VGN EL-C

Virginian Railway EL-C
Virginian Railway 135, a class EL-C Ignitron rectifier mainline electric locomotive preserved at the Virginia Museum of Transportation.
Power type	Electric
Builder	General Electric
Build date	August 1955
Total produced	12
AAR wheel arr.	C-C
Gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electric system	11 kV AC, 25 Hz
Current collection method	Pantograph
Power output	3,300 hp (2.46 MW)
Career	Virginian Railway
Class	VGN/N&W: EL-C NH: EF-4, PC/CR: E33
Preserved	131 at Railroad Museum of New England, 135 at Virginia Museum of Transportation
Disposition	Sold to New Haven Railroad

The Virginian EL-C was a type of electric locomotive built for the Virginian Railway by General Electric in August of 1955. They were the first successful production locomotives to use Ignitron (mercury arc) rectifier technology. Although they proved to be a very successful design, no more EL-C's were ever built, due to the small number of railroads that had electrification and the advent of improved electric locomotive technology.

History

The Virginian electrified a section of its line through the Appalachian mountains in the mid-1920s with a 11,000 volt, 25Hz AC system. The electrification was widely regarded as a success, but probably because of its huge cost, the Virginian never extended this electrification.

The Virginian originally used a fleet of three-unit boxcab locomotives designated EL-3A. These were supplemented in 1946 by two pairs of two-unit streamlined locomotives designated as EL-2B. By the 1950s, the EL-3A fleet was getting tired, and Virginian went to GE for new locomotives as replacements. The Locomotives were delivered to the Virginian between October 1956 and January 1957 and numbered 130-141. GE used then-new Ignitron rectifier technology, first used on the experimental Pennsylvania Railroad E2c and E3b locomotives. Although this same technology was used with less-than-optimal success on the earlier EP-5 locomotives built for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, it worked flawlessly on the Virginian’s EL-Cs (possibly due to the much larger area available in the EL-C).

In December 1959, the Virginian Railway merged with the Norfolk and Western Railway. The N&W renumbered the locomotives 230-241. None of the locomotives were repainted except for #235 which was repaired after an accident. The N&W only routed eastbound traffic over the former Virginian, with all westbound traffic going over the N&W’s original route. The electrification system became surplus to requirements and was shut down in June 1962.^[1] Locomotive #230 was rebuilt as a road slug the next month and renumbered 180. All of the locomotives were sold to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad classified them as EF-4, and renumbered them 300-310(N&W #180 was used as a part source for the others). They continued in service through Penn Central, and Conrail as E-33s and renumbered 4601-4610(New Haven #301 was damaged in an accident and scrapped). They were retired in March 1981 when Conrail shut down it's electric operations.

References

1. ^ Drury (1985) p.340

• Drury, George H. (1985). The Historical Guide to North American Railroads. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalbach Publishing Company. ISBN 0-89024-072-8. 
• Solomon, Brian. (2003). Electric Locomotives. MBI Publishing. 
• "The Virginian Railway EL-C Rectifiers". American-Rails.com. http://www.american-rails.com/el-c-rectifiers.html. Retrieved 2009-03-20.