In the early 70s, the staff of the All-Union Research Institute of Carriage Engineering (VNIIV) and the Yakovlev Design Bureau were tasked with creating a domestic electric train capable of speeds of 200 km / h. However, before proceeding with the implementation of a project so ambitious at the time, it was necessary to thoroughly study all the features of the interaction of wagon wheels with rails when operating the train at such high speeds.
Experimental rocket car
For the purpose of conducting the experiment, a jet train was created, or rather, a laboratory car driven by a fixed-wing aircraft engine. Such a design not only made it possible to achieve the required speed, but at the same time reduced the risk of distortions introduced by the drive wheels that repelled from the rails during rotation.
The idea of creating a jet engine train was not original, since a similar experiment was conducted in the USA in the 60s and was widely covered in the world press. The experience of American colleagues was used by Soviet designers who performed all the assembly work in the shops of the Kalinin (now Tver) car-building plant. It was there that the first jet train of the USSR was created.
Jet engine
It is known that to create the necessary laboratory car, it was originally planned to construct a special locomotive that meets all the requirements for it. But in the course of the work begun, it was decided to take the easier route and to this end use the usual head car of the electric train ER 22, manufactured by the Riga Car Building Plant. Of course, in order to turn a commuter train into a jet train, it was necessary to make certain changes to its design, but in any case it was much cheaper and faster than creating a new model.
Based on the experience of American experts, the designers of VNIIV and Yakovlev Design Bureau considered it expedient to strengthen two jet engines above the driver's cab. In this case, as in the issue of the locomotive, they faced a dilemma ─ whether to design something new or use ready-made engines used in modern aviation? After lengthy discussions, preference was given to the second option.
New life of decommissioned engines
Of all the samples made available to the creators of the jet-powered train, two decommissioned engines from the Yak-40 passenger plane were selected (his photo is presented in the article), intended for servicing local airlines. Having exhausted their flight resources, both engines were in excellent condition and could still serve on the ground. Their use was an inexpensive and quite reasonable solution.
In the case of a successful experiment with their installation on a jet train, one more very important problem for the national economy could be solved, related to the further use of decommissioned aircraft engines, not suitable for aviation, but quite suitable for ground operation. As L. I. Brezhnev put it in those years: "The economy must be economical."
A simple and smart solution
In the process, the creators of the jet engine train had to solve a very important task ─ how to give the head car of the train the aerodynamic properties necessary for high-speed tests to be carried out with its help. The problem was in its form, not designed to overcome the powerful oncoming air flow. However, in this case, a simple and rational solution was found.
Without changing the standard design of the car, the creators of the project used special pads that covered its head, chassis and tail. Their size and shape were calculated in the laboratory of Moscow State University on the basis of data obtained as a result of experiments in which specially made car models were blown in a wind tunnel.
Pointy nose and heat resistant roof
After the engineers tested 15 experimental models in this way, they managed to find the optimal shape in which the head car of the jet train became the most streamlined. As a result, his pointed nose is nothing more than an overlay mounted in the frontal part and creating conditions under which the drivers looked ahead through the double glass ─ fairing and cab.
Another important task was the measures aimed at preventing overheating of the roof as a result of exposure to a stream of hot gases escaping from jet engines. For this purpose, heat-resistant steel sheets were reinforced on top of the car, under which a heat-insulating layer was placed.
Constructive improvements of the car
In addition, the Soviet jet train, or rather, an experimental carriage, was stuffed with all kinds of equipment, which allowed not only to make the measurements necessary during the experiment, but also to ensure the safety of its movement at such high speeds. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that not one of the car’s nodes was left without a corresponding refinement, since extreme operating conditions impose special requirements on all systems, including primarily the chassis and brakes.
The entire infrastructure of the fastest ─ jet train, was changed for a number of technical reasons. Suffice it to say that if under normal conditions the engine sets the wheels in motion, forcing them to rotate and, pushing off the railroad track, move the train, then when using reactive traction, the wheels and rails play the role of only guiding elements that hold the car within a given trajectory.
Brakes and lateral vibration problem
Considering that, according to the calculations of the designers, their offspring had to reach speeds of up to 360 km / h, the braking system, capable of stopping a rapidly rushing car if necessary, deserved special attention. For this reason, completely new designs of disc and magnetic rail braking mechanisms have been developed.
As for the lateral vibrations of the car, which inevitably arise when moving along the railway, they hoped to dampen them thanks to the gas jet emanating from the jet engine. In practice, these calculations are fully justified.
