PKP classification system

Last updated

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.

Contents

The system was introduced for the steam stock by the Ministry of Railways on 3 November 1922, shortly after Poland regained her independence (1918) when the Polish railroads inherited a variety of German, Austrian and Russian steam locomotives, each with its own type convention. [1] It was put into use in 1923–1926 years. The adopted solution allows telling the locomotive type (passenger/freight/mixed), wheel arrangement, origin and some other information from the type designation. After World War II a similar system was also adapted for diesel and electric locomotives.

Electric and diesel locomotives

An example of a locomotive designation: E stands for electric locomotive and T stands for freight locomotive. Next two numbers (22) describe six axles, Co-Co, direct current, 3 kV. Next four numbers after dash are an inventory number. Podlaskie - Wasilkow - st. Wasilkow - ET22-1133 - czolo - 20110604.JPG
An example of a locomotive designation: E stands for electric locomotive and T stands for freight locomotive. Next two numbers (22) describe six axles, Co-Co, direct current, 3 kV. Next four numbers after dash are an inventory number.
Diesel (S) shunting (M) maneuvering locomotive, no multiple-unit control (01-09 number range) SM03-259 WK13 (cropped).jpg
Diesel (S) shunting (M) maneuvering locomotive, no multiple-unit control (01-09 number range)

In the case of electric and diesel locomotives, and multiple units, a designation consists of two capital letters and two digits, without a space between letters and digits. The first letter E or S indicates a kind of traction (electric or diesel), the second letter indicates a locomotive purpose. Digits mark subsequent classes, and their ranges also carry additional information on construction features. Some railcar classes have three digits.

First letter

Second letter

Locomotives

  • P - passenger locomotive (Polish : pasażerska)
  • T - freight locomotive (Polish : towarowa)
  • U - mixed-traffic locomotive (Polish : uniwersalna - universal)
  • M - shunting locomotive (Polish : manewrowa)

Electric multiple units

  • W - for high platforms (Polish : wysoki)
  • N - for both high and low platforms (Polish : niski)
  • D - for long distance traffic (Polish : dalekobieżny)

Diesel railcars and multiple units

  • D - for long-distance traffic
  • N - for suburban traffic
  • R - special purpose (mobile workshops, emergency use etc.)
  • A - railbus (Polish : autobus szynowy)

Numbers

Electric locomotives

In the case of electric and diesel locomotives consisting of two cars, the letters A and B were added after the serial number for each car but the number is still the same for both the cars or after important modernisation (look for EU07A).

Electric multiple units

  • 5164 – three-car set, 3 kV DC
  • 6569 – three-car set, AC
  • 7074 – four-car set, 3 kV DC
  • 7579 – four-car set, AC
  • 8089 – single electric car, any voltage or type of current
  • 9093 – two car sets, 800 V DC
  • 9499 – other

Every car in a multiple unit is further designated by its own suffix:

  • s – (silnikowy) motor car (with or without a driver's cab)
  • d – (doczepny) trailer car without a driver's cab
  • r – (rozrządczy) trailer car with a driver's cab

If there is more than one car of a given designation in a unit, they are further identified with the letter 'a' or 'b'. For example, a typical 3-car EMU class EN57 consists of the following cars:

  • ra (trailer car with a driver's cab)
  • s (motor car, in this case without a driver's cab)
  • rb (trailer car with a driver's cab)

Another 3-car EMU, class EW58, consists of the following cars:

  • sa (motor car, in this case with a driver's cab)
  • d (trailer car without a driver's cab)
  • sb (motor car, in this case with a driver's cab)

Example of a single car's designation: EN57-830ra.

Diesel locomotives

  • 0109 – mechanical transmission, no multiple-unit control
  • 1014 – mechanical transmission, multiple-unit control
  • 1524 – hydraulic transmission, no multiple-unit control
  • 2529 – hydraulic transmission, multiple-unit control
  • 3039 – electric transmission, no multiple-unit control
  • 4049 – electric transmission, multiple-unit control

Diesel railcars and multiple units

  • 5159 – mechanical transmission, no multiple-unit control
  • 6069 – mechanical transmission, multiple-unit control
  • 7079 – hydraulic or hydro-mechanical transmission, no multiple-unit control
  • 8089 – hydraulic transmission, multiple-unit control
  • 9094 – electric transmission, no multiple-unit control
  • 9599 – electric transmission, multiple-unit control

Steam locomotives

An example of a Ty43 class locomotive designation: T stands for freight locomotive and y stands for 2-10-0 wheel set. 43 describes Polish production, 1943 year of design approval. Ty43 17 locomotive plate.jpg
An example of a Ty43 class locomotive designation: T stands for freight locomotive and y stands for 2-10-0 wheel set. 43 describes Polish production, 1943 year of design approval.

Designations of standard gauge PKP steam locomotives consist of two letters (or three letters in case of tank locomotives) and a number written directly behind the letters. Designations of narrow gauge locomotives follow other rules.

First letter

The upper case letter means:

Last letter

Last letter (lower case) indicates the wheel arrangement, in increasing order of the number of driving axles.

Middle letter

In the case of tank engines, the letters designating the type of engine and the wheel arrangement are separated by a K (upper case). Thus TKt48 is a 2-8-2T tank locomotive of Polish design introduced in 1948.

Number

Serial numbers

Following the letters and numbers described above, the serial number of each individual locomotive is stated. This consists of several digits, separated from the type designation characters by a dash.

Tenders

First number

Letter

Second number

An example

A tender numbered 22D23 can carry up to 22 m3 of water, has four axles, and its construction was approved in 1923.

