U (locomotive)

In 1905, on the railways of the Russian Empire, as a result of the Russo-Japanese War, there was a need for more powerful locomotives than normal O - series locomotives . During this period, the state-owned railways carried out a massive replacement of worn-out rails and light-weight rails with heavier ones. In connection with the above circumstances, it was advisable to build more powerful and heavy locomotives. In 1905, the Minister of Railways K. S. Nemeshaev instructed Professor N. L. Shchukin to give a proposal on a new type of commercial locomotive for state railways. ^[one]

In spite of the fact that locomotives of the type 0-5-0 were already working on the roads of Europe, Professor N. L. Schukin decided to limit himself to type 1-4-0, taking as a basis the steam locomotive of the Sh series of the Chinese Eastern Railway designed by V.I. . In order to accumulate the experience of these locomotives on state-owned railways, 10 locomotives were sent to the Catherine Railway .

The technical bureau of the Kharkov Locomotive Plant under the direction of engineer A. S. Rajewski ^[2] in 1906 designed a steam locomotive with a two-cylinder compound-machine of the type 1-4-0. In the same year, the Kharkov plant built one locomotive (it received the designation Yu _x 3501). The locomotive was sent to the Catherine Road.

New locomotives received a series of "U" by adding letters denoting the manufacturer (x - Kharkov, p - Putilovsky, etc.). Locomotive is known as the “normal type of 1905”, and it became the last steam locomotive in Russia, designed according to the norms of 19th century steam locomotives. In 1912, the locomotives of this project received the designation of the series "Y" by the name of Professor N. L. Schukin. ^[one]

Shchukin settled on the axial formula 1-4-0. The locomotive of V.I. Lopushinsky series III of the Vladikavkaz road was taken as a basis; the design was carried out by employees of the Kharkov locomotive building plant under the guidance of engineer A.S. Raevsky .

The design was created according to the well-developed norms of the late XIX century: the boiler was brought closer to the frame, a small firebox was placed inside it, the steam engine was accepted by the compounding systems, they refused from the superheater. Compared with the steam locomotive of series W, the dimensions of the cylinders and driving wheels have not changed. Although the pressure in the boiler was increased from 13 to 14 kg / cm2, which required an increase in the furnace, the grate area remained the same. The locomotives were immediately declared the “Normal Type”, which for military purposes provided for their mass production and made them obligatory for all official roads. In 1912, these locomotives received a series of W by the name of the author of the original idea.

Not having time to be born, the brainchild of N. L. Schukin and A. S. Rajewski began to become obsolete (V. Lopushinsky created Sh even in 1901!) The rapidly developing locomotive building offered new solutions - five driving axes, a superheater of steam, a firebox, taken out of the frame. However, the Ministry of Railways did not hurry to adopt such innovations.

The first steam locomotives were built at the Kharkov plant in 1906. The load on the driving wheelsets instead of 15 reached 17 tons, which was unacceptable (from the basis of Ø V. Lopushinsky, the axle load was 15.3 tonnes). For two more years, members of various commissions and designers of the Putilov plant were engaged in lightening the locomotive, as a result, the axle load was reduced to 16 tons. Although the locomotives met the basic requirements - to overcome 8 ‰ lifts with freight trains from 43 biaxial wagons at a speed of 16 km / h , iron the roads were not happy with them.

The locomotives consumed too much fuel, unequal forces from the left and right cylinders and the absence of lateral runs of the driving wheels resulted in rapid wear of the crew. The irrationally designed furnace complicated the repair of the boiler, for example, to replace the firebox it was necessary to partially disassemble it. The ill-conceived lubrication system of the runner carriage turned out to be the culprit of many troubles - oil had to be poured while lying on the back under the steam locomotive, and it was spilled on the lubricant. There were few hunters to do this business, while passing curves the ungreased carts jammed and the locomotive got off the rails. The speeds of freight trains on most roads were limited both by the weakness of the hand brakes (there were no automatic ones yet) and by the condition of the track.

