History
Designed by the Всероссийский научно-исследовательский и проектно-конструкторский институт электровозостроения (en: All-Russian scientific research and design-engineering institute of electric locomotive construction) – usually abbreviated to ВЭлНИИ – the VL80 enjoys the accolade of having the longest production span of any Soviet electric locomotive: 33 years. All variants of the series were built at the Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant (NEVZ; ru: НЭВЗ) between the years 1961 and 1994. All the mechanical parts, traction engines, and auxiliary electric machinery were manufactured at the Novocherkassk plant. Some of the important components, such as the tractive transformer, were sourced from other factories.
The first VL80s were characterised by their arched mercury rectifiers. Later, they were replaced with silicon ones, thus giving birth to the ВЛ80К (en: VL80K) series. The К stands for кремний, the Russian word for silicon. Between the years 1961 and 1973, a total of 695 VL80Ks had been produced.
Currently, the VL80 series is used on all electrified routes in Russia, as well as in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, and the Ukraine.
Read more about this topic: VL80
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