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Skoda ChS4 - an electric locomotive with a plastic body

Skoda ChS4 - an electric locomotive with a plastic body
Czechoslovak-made locomotives have been firmly embedded in the history of Soviet roads since the early 60s. They, like JAWA motorcycles, were perceived by our people not as something alien, but their own, dear. In many ways, this was facilitated by the strong prevalence of such foreign technology.


For example, the vast majority of passenger trains in different parts of the vast country were driven precisely by locomotives of the ChS series (Skoda Plzen). They have also appeared in many feature films or documentaries. In fact, more than seven series of electric locomotives were produced for the needs of the Soviet economy, not counting many modifications.

Skoda ЧС4 – электровоз с пластмассовым корпусомA line of headlights that fit perfectly into the design. Photo: youtube.com

Each of them had their own advantages and disadvantages. But there was one special among them. This is a locomotive that was assembled for Soviet roads from the mid-60s to the early 70s. Its feature was not only the technical stuffing. The main difference was the case, made of fiberglass.

Skoda ChS4 - especially for Soviet railways


It all started with an order from the Soviet Economic Council, sent to the Czechoslovak side in 1962. It indicated that a new machine running on alternating current was expected from the Pilsen plant. It should be a single-section, six-axle locomotive.

The following year, a prototype (32E) was prepared, which became the basis for further development. After making a number of technical changes, which took another two years, the Czechoslovak company presented the first locomotive of the new series to the Soviet side. His tests took place at the base of the Kavkazskaya depot.

The novelty received the factory designation 52E (for the Soviet market it was supplied as ChS4, in accordance with the numbering of Czechoslovak vehicles adopted in our country). Testing of the locomotive with tail number "001" began at the end of 1965.


Railway equipment from the Central European country by that time had proven itself well on our roads. Therefore, several junction stations on the territory of the Union were chosen for initial operation at once:

✅ Rostov-Main
✅ Bryansk-2
✅ Kyiv Passenger
✅ Kirov
✅ Rossosh

After the first positive results, the use of equipment continued at the Saratov and Balashikha stations. Railway engineers really liked the freshness of the ideas implemented in the new locomotive. They differed not only from our electric locomotives, but also from previous samples of foreign technology.

The technical side of the model


In addition to the aforementioned plastic body, the locomotive was equipped with large windshields, which significantly improved the driver's visibility while driving. The new material used in the construction made it light and easy to maintain. But, as it turned out later, plastic poorly protected the brigade from electromagnetic radiation.

Czechoslovak locomotive, which became the prototype of ChS4. Photo: youtube.com

But the beautiful lines of the hull and the configuration of buffer lights and projector glasses turned it into a real dude of steel highways. For this, one should be grateful to the design team of the plant, led by Otakar Diblik. It is immediately clear that the guys wanted to create a creation that would be desirable to admire six decades later. Talented artists quite succeeded in this - the preserved and restored locomotives still look very stylish today.

The fiberglass structure rests on a pair of three-axle bogies mounted on a welded frame. For connection with the composition, the Soviet SA-3 automatic coupler was used. The electric power supply of the locomotive was carried out through a pantograph, and the heating system is designed to connect a maximum of 17 passenger cars to it. Other indicators were as follows:

✅ design speed - 180 km / h (during operation it was not raised above 160 km / h)
✅ weight - 123 tons
✅ supply current - alternating (25 kV, 50 Hz)

After the modernization in 1966, the electric locomotive was able to reach the above operating speed. Its power has also increased to 4800 kW. And at the Moravian training ground in the Czech Republic, the locomotive set a record, accelerating to 203 km / h.

Now they can only be found in museums and at reserve bases. Photo: youtube.com

The electric locomotive was produced until 1972, when it was replaced by the modernized ChS4t, with a different body shape and a rheostatic brake. In total, our country received 230 plastic locomotives. Since 2012, their operation has been discontinued. Of these, about nine survived, as exhibits of railway museums in various Russian cities. They also acted in other countries, for example, Bulgaria. And cooperation with the Pilsen Locomotive Plant continued further, until the end of the Soviet era.

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Photos used: youtube.com

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