Exhibit description

Freight electric locomotive VL82^M-065

Two systems are needed

At first, the electrification of railways in the USSR followed the path of using direct current with a voltage of 1,500 and 3,000 V due to the simplicity of regulating the speed and traction of the locomotive. However, this requires a very high current, up to 2,500 A, a reinforced copper contact wire and powerful power substations. The development of rail transportation required the use of alternating current, which made it possible to increase the voltage to 25 kV and use it without conversion at an industrial frequency of 50 Hz.

With the advent of two current systems, it was necessary to solve the issue of organizing the movement of trains through junction points. There are two ways to solve this issue. In the first, tracks are arranged at the junction station on which it is possible to switch the type of current, but this requires a change of locomotive. The second uses a locomotive capable of operating on both current systems and passing the joint along a dielectric insert.

VL82^M design

The VL82^M electric locomotives had the same body, control cabins, and bogies as the VL80^K AC locomotives. These are DC electric locomotives with transformer-rectifier devices for operation under alternating current, for which a step-down transformer is installed on each section. Each axle was driven by six-pole traction electric motors (TEM). For their cooling, two motor-fans were installed on each section.

Both sections of the electric locomotive had identical electrical circuits and could operate on a multiple-unit system. When working on alternating current, the voltage was supplied to the traction motor through a step-down transformer and a rectifier unit. On direct current, the voltage was supplied directly to the traction motor circuits. In both cases, the voltage at the motor terminals was regulated by rheostats. The locomotive's electrical circuit allowed the use of rheostat braking.

Historical context

The VL82^M series electric locomotives were used at the Kupyansk depot (Southern Railway), Krasnoufimsk depot (Gorky), Mineralnye Vody depot (North Caucasian) and Volkhovstroy depot (Oktyabrskaya). On the October Railway, these locomotives hauled trains from Vyborg to the border with Finland.

As the VL82^M series electric locomotives entered service, the VL82 locomotives were transferred to work with passenger trains due to their tendency to skid (due to insufficient adhesion mass).