PKP class EW51
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EW51 (originally series 91 000/92 000, later on E400/E500, E93, and E51) was a three-car
electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a numbe ...
, produced by the
Lilpop, Rau i Loewenstein Lilpop, Rau i Loewenstein (, often shortened to Lilpop or LRL) was a Polish engineering company. Established in 1818 as an iron foundry, with time it rose to become a large holding company specialising in iron and steel production, as well as all ...
plants in Warsaw (mechanical parts of motor cars), H. Cegielski Spółka Akcyjna in Poznań and L. Zieleniewski in Sanok (control cars and trailer cars) in the years 1936–1939. Electrical equipment was supplied by
English Electric N.º UIC: 9094 110 1449-3 (Takargo Rail) The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, armistice of World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during th ...
. The units were intended for suburban traffic in the Warsaw area. Before the war, the units had second- and third-class compartments. A total of 76 units were produced. Currently, the only surviving vehicle, EW51-36, is the property of the Museum Station in Warsaw. Restoration was completed in January 2019.


Construction

Following the electrification of the suburban railway in Warsaw, there was a need for new trains to operate on them. On August 2, 1933, an agreement was reached with British companies to supply electrical equipment for the future units. The chief designer of the mechanical parts of the locomotive was T. Owczarek. A prototype unit was produced in 1935 by Lilpop, Rau and Loewenstein and H. Cegielski. The electrical equipment was installed under the supervision of English specialists. The work on first units started in July 1936 and one was presented to the public during an exhibition in August 1936 at Pole Mokotowskie in Warsaw. The first train to enter revenue service ran on December 15, 1936. By the end of 1937 the Polish State Railways (PKP) had 60 units in service. A further 16 units were ordered and built by 1939. The units were marked with the PKP service designation of ECmx (E: electric, C: third class, m: motor car with pantograph, x: four axle) and fleet numbers from 91 001 to 91 076. The trailer carriages were designated EBCbdxx and driving cars received EBCbdsxx, with numbers from 92 001 to 92 076. The units consisted of three carriages: a motor car, a trailer and a non-powered control car, permanently coupled in operation and could only be separated in a workshop environment. The three-car units were equipped for multiple working and with automatic Scharfenberg couplers, up to three units (i.e. trains consisting of six or nine cars) could be coupled. The use of driver's cabs at both ends meant that the units could travel both ways without having to be turned around. The motor car was equipped with electrical equipment (3 kV and 110 V) housed in a special compartment, located in the front of the car, adjacent to the driver's cab. The low voltage from a motor-generator set was used to supply auxiliary power and charge the batteries. The trailer and driving trailer had Jacobs bogie, thanks to this the weight of the unit was reduced. The current was collected from an overhead line by one of two
pantographs A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen. If a line dr ...
(the rear one), which was raised based on the direction of travel, apart from times when the contact was poor (e.g. icy conditions), when both pantographs were raised. The motor cars were equipped with four traction motors, each driving one axle. After World War 2 ten units were refurbished at Waggonbau Görlitz and due to a shortage of Jacobs bogies their trailer and control cars each received separate two axle bogies, increasing the total weight of the trainset. The modified units were designated as PKP class EW52. In total 36 units were restored as either EW51 or EW52 and remained in service till the end of 1970's. A single unit has been preserved and transferred to the Warsaw Railway Museum but was allowed to gradually deteriorate at railway siding until 2018 when it was restored and preserved by ZNTK Mińsk Mazowiecki and in 2021 transported by the
Masovian Railways Masovian Railways, in Polish Koleje Mazowieckie, is a regional rail operator in the Masovian Voivodeship of Poland. History The company was founded in 2004 as a joint venture of the Masovian Voivodeship, with 51% shares, and the, then governmen ...
for static exhibition in the museums' main site by the Warszawa Główna railway station. File:Otwarcie jednej z zelektryfikowanych linii warszawskiego węzła kolejowego.jpg, First electric train Józefów railway station near Otwock, December 15th, 1936 File: Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-695-0423-28, Warschauer Aufstand, Zivilisten auf Bahnhof.jpg, E91 electric multiple unit passing through
Warszawa Zachodnia station Warszawa Zachodnia station, in English Warsaw West, is a railway and long-distance bus station in Warsaw, Poland on the border of Ochota and Wola districts. The railway station is the westernmost terminus of the Warsaw Cross-City Line. It serves t ...
during the Warsaw Uprising in August 1944 File:Lokomotywownia Warszawa Grochów, 1974.jpg, EW51 electric multiple units at a depot in Grochów in 1974 File:Zdjęcie0103.jpg, A preserved 91000 abandoned at a railway siding at
Olszynka Grochowska Olszynka Grochowska is a subdistrict located in northern part of Praga-Południe, in south-east Warsaw. The subdistrict is mostly a forest area. Home to a nature reserve. Railway station is also located here. The area is commonly recognised due ...
, 2010 File:EW 51-36.jpg, EW51 after restoration in ZNTK Minsk Mazowiecki


References

Electric multiple units of Poland {{Poland-rail-transport-stub