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Description

ET42 is a Polish State Railways' designation for a two-section electric locomotive, produced by Novocherkassy Electric Locomotive Plant.

The need for more powerful locomotives in Poland arose in the 1970s, when the Communist government increased the export of the Silesian coal to pay off the debts incurred by Edward Gierek and his desire to "boost" Polish economy (which worked in short term, but proved disastrous later on). To haul heavy trains along the Coal Trunk-Line (pl. magistrala węglowa), which was electrified since late 1960s, single-section ET21 locomotives were initially used, but they were needed elsewhere, and one train required several locomotives at once. Therefore a decision was made to order two-section locomotives to remedy this.

Initially, two locomotives were ordered from abroad: the Czechoslovakian Škoda 77E (PKP-class ET40) and the Soviet NEVZ 112E (PKP-class ET42). The latter was based on the Soviet VL10 and VL11 Russian gauge locomotives (1520 mm), but adapted for Polish standard gauge (1435 mm). Unlike the PKP-class ET41, the ET42 was designed as a two-section locomotive from the outset, meaning that there's never been a a single-section variant of it. Moreover, the locomotive is shorter than two-section units built from pre-existing locomotives (30,8 m), and its engines can be synchronised much better than ones in other two-section locomotives, meaning that it can take off very smoothly, drive slowly, and achieve high speed (100 kph) once it leaves the station.

50 locomotives were acquired between 1978 and 1982, becoming the most powerful electric locomotive in Polish service. All of them were assigned to Zduńska Wola - Karsznice railway depot, roughly at halfpoint of the Coal Trunk-Line. During their service, four locomotives (-003, -045, -043 and -033) were involved in accidents which led to them being written off. One of the most dramatic ones was the Terespol Pomorski rail collision on 29 September 1987, when the driver of ET42-003, waiting to leave the station, noticed that the signal light turned green, assumed he can depart Terespol, and started his train, crossing from track no. 3 to track no. 1; however, that light was actually given to the "Bałtyk" express train to Gdańsk which has just entered the station at over 130 kph; the trains collided with such force that one of the passenger cars was ejected into the air and partially landed on top of a residential building nearby. In total, five people were killed: three passengers of the express train, a train driver deadheading to Laskowice Pomorskie, and a railway inspector who was hit by debris after the crash. Both locomotives were written off and scrapped.

By 2009, the remaining 46 locomotives were put in a long-term storage at Karsznice; however from 2011, they've been moved to Tarnowskie Góry and reintroduced into service.

The yellow front of the locomotive is a remnant of a tragic accident that happened on 4 June 1988 at Drogomil: a Star 66 military truck carrying ten soldiers entered the level crossing and was swept away by an express train, then sideswiped by an electric multiple unit approaching from the opposite direction. As a result of the collision, eight jerrycans of petrol carried at the back of the truck, next to the soldiers, erupted in flames; three of the soldiers, engulfed in flames, ran towards a nearby house begging for help, but all of them - 10 people in total - would eventually die in the accident. It was assumed that the driver of the truck - substituting for the actual driver that left the truck for an unauthorized leave, - saw one train leaving the level crossing and drove onto it, not expecting another train approaching from the opposite direction. Polish State Railways ordered that all the locomotives have their fronts painted in yellow for better visibility, but the recommendation was largely ignored past 1998, and cancelled in 2002; however, another order - that the train's lights be lit even during daytime - is still enforced.

Among Polish railway enthusiasts, the locomotive is known under the nicknames of Rusek (a derogative form of Rosjanin, or Russian), Chapayev, and submarine (because of its length and porthole-like windows).

Pictured during the Katarzynki (St. Catherine's Day) in Franowo Railway Depot, Poznań.

Description

ET42 is a Polish State Railways' designation for a two-section electric locomotive, produced by Novocherkassy Electric Locomotive Plant.

The need for more powerful locomotives in Poland arose in the 1970s, when the Communist government increased the export of the Silesian coal to pay off the debts incurred by Edward Gierek and his desire to "boost" Polish economy (which worked in short term, but proved disastrous later on). To haul heavy trains along the Coal Trunk-Line (pl. magistrala węglowa), which was electrified since late 1960s, single-section ET21 locomotives were initially used, but they were needed elsewhere, and one train required several locomotives at once. Therefore a decision was made to order two-section locomotives to remedy this.

Initially, two locomotives were ordered from abroad: the Czechoslovakian Škoda 77E (PKP-class ET40) and the Soviet NEVZ 112E (PKP-class ET42). The latter was based on the Soviet VL10 and VL11 Russian gauge locomotives (1520 mm), but adapted for Polish standard gauge (1435 mm). Unlike the PKP-class ET41, the ET42 was designed as a two-section locomotive from the outset, meaning that there's never been a a single-section variant of it. Moreover, the locomotive is shorter than two-section units built from pre-existing locomotives (30,8 m), and its engines can be synchronised much better than ones in other two-section locomotives, meaning that it can take off very smoothly, drive slowly, and achieve high speed (100 kph) once it leaves the station.

50 locomotives were acquired between 1978 and 1982, becoming the most powerful electric locomotive in Polish service. All of them were assigned to Zduńska Wola - Karsznice railway depot, roughly at halfpoint of the Coal Trunk-Line. During their service, four locomotives (-003, -045, -043 and -033) were involved in accidents which led to them being written off. One of the most dramatic ones was the Terespol Pomorski rail collision on 29 September 1987, when the driver of ET42-003, waiting to leave the station, noticed that the signal light turned green, assumed he can depart Terespol, and started his train, crossing from track no. 3 to track no. 1; however, that light was actually given to the "Bałtyk" express train to Gdańsk which has just entered the station at over 130 kph; the trains collided with such force that one of the passenger cars was ejected into the air and partially landed on top of a residential building nearby. In total, five people were killed: three passengers of the express train, a train driver deadheading to Laskowice Pomorskie, and a railway inspector who was hit by debris after the crash. Both locomotives were written off and scrapped.

By 2009, the remaining 46 locomotives were put in a long-term storage at Karsznice; however from 2011, they've been moved to Tarnowskie Góry and reintroduced into service.

The yellow front of the locomotive is a remnant of a tragic accident that happened on 4 June 1988 at Drogomil: a Star 66 military truck carrying ten soldiers entered the level crossing and was swept away by an express train, then sideswiped by an electric multiple unit approaching from the opposite direction. As a result of the collision, eight jerrycans of petrol carried at the back of the truck, next to the soldiers, erupted in flames; three of the soldiers, engulfed in flames, ran towards a nearby house begging for help, but all of them - 10 people in total - would eventually die in the accident. It was assumed that the driver of the truck - substituting for the actual driver that left the truck for an unauthorized leave, - saw one train leaving the level crossing and drove onto it, not expecting another train approaching from the opposite direction. Polish State Railways ordered that all the locomotives have their fronts painted in yellow for better visibility, but the recommendation was largely ignored past 1998, and cancelled in 2002; however, another order - that the train's lights be lit even during daytime - is still enforced.

Among Polish railway enthusiasts, the locomotive is known under the nicknames of Rusek (a derogative form of Rosjanin, or Russian), Chapayev, and submarine (because of its length and porthole-like windows).

Pictured during the Katarzynki (St. Catherine's Day) in Franowo Railway Depot, Poznań.