Formation and development of main-line electric locomotive engineering in independed Ukraine (1991 – 2008)

Abstract

The Ukrainian transport engineering industry has a deep historical tradition that goes back to the activities of the Odesa railway workshops and the establishment of specialized locomotives in Kharkiv and Lugansk. The electric locomotives industry in Ukraine is represented by the products of the Dnipro plant, which for a long time produced electric locomotives of a purely industrial purpose. In the early 1990s, to upgrade the locomotive fleet of Ukrainian railways in the absence of foreign exchange funds for the purchase of traction rolling stock abroad, the management of Ukrzaliznytsia, together with the line ministries, decided to provide the organization of the main-line electric locomotives based on the Dnipro plant.
 During the implementation of the state program of mainline electric locomotives construction, the Dnepropetrovsk plant developed, and subsequently implemented, projects of a freight DC electric locomotive DE1, an AC cargo and passenger electric locomotive DS3, and also based on DS3 began technical research on a two-system electric locomotive with an asynchronous drive DS4.
 The Dnipro electric locomotive engineering plant, with its powerful scientific and production potential and clear development strategy, carried out the development and created the next generation's main electric locomotives to meet the needs of Ukrainian railways with modern electric transport. Unfortunately, due to the traditional lack of funding and lobbying on the part of Russian machine-building enterprises, the Dnieper electric locomotives have not become the main locomotives of Ukrainian railways. Unfortunately, due to the economic-financial crisis of 2008, all the prospective achievements of the said enterprise were virtually offset and the plant itself was in a difficult position. However, it is clear that the historical experience of becoming a Ukrainian scientific and production base of railway engineering needs to be properly considered.
 The proposed study does not deplete the raised problem in the field of the Dnipro electric locomotive plant`s activities, but only provides a general analysis and factual basis for further, more detailed review of the maintenance and development of national railway engineering in independent Ukraine, leaving considerable space for further scientific research.

The development and construction of narrow-gauge locomotives at the Dnipropetrovsk electric locomotive plant (1969–1991)

“…Small-series experimental diesel-electric units of high power PE 3T and OPE 1B were also created. In 1977, for the creation, development of serial production and operation of traction units in opencast mining Leonid Kuzmenko and Chief Engineer Victor Bratash received the USSR State Prize in Science and Technology, and some electric locomotives received the State Quality Mark [18].…”

Development and construction of shunting electric locomotives at Dnipropetrovsk electric locomotives plant (1960's – 1970's)

“…Unfortunately, for a long time, the circumstances of the production activity of the Dnipropetrovsk electric locomotives plant did not find their proper coverage in the domestic historiography, the only exception is the book by О. Shatovsky and H. Volneansky (Shatovsky & Volneansky, 1998), as well as articles by the authors (Ruban & Baka, 2020;Ruban & Ponomarenko, 2020). Some issues of the history of electric locomotive construction at the Dnipropetrovsk plant are presented in engineering surveys of designers of the enterprise (Kuzmenko & Matusevich, 1964;Bichuch & Kuzmenko, 1969;Savysko, 2009), monographs of V. Rakov (Rakov, 1990;1999), of academician V. Bratash (Bratash et al, 1977).…”