Massive Soviet electrics fade away
THE last of a class of what was once more than 1700 double electric locomotives are now in service in Ukraine. The Soviet Railways VL8 CoCo+CoCo 3kV DC loco design was built between 1953 and 1967 by the Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant, both at Novocherkassk in southern Russia and Tbilisi in Georgia, with 1723 being built. The design was derived from the earlier VL22 CoCo design dating from 1938 and was initially used in Russia on the TransSiberian route, although by the 1970s the more modern VL10 design had replaced it there. By the time the Soviet Union ceased to exist in 1991, most VL8 locos were in use working both passenger and freight in Ukraine. Operation of the type in Russia itself ceased over a decade ago, although small numbers of VL8 locos remain in the fleets of neighbouring countries Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. How many, if any, are actually in service is not known.