

History

Locomotive sheds

Technical specifications

Gallery

See also

Bibliography

References