2-3-2B

By the 1930s , the Soviet railways needed to significantly increase the speed of passenger trains. The steam engine C ^y with its maximum speed of 125 km / h and a capacity of 1500 liters. with. could no longer meet these requirements. Although the locomotive of the series of IP , which appeared in 1932, reached a capacity of 3,200 liters. with., but he could not increase the speeds. In the 1930s, NIIZhT, together with the Moscow Aviation Institute, conducted comprehensive tests of the model of a locomotive in a wind tunnel . According to the results of these studies, in 1937, the Voroshilovgrad Plant produced an IS20-16 steam locomotive with a cowling casing. When tested, this engine has developed a speed of 155 km / h.

In early November 1936, in accordance with the technical industrial finance plan for 1937, the design department of the Voroshilovgrad plant named after the October Revolution began to develop the technical characteristics of a high-speed steam engine 2-3-2 of streamlined shape. Above the design of the engine is assigned to work engineer Lvov. ^[one]

The manufacture of locomotive number 6998 was completed in April 1938 . The diameter of the wheels was 2200 mm, and the design speed - 180 km / h. If on the 2-3-2-2 steam locomotives of the Kolomna Plant all the main parts were designed specifically for these locomotives, then on the Voroshilovgrad plant locomotive a number of parts of the FD and IP series locomotives were used. So, from them a new locomotive received most of the elements of the steam boiler (tubular part, firebox, fittings), cylinders, rear carriage frame, box bushings and wedges, and much more. As a result, the repair of the new locomotive was greatly facilitated (especially if there was a depot of FD and IP locomotives in the locomotive depot park).

To facilitate the construction, high-strength steel was used, and welding was widely used. Also for the manufacture of the moving mechanism used alloyed steel, and all the wheels of the locomotive were disk. The supporting and runner axles, as well as all the axes of the tender, were equipped with roller bearings; a wide-tube superheater L40 was installed on the train.

In June 1938, the locomotive entered the depot Slavyansk of the South-Donetsk railway and drove on the Slavyansk - Rostov-on-Don and Slavyansk - Kharkov sections fast and courier trains. During the month of operation, the locomotive passed about 6,000 km, and in July of the same year, the locomotive entered the Oktyabrskaya Railway to work on the Moscow-Bologoye section. In one of the trips, the locomotive developed on a rise of 8 a capacity of 3400 liters. with.; at the beginning of the ascent, the speed was 110 km / h, and at the end - 76 km / h. Working on a schedule drawn up for steam locomotives of the C ^y series, the new steam locomotive per unit of work had an excess fuel consumption of 15% compared to steam locomotives C ^y . Unlike steam locomotives of Kolomna Plant , locomotive No. 6998 was not tested as thoroughly and its thermal performance has not been fully studied.

After the war, the engine was operated at speeds no higher than 70 km / h, so the streamlined hood was removed from it. Nevertheless, in April 1957 , on this train with a special train, the speed of 175 km / h was reached, which was the last speed record for steam traction in the USSR .

The 2-3-2B high-speed steam locomotive can be seen in the photo of Arkady Shaikhet “ Express ” and A. Deineka’s “Skiers and the Triumph of Industrialization” mosaic panel installed at the Novokuznetsk station of the Moscow Metro. ^[2]

• Locomotives of Voroshilovgrad plant

• V. A. Rakov . Experienced passenger locomotives // Locomotives of domestic railways 1845-1955. - 2nd, revised and enlarged. - Moscow: "Transport", 1995. - p. 297-300. - ISBN 5-277-00821-7 .
• Ed. E. Boravskaya, E. Sh . - T. 1. - p. 44-48. - 2000 copies - ISBN 5-93518-012-X .