The long-awaited debut
Finally, all the preparatory work was completed, and in May 1971, the first jet engine train in the USSR passed the test on the Golutvin ─ Lakes railway line near Moscow. At that time, it had a length of 28 meters and a net weight of 59.4 tons. To this should be added 4 tons ─ the weight of two jet engines, and 7.2 tons ─ aircraft kerosene, which served as fuel for them.
During the first trip, a speed of 180 km / h was recorded ─ quite high at the time, but far from the estimated 360 km / h. The reason for such an unsatisfactory result was not in technical flaws, but in a large number of curved sections of the track, on which, for obvious reasons, had to slow down.
Nevertheless, the appearance of the first domestic jet train was noted in print as a significant event. Below the article presents the cover of the popular magazine "Youth Technology", which dedicated an enthusiastic article to it.
Further tests
To eliminate possible obstacles, the following tests, conducted in the period 1971-1975, were carried out on a direct trunk section of the Dnieper railway line between the stations Novomoskovsk and Dneprodzerzhinsk. It was there that in February 1972 a jet train from the Soviet Union set a world record for speed on a 1520 mm wide gauge railway, which amounted to 250 km / h. Today you will not surprise anyone, but in those years a similar result was an outstanding achievement.
Such a high result allowed us to hope that in the coming years the country would begin mass production of high-speed rail trains driven by jet propulsion. The engineers who participated in the creation of the first successful test sample were ready to start developing a three-car speed train. However, their dreams were never destined to come true.
Unsuitable Speedways
There are several reasons why turbojet-driven locomotives were not included in mass production. Among them, the inertia and slowness of the Soviet economic system played an important role. But, besides this, there were also very significant objective factors that impeded this innovation.
The main obstacle was the Soviet railways, built in accordance with the technical requirements that were presented many years ago. The radii of rounding on them were designated by the designers exclusively in accordance with the topographic conditions of the terrain and for the most part, when passing them, they demanded a decrease in speed to 80 km / h and lower. In order to commission high-speed trains, it would be necessary to build new paths that require significant investment, or to soften rounding on the old ones, which was considered ineffective. None of these options was recognized as promising in the USSR.
Jet train and its problems
Successfully tested, however, revealed a number of problems related to railway infrastructure. In this case, we are talking about open station platforms with which all stations of the country are equipped without exception. A train speeding past them at a speed of 250 km / h is capable of creating an air wave that will sweep away all the people on the platform in no time. Accordingly, to ensure proper security, their widespread modernization is required, which will also require enormous resources.
Among the problems was such a seemingly trifle as gravel, which covered all the railway tracks in the USSR. A jet-powered train passing by stations and railway crossings and an aerodynamic flow around it inevitably lifted a huge amount of this bulk material into the air, turning its small particles into shrapnel. One conclusion ─ for the operation of such compositions would have to be concreted all the railway tracks.
Experiment completion
Studies have shown that in the 70s, most of the railways of the Soviet Union allowed them to develop a top speed of 140 km / h. Only in certain areas could it be increased to 200 km / h without increasing the degree of risk. Thus, the further increase in the speeds of rolling stock was considered unreasonable at that time, since it inevitably required huge investments.
As for the fastest laboratory car, at the end of the experiments in 1975, he was sent to the city of Kalinin to the manufacturer. Based on the results obtained in the course of the work, corresponding design changes were made to new factory developments, such as the RT 200 locomotive and the ER 200 electric train.
Sad old age
Having fulfilled its mission and being unnecessary to anyone after that, the plane car for ten years was at various factory dead ends, rusting and plundered. Finally, in the mid-80s, enterprising guys from the local Komsomol committee came up with the idea of making a video show fashionable in those years, using a body that looked very unusual with engines installed on it.
No sooner said than done. The abandoned wagon was dragged from the sump to the factory floor and reconstructed in accordance with its new purpose. All previous stuffing was thrown out of it and video equipment and seats for spectators were installed on the vacated square. A bar was set up in the former driver’s cabin and the adjacent vestibule. To top it off, they removed external rust and painted their jet video showroom in white and blue tones.
It would seem that his new life will begin, but an unfortunate problem crept into the commercial plans of the Komsomol members ─ they could not agree with the local bandits on an acceptable amount of rollback from the proceeds. And again, the long-suffering car returned to its impasse, where he spent another 20 years, finally turning into a barn on wheels.
They remembered it only in 2008, when they were preparing to celebrate the 110th anniversary of the plant. Its streamlined and once created by all laws of aerodynamics nose was cut, cleaned, painted and used to create a memorial wall installed near the factory entrance. Her photo completes our article.