PKP class SM42
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

SM42 is the PKP class for a Polish
shunter A switcher, shunter, yard pilot, switch engine, yard goat, or shifter is a small Rail transport, railroad locomotive used for manoeuvring railroad cars inside a rail yard in a process known as Shunt (railway operations), ''switching'' (US) or ...
diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...
for shunting and light freight traffic, built by
Fablok Fablok is a Polish manufacturer of locomotives, based in Chrzanów. Until 1947 the official name was ''First Factory of Locomotives in Poland Ltd.'' ( pl, Pierwsza Fabryka Lokomotyw w Polsce Sp. Akc.), Fablok being a widely used syllabic abbrevia ...
in
Chrzanów Chrzanów () is a town in southern Poland with 35,651 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999) and is the seat of Chrzanów County. History History to 1809 It is impossible to establish ...
(manufacturer's designation is Ls800E, designer's designation 6D).


History

The SM42 was the first Polish-designed heavier
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 ...
and was the most numerous one in its country of origin.


Introduction

The technical documentation for this locomotive was developed in 1958-1962 by the state Central Construction Bureau of Railway Stock Industry (CBKPTK) in
Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...
, as type 6D. The production was given over to the
Fablok Fablok is a Polish manufacturer of locomotives, based in Chrzanów. Until 1947 the official name was ''First Factory of Locomotives in Poland Ltd.'' ( pl, Pierwsza Fabryka Lokomotyw w Polsce Sp. Akc.), Fablok being a widely used syllabic abbrevia ...
Locomotive Factory in
Chrzanów Chrzanów () is a town in southern Poland with 35,651 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999) and is the seat of Chrzanów County. History History to 1809 It is impossible to establish ...
, where it was designated Ls800E (meaning an 800 HP diesel locomotive with electric transmission). The prototype was ready in December 1963. It was lent to the
Polish State Railways (''PKP S.A.''; en, Polish State Railways, Inc.) is the dominant railway operator in Poland. The company was founded when the former state-owned enterprise was divided into several units based on the need for separation between infrastructure ...
(PKP), as the SM42-001, the class designation 'SM' meaning a diesel shunter locomotive, and was tested in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
in 1964. Two improved locomotives were built for the PKP in 1964, and twenty in 1965. In 1967, the locomotive entered serial production and 1,822 were built until production ceased in 1992. During the long production run, some minor improvements were incorporated into the design. The locomotives produced from 1972 onwards (so-called batch 2) had simplified chassis (starting from SM42-521, works no. 8499). The main buyer of Ls800 locomotives, which had priority in orders, were the Polish State Railways, which received 1157 locomotives. They were used for shunting, local freight traffic and local passenger traffic in warm months. 622 were made for the Polish industry, some in Ls800P variant with single steering only (they were designated by their users as Ls800 or SM42, with numbers above 2000). A variant of type 6D/SM42 locomotive was a type 101D locomotive, equipped with a steam generator for carriage heating. 268 locomotives of this variant were built and classified as SP42.


Later modifications

In 1972, a new version (6DM) was developed specifically for Moroccan railways (ONCFM). 37 were delivered as class DG 200 in 1973-1975. The main difference with respect to the original design was better anti-dust insulation of the machine compartment. Six similar locomotives, type 6DI, were built in 1982 for Dromex, a Polish building company operating in Iraq. In the years 1975-1977, 40 locomotives were converted to
SU42 SU42 is a Polish diesel-electric locomotive used for light freight and passenger traffic purposes. History The SU42 is in fact the same locomotive as SM42 and SP42. The original class SU42 were modifications of class SM42 done during the 1970s. ...
("diesel universal") class, with the addition of 500 V
electric train supply In rail transport, head-end power (HEP), also known as electric train supply (ETS), is the electrical power distribution system on a passenger train. The power source, usually a locomotive (or a generator car) at the front or 'head' of a train, p ...
for heating of passenger carriages. Due to the withdrawal of such carriages, in 2000 the electric supply systems were removed and these locomotives were reclassified back to SM42. In the years 1999-2000, 40 SP42 locomotives were equipped with standard 3 kV electric train supply and classified as SU42 too. In the 2000s, a number of companies started offering comprehensive modernisations of the locomotive, involving the replacement of the
prime mover Prime mover may refer to: Philosophy *Unmoved mover, a concept in Aristotle's writings Engineering * Prime mover (engine), motor, a machine that converts various other forms of energy (chemical, electrical, fluid pressure/flow, etc) into energy o ...
,
generator Generator may refer to: * Signal generator, electronic devices that generate repeating or non-repeating electronic signals * Electric generator, a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. * Generator (circuit theory), an eleme ...
and air compressors, upgraded driver's cab (that better isolates against the engine vibrations the original locomotive was famous for) and various changes to the body. Some of the companies that offer the rebuilds are: *
Newag Newag S.A. ronounced: nevagis a Polish company, based in Nowy Sącz, specialising in the production, maintenance, and modernisation of railway rolling stock. The company's products include the 14WE, 19WE, 35WE types electric multiple units; it ...
– 6Dg, 18D, 6Dl (with 3 kV electric train heating; equivalent to SU42 functionality) *
Pesa The Pesa is a river in Tuscany, central Italy. It has a length of 53 km, and, after crossing the provinces of Siena and Florence, flows into the Arno River near Montelupo Fiorentino Montelupo Fiorentino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the ...
– 6Dk * – 6Dh-1


Nicknames

This locomotive has also been referred to by the following nicknames: *Zebra or Stonka (''
Colorado beetle The Colorado potato beetle (''Leptinotarsa decemlineata''), also known as the Colorado beetle, the ten-striped spearman, the ten-lined potato beetle, or the potato bug, is a major pest of potato crops. It is about long, with a bright yellow/o ...
'') – from the original livery *Wibrator ('' Vibrator'') – from the vibrations the engine produced *Eleska – from the factory designation: Ls800 *Fablok – from the producer


See also

*
Polish locomotives designation PKP classification system (Polish locomotive designation) is a system of assigning letters and numbers to series and individual locomotives used by the PKP - Polish national railroad operator. The system was introduced for the steam stock by the ...


References

*


External links


SP42 at the Chabówka Rail Museum
– article with photos and technical data

{{PKP Locomotives Bo′Bo′ locomotives Diesel-electric locomotives of Poland Fablok locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1967 Standard gauge locomotives of Poland