Exhibit description

Freight Steam Locomotive E^R 750 04

Drop in Production

During the military operations of the Great Patriotic War in 1941–1942, all major steam locomotive plants in the USSR, except for the Kolomna Locomotive Works, ended up in territory temporarily occupied by German troops. Some of the factories’ equipment was evacuated to the east of the country, while the rest was either destroyed or left behind.

During the war, all major steam locomotive plants in the USSR, except for the Kolomna Locomotive Works, ended up in occupied territory. In 1942, only about ten new locomotives were manufactured.

Steam locomotive plants located in the east of the country were either starting production anew after being evacuated from the western regions (Krasnoyarsk) or had initially been small-scale operations (Ulan-Ude). As a result, locomotive construction in the USSR nearly collapsed. In 1942, only about ten new locomotives were produced for the railways.

Top-Priority Task

On 22 May 1943, Deputy Chairman of the State Defence Committee Vyacheslav Molotov signed the Decree of the USSR GKO No.3410 C “On the Production of New steam locomotives in 1943 and the Preparation of Capacities for their Production in 1944”. This resolution identified the restoration and production of new steam locomotives in 1943 as a “top-priority military and economic task”.

In 1943, Vyacheslav Molotov ordered the Kolomna Locomotive Works to produce 20 steam locomotives by the end of the year and 130 locomotives of the class E^R in 1944.

In accordance with this decree, the Kolomna Locomotive Works was assigned a program to construct 20 steam locomotives in the third and fourth quarters of 1943. It was also tasked with establishing production capacities by 1 January 1944 to ensure the production of 130 class E^R machines during that year. To facilitate locomotive production, the Kolomna Locomotive Works was partially relieved of its military production duties, including the construction of armoured trains and the casting of turrets for T-34 tanks.

E^R Design

Conversion into P28

For production at the Kolomna Locomotive Works, the design of the pre-war E^R steam locomotive was revised: the boiler steam dome was removed, welded longitudinal seams were introduced on the boiler, a four-hole steam nozzle was installed, and several other changes were made. The appearance of the locomotive changed a lot: The front stairs for access to the walkways were made inclined, and the guard rail along the boiler was not installed; instead, handrails were mounted and secured to the boiler. A large light was placed on the cab’s roof, and the sandbox was combined with the steam dome. The steam locomotive received the factory designation P28.

The pre-war E^R design was reworked, and the locomotive’s appearance changed greatly. The steam locomotive received the factory designation P28.

Based on this design, the first three steam locomotives were produced: E^R 17-750 01, E^R 750 02, and E^R 750 03. Subsequent steam locomotives, instead of boilers from the class E locomotives, were equipped with boilers from the SU locomotives, which were produced at the Kolomna Locomotive Works during the pre-war period. Due to the similar dimensions of the boilers of the classes SU and E locomotives, it was possible to install them on the frames of the new locomotives without requiring major modifications. The tenders for the first Kolomna E^R locomotives were assembled from spare parts of tenders from the SO steam locomotives, while tenders of the P27 type were attached to the locomotives that followed.

22 Steam Locomotives

In 1943, the Kolomna Locomotive Works produced ten steam locomotives of the class E^R . Of these, seven were sent to the People’s Commissariat of Communication Routes network, while three, which received four-digit numbers, were allocated to work on industrial branch lines. In 1944, 12 more E^R steam locomotives were produced in Kolomna, all of which were delivered to the People’s Commissariat of Communication Routes network. Most of the Kolomna ER locomotives that arrived on its routes were sent to the Kazan Railway.

After the end of the Great Patriotic War, when developing drawings for class E^R steam locomotives to be built abroad, the experience gained from constructing these scarce Kolomna locomotives was taken into account.

After the end of the Great Patriotic War, the experience of building these few Kolomna locomotives was taken into account when developing the drawings of ER series steam locomotives for construction abroad.

Museum Exhibit

Currently, five steam locomotives of the class E^R built in 1943–1944 are kept on pedestals and in railway museums across the post-Soviet space. The most valuable of these is undoubtedly the very first one—E^R 17-750 01, which is preserved at the Brest Railway Museum in Belarus.

The E^R 750 04 steam locomotive, completed on 20 November 1943, was initially accepted for service on the Moscow–Kursk Railway. From October 1944, it was used on the Stalinskaya Railway (known as Prydnipro since November 1961). After the end of its service life, the steam locomotive was removed from operation and kept in reserve. In 1990, it was transferred from the Apostolove reserve base to Moscow and it was sent to the test loop of the Railway Research Institute at Shcherbinka Station, where the collection for the future Museum of the Moscow Railway was being assembled.

In the 1990s, equipment for the future Museum of the Moscow Railway was collected on the test loop of the Railway Research Institute, but the museum was never created, and the equipment was party looted.

However, due to various reasons, the museum on the test loop was never created, and the collected equipment was looted. As a result, valuable samples of historical rolling stock faced the threat of destruction. Under these circumstances, the Central Museum of the Oktyabrskaya Railway appealed to Railway Research Institute, requesting the transfer of several steam locomotives from the test loop for permanent preservation and display at the Museum of Steamers at Shushary Station. The museum’s request was granted, and museum specialists prepared the E^Sh 750 04 steam locomotive for transportation. It was relocated to Shushary in August 1997.