See also

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Terczyński, Paweł (2003), Atlas parowozów, Poznań, ISBN   83-901902-8-1, p. 30-31 (in Polish)
  2. Terczyński, Paweł (2003), Atlas parowozów, Poznań, ISBN   83-901902-8-1, p. 95 (in Polish)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Locomotive</span> Self-propelled railway vehicle

A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the use of these self-propelled vehicles is increasingly common for passenger trains, but rare for freight trains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multiple unit</span> Self-propelled train

A multiple-unit train or simply multiple unit (MU) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more carriages joined, which when coupled to another multiple unit can be controlled by a single driver, with multiple-unit train control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diesel locomotive</span> Locomotive powered by a diesel engine

A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the power source 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 wheels. The most common are diesel-electric locomotives and diesel-hydraulic.

The UIC classification of locomotive axle arrangements, sometimes known as the German classification or German system, describes the wheel arrangement of locomotives, multiple units and trams. It is used in much of the world, notable exceptions being the United Kingdom, which uses a slightly simplified form of UIC, and in North America, where the AAR wheel arrangement system is used to describe diesel and electric locomotives. In North America, the Whyte notation is only used for steam locomotives.

Push–pull is a configuration for locomotive-hauled trains, allowing them to be driven from either end of the train, whether having a locomotive at each end or not.

B-B and Bo-Bo are the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and British classifications of wheel arrangement for railway locomotives with four axles in two individual bogies. They are equivalent to the B′B′ and Bo′Bo′ classifications in the UIC system. The arrangement of two, two-axled, bogies is a common wheel arrangement for modern electric and diesel locomotives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M62 locomotive</span> Class of Soviet-built diesel-electric locomotives

The M62 is a Soviet-built diesel locomotive for heavy freight trains, exported to many Eastern Bloc countries as well as to Cuba, North Korea and Mongolia. Beside the single locomotive M62 also twin versions 2M62 and three-section versions 3M62 have been built. A total number of 7,164 single sections have been produced, which have been used to build 5,231 single-, twin- and three-section locomotives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PKP class EU07</span> Class of Polish electric locomotive

EU07 is the name for a Polish electric locomotive in service of the Polish railway operator PKP. This locomotive was designed as a mixed traffic locomotive, and as such is used both in freight and passenger traffic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PKP class EP07</span> Class of Polish electric locomotive

PKP class EP07 is a class of standard-gauge electric locomotives used primarily for passenger trains in Poland. They are rebuilt EU07 class locomotives, which in turn are the direct successors to the post-war British EU06 series locomotives. The only operators of this locomotive series are PKP Intercity and Polregio.

Originally, both Deutsche Bundesbahn and Deutsche Reichsbahn continued the classification system of the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DRG) – see also a short overview of the numbering system of the German railways. When UIC introduced a new classification system that could be processed by the computers of the late 1960s, DB did a major modification of their system, effective 1 January 1968. This system is still in use and now includes the engines of the former GDR railways as well.

The different railway companies in Germany have used various schemes to classify their rolling stock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PKP class Lyd2</span>

The PKP class Lyd2 is a narrow gauge diesel-hydraulic locomotive built by FAUR in Romania, for use initially for sugar cane railway in Egypt with later variants developed for use in Poland, Romania and Albania. It was commissioned by Polskie Koleje Państwowe for service on the railways of Poland.

This page explains the numbering and classification schemes for locomotives employed by the Japanese Government Railways, the Japanese National Railways and the Japan Railways Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PKP class SP32</span>

SP32 is a Romanian series of diesel passenger locomotives used by PKP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swiss locomotive and railcar classification</span> Classifications of Swiss trains

For more than a century, the Swiss locomotive, multiple unit, motor coach and railcar classification system, in either its original or updated forms, has been used to name and classify the rolling stock operated on the railways of Switzerland. It started out as a uniform system for the classification and naming of all rolling stock, powered and unpowered, but had been replaced and amended by the UIC classification of goods wagons.

The DRG locomotive classification system was developed by the German Imperial Railway Company or Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft (DRG), which was formed in 1924 following the merger of the German state railways (Länderbahnen) in 1920. A common classification and numbering scheme was needed in order to organise effectively the four hundred or so different steam locomotive classes taken over from the state railways, as well as new locomotives. This process lasted until 1926. Only then was the final renumbering plan fixed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DR locomotive classification</span>

The DR locomotive classification scheme in East Germany in the initial post-war period used the DRG system, consisting of a class number (Baureihennummer) followed by a serial number (Ordnungsnummer). With the introduction of computerised (EDP) numbers in 1970 as part of the UIC framework, the system was fundamentally changed for the first time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PKP class EW51</span>

EW51 was a three-car electric multiple unit, produced by the Lilpop, Rau i Loewenstein plants in Warsaw, H. Cegielski Spółka Akcyjna in Poznań and L. Zieleniewski in Sanok in the years 1936–1939. Electrical equipment was supplied by English Electric. The units were intended for suburban traffic in the Warsaw area. Before the war, the units had second- and third-class compartments. A total of 76 units were produced. Currently, the only surviving vehicle, EW51-36, is the property of the Museum Station in Warsaw. Restoration was completed in January 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PKP class Lyd1</span> Class of Polish narrow-gauge diesel locomotive

The PKP class Lyd1 is a narrow gauge diesel locomotive class, covering two similar models built in Poland: WLs150 built by Fablok, and its development WLs180 (803D) manufactured by Zastal. It was used by Polish State Railways (PKP) on the narrow gauge railways in Poland, and on industrial railways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WLs40/50</span>

The WLs40 and WLs50 are narrow gauge diesel locomotives built in Poland, used mostly on industrial railways. A small number was used by Polish State Railways (PKP) as Ld1 class on narrow gauge railways in Poland.