Tests conducted by Professor Yu.V. Lomonosov revealed some possibilities for improving the traction properties and finally proved that the 1-4-0 steam locomotive can be successfully used to drive light freight trains with a high (50–60 km / h) speed on flat land . On most Russian railways with a complex profile, steam locomotives U were ineffective. This caused a sharp and long controversy between Lomonosov and Shchukin. The first, based on the results of the test method developed by locomotives and based on the practical needs of the roads, advocated simple and rational designs for locomotives. The second, being the Deputy Minister of Communications and the Chairman of the Commission of rolling stock and traction, who solved all issues of state-owned steam locomotive building, in every way promoted "his" locomotive. These disputes did not stop until the 1910s, when, on the initiative of private roads, they began to break through 0-5-0 to replace 1-4-0 cars. The copies of the E- series on the roads were so superior to the “pike” in every conceivable way that even the administrative lever in the person of Professor Shchukin could not oppose anything to them.

The mediocre qualities and the relative multiplicity of the U series were forced to perfect it many times. The Schc proved to be the best, equipped with the AO Chechotta superheater and compounding machine, but even they could not even approach the locomotives with five moving axes.

Mass construction of locomotives of the Schu series continued until 1914–1915, when it became clear to everyone that they could not cope with military transportation and should be replaced by modern E locomotives. Little by little, the UW was produced until 1918, in all, about 2,000 locomotives were produced, which were handed over only to government roads. Owners of private ones, possessing great practicality and freedom of choice, preferred 0-5-0 Oe and locomotives of the type 0-4-0 series и (izhitsa) and Y, which were significantly improved compared to “sheep”.

In total from 1906 to 1918, 1910 steam locomotives of this series were built. All the factories that were part of the Russian Locomotive-Building Society built locomotives of the Sh series, and in 1911 the Nikolaev shipbuilding plant also built the locomotives.

The steam locomotives arrived at the state railways of the Russian Empire, as well as the joint-stock roads that ordered these steam locomotives: South-Eastern , Ryazan-Ural , North-Donetsk .

They were repaired by many locomotive-repair factories, in particular, by the Izyum plant .

Locomotives series u and their varieties worked on many lines at the beginning of the XX century ( Popasnaya - Kupyansk , Rostov - Ilovaysk , Mariupol - Volnovakha - Donetsk - avdeevka - Chaplino - Sinelnikovo - LOTS - Pyatikhatki , Mushketov - Yasinovataya -Avdeevka, Kiev - Korosten - Sarny , Kiev- Zhmerinka - Odessa , Fastov - Znamenka , Poltava - Lozovaya , Belgorod - Kursk , Belgorod- Kharkov , Belgorod-Kupyansk, Kovel - Lublin - Ivangorod , Moscow- Kursk, Obukhovo - Vyatka , Vyatka- Yekaterinburg ) until they arrived at replace more powerful and sophisticated locomotives series E and E - e oynoy traction. From the second half of the 20s of the 20th century, they were naturally forced out onto flat roads with a light profile, for example, Leningrad-Moscow ^[3] .

The Yup-4504 steam locomotive, which took part in the liberation of Taganrog from the troops of the Volunteer Army, was immortalized as a monument to the dead railway workers on the Rebellion Square in Taganrog . Interestingly, since there are no locomotives, or, especially, by the time of the foundation of the monument in 1976, Yu did not survive, the steam engine Eg -5504 ( http://wikimapia.org/93440/ru/Parovoz- monument ) Ju-4504-Eg-5504 )

The last section in which in the 50s. there were still these locomotives, there was a 300-kilometer line of the Mary-Kushka of the Ashgabat railway, the southernmost in the Soviet Union.

The last U-2022 was excluded from the inventory of the Ministry of Railways in 1961. For some time, the "pike" could be seen working on the factory branches.

The steam locomotive U was the last product designed by the end of the XIX century. laws of locomotive building. Constructive principles of the XIX century. could not meet the needs of the 20th century, for more powerful locomotives other design solutions were needed. The first stage of the history of the Russian school of steam locomotive construction ended with the creation of the locomotive. ^[3]