The cargo and passenger locomotive M62 was created in 1965 and was produced at the Lugansk diesel locomotive plant. Index “6” in the name indicates that the locomotive has 6 axles, and index “2” indicates its belonging to the second type. The article will consider the history of the creation of the model of the diesel locomotive M62, its main characteristics and modifications.
Creature
The locomotive owes its appearance to an interesting event. In 1961, the Hungarian railway acquired 20 Swedish diesel locomotives with a capacity of 1950 horsepower. At home, the model was called "Di3", but in Hungary it was called the M61. When the Soviet leadership, in particular Nikita Khrushchev, found out about this purchase, it was very unhappy. After this incident, the countries of the socialist camp were banned from acquiring locomotives from capitalist countries. At the same time, the Lugansk diesel locomotive plant received an order for the urgent development of a diesel locomotive under the 1435-mm gauge, with a capacity of 2000 horsepower. In the early 70's, the main contender for this role, according to experts, was the diesel locomotive model TG102. However, after he failed, it was decided to create a new locomotive.
Production
The first prototypes were built by 1965. In Hungary, the locomotive received the name M62, which began to be used throughout the Soviet Union, in exchange for the planned TE112. It is worth noting that for the railways of the USSR, such a solution was atypical.
Soon the diesel locomotive was in full swing at the Lugansk plant and at first it was delivered only to the socialist countries. Then they began to sell it to other states. In Poland, the locomotive was named ST44; in Czechoslovakia - T769.1; in the GDR - V200, then BR 120, and even later, when changing the unified classification - BR 220; in the DPRK - K62; in the MPR - 2M62M, and finally in Cuba - 61.6.
In 1970, M62 diesel locomotives began to be produced on wheels under a 1520 mm track. In addition, some of the models were designed to work in border areas with a gauge of 1435 millimeters. In total, during the release of the M62 diesel locomotive in the basic version, 721 copies were built. Much more cars were released in modified versions. The last locomotive of modification 2M62U was released in 2001.
Design
In the M62 diesel locomotive, much was borrowed from the TE10 model locomotive. We are talking about a trolley, power transmission scheme, as well as the scheme and drives of auxiliary units. However, thanks to the successful layout and some design solutions, the engineers were very pleased with the work of the locomotive. Still, it was not without a curiosity - when designing a locomotive for the western dimension, the designers were forced to slightly sacrifice its efficiency. So the locomotive's efficiency was slightly lower than that of the previous TE3 model.
During the operation of the locomotive, some design flaws were identified. The most important of them was the small capacity of the fuel tank, combined with the great appetite of a two-stroke diesel engine.
When the production of the M62 diesel locomotive in Czechoslovakia was launched, the local railway stopped producing the T678.0 model.
Modifications
During the release of the locomotive, quite a few of its modifications were created:
- 2M62. It is a two-section version, which in 1976 replaced the TE3 locomotive. During the production, the design scheme of the M62 diesel locomotive received a number of changes, in particular, from the 751th model, the diesel locomotive began to be equipped with block buffer lights. In total, 1261 copies of this model were released.
- 2M62U. It is a two-section diesel locomotive with jawless trolleys, an increased fuel tank and buffer lights, which has been produced since 1987. Apart from models built for export, 393 copies of this diesel locomotive were produced.
- 3M62U. This is a three-section diesel locomotive with jawless carts and block lights, which has been produced since 1986. During production, 104 units left the assembly line. Often there are only two sections of the locomotive, especially after major repairs.
- DM62. It is a single-section locomotive, which was produced from 1982 to 1994. It was used as part of the Molodets combat railway missile system. Each of the trains of this complex was equipped with three such diesel locomotives. This locomotive differed from the base model in a number of changes aimed at increasing the reliability of the locomotive. Some of them were later used in the production of the 2M62U model. The DM62 version also differs from the usual diesel locomotive model M62 externally: jawless carts, block buffer lights, a sectional panel and an adjustable track cleaner. There was no “D” index on the number plate of the locomotive. A total of 154 such machines were produced. After the dissolution of the combat complex, diesel locomotives were transferred to public railways.
- M62UP. In fact, this is a single-section version of the 3M62U diesel locomotive. It was used only for industrial purposes, mainly in Ukraine. Only 40 copies were issued.
- 3M62P. It is a three-section diesel locomotive of 1988, designed to transport a carrier rocket to the take-off platform of the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The third sections were not used from the very beginning and were soon decommissioned. There were only 3 such diesel locomotives produced. At the same time, one of them was converted into a simple locomotive 2M62U. And the other two after a long downtime were partially dismantled and sold.
- 2M62M. This is a two-section model created specifically for the Ulan-Bator Railway. The locomotive was adapted for use in semi-desert conditions. It features a special design for cleaning the air supplied to the motors from dust and sand. A total of 60 such locomotives left the assembly line.
Modernization
Diesel locomotives M62, which have exhausted their motor resources, are undergoing modernization. This helps to improve them. As a rule, a two-stroke diesel engine of an M62 locomotive is replaced by a four-stroke one. You can recognize the upgraded diesel locomotives by the air filter, which acts as a “transverse hump” on the roof. Sometimes updated models get a new name: M62K in Lithuania; 2M62UK in Belarus and Russia; 2M62K in Lithuania, Belarus and Russia; 2M62UK in Latvia.
In Latvia, Lithuania and Hungary, some locomotives in the framework of modernization received diesel engines of the American company Caterpillar.
Specifications
Finally, we give the main parameters of the M62 locomotive:
- Motor power - 2000 hp
- Speed (constructional) - 100 km / h.
- The mass of the section is 116-126 tons, depending on the modification.
- Axle load - 19.3-21 t, depending on version.
- Traction force - 196-245 kN, depending on the operating mode.