Knurów 2025-06-22
Electric locomotives type 207E Edgar.
Conversion of locomotives from electric to diesel or vice versa is not the norm, but it is done. Usually the reason is economics and politics. A large market is the modernization of old locomotives without their conversion. The leader on the Polish market in this field is the company NEWAG. Electric locomotives are more often converted to diesel locomotives. For example, one of the companies west of the Oder has such conversions in its offer. The company Rail Polska converted a diesel locomotive to an electric locomotive. This is how the 207E type locomotive was created.
In 2015, the Rail Polska Board decided to design and build at least 20 6-axle electric locomotives, operating on 3 KV DC current and on a standard 1435 mm track. Rail Polska planned to replace the leased Skoda 59E and Skoda 183 series locomotives with the new locomotives. The locomotives were to operate for the needs of its own company and be put up for lease to other carriers. The locomotive was to have a power of 2,800 kW and was to pull freight trains at a speed of up to 100 km/h. The Soviet diesel locomotive M62M was chosen as the base, i.e. a conversion of a diesel locomotive into an electric locomotive. The new locomotive was given the type designation 207E. The frame and bogies were left from the M62 locomotive. Everything else was new, developed by Rail Polska engineers at the ZTK Rail Polska plant in Włosienica, ul. Długa 1. The electrical system used microprocessors and converters. Traction motors of the EMD-D77/78 type were used. The entire intellectual and technical value belongs to Rail Polska and all locomotives are inspected and repaired (P1 – P5) by Rail Polska, which has the appropriate certificates. At all stages of development and operation of the locomotives, the knowledge and experience of Rail Polska were used. Leading Polish manufacturers of rolling stock, who themselves have extensive knowledge and experience in the field of railways, joined the cooperation. The 207E vehicle has a completely modular design. The locomotive body was designed as self-supporting and placed on a modernized frame. The driver’s cabs, which were placed at the ends, were made as safety cages, which makes the vehicle very safe.
The first electric locomotive type 207E No. 91 51 3 150 775-7 ex EVR 2M62-1006, was produced in 2017. Locomotive 207E-001 was rebuilt from an Estonian locomotive that was one of the units of a double locomotive type 2M62. At that time, the company had 30 locomotives for reconstruction. The locomotive was presented during the International Railway Fair TRAKO in Gdańsk, in September 2017. In 2019, the vehicle passed load tests and entered service in the company. The company built 11 locomotives type 207E, which received numbers 207E-001 – 207E-011. In January 2021, Rail Polska concluded an agreement with Beacon Rail to lease twelve locomotives, as a result of which some of the 207Es became the property of Beacon Rail. It was announced at the time that the next 207Es were still in production. The carrier did not hide its satisfaction with the development of the new 207E Edgar locomotive and proudly presents the traction parameters of the vehicle. Drivers emphasize the ergonomic advantages of the new machine. The locomotive aroused great interest.
Data of the 207E T-T type:
Gauge 1435 mm. Locomotive power 2 400 MW. Axle arrangement Co’Co’. Maximum speed 100 km/h. Total weight 120,000 kg. Length 17.55 m. Voltage 3 kV DC. Traction force 300 kN. The locomotive was equipped with a wheel flange lubrication system. The wheelbase in the bogies is 2.10 m. The locomotive is adapted to overcome curves with a radius of 75 m, at a speed of up to 5 km/h. Wabtec brake system. Mechanical brake of the block type. Wheels with rims or monoblock wheels. Wheel diameter 1.05 m. The locomotive is equipped with two half pantographs. One large panoramic window is mounted in the fronts, which is equipped with two wipers.
The 207E Edgar type locomotives were painted typical for Rail Polska. The locomotive body received burgundy and yellow colors. The upper part is burgundy. A yellow stripe runs along the side, which takes up more space in the area of the cabins. The lower part of the body is burgundy, and on it is the inscription RAIL POLSKA, the company logo and 207E. The locomotive frame, headstock, bogies, were painted black. There is also a second, or rather the first, version of the painting. In place of the burgundy element, at the bottom of the body, it was painted grey, and on it was placed the burgundy inscription RAIL POLSKA 207E. The underframe, end carriages and bogies were painted grey. Only the first locomotive 207E-001 was painted this way.
Written by Karol Placha Hetman