Russian locomotive class LV

Soviet locomotive class ЛВ

Locomotive LV18-002 at the St. Petersburg Railway Museum at Warsaw Station

Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Voroshilovgrad (Lugansk) Locomotive Factory Build date 1952—1956 Total produced 522

Specifications Configuration 2-10-2 Gauge 1,524 mm (5 ft) Leading dia. 900 mm (35.43 in) Driver dia. 1,500 mm (59.06 in) Trailing dia. 1,050 mm (41.34 in) Length 14.789 m (48 ft 6 in) (w/o tender), 24.710 m (81 ft 1 in) (with 4-axle tender) Adhesive weight 104.0 t (102.4 long tons; 114.6 short tons) Loco weight 123.4 t (121.5 long tons; 136.0 short tons) Fuel type Coal, oil (FDP) Firebox:  • Firegrate area 45 m2 (480 sq ft) Boiler pressure 14 kgf/cm2 (1.37 MPa; 199 psi) Superheater: ​  • Type Dvuhoborotny  • Heating area 136.5 m2 (1,469 sq ft) (No. 1), 149.2 m2 (1,606 sq ft) Cylinders Two, outside Cylinder size 650 mm × 800 mm (25.59 in × 31.50 in) bore x stroke

Performance figures Maximum speed 80 km/h (50 mph) Tractive effort 262.3 kN (58,970 lbf)

Career Operators Russian Railways Class ЛВ Numbers ЛВ-01 - ЛВ-0522 Locale Russia Preserved 28

The Soviet locomotive class LV (Russian: ЛВ) was a Soviet main freight steam locomotive type. Between 1952 and 1956, 522 locomotives were built.

The class LV locomotive was designed as a successor to the class L 2-10-0, which had been a successful design developed during World War II. However, by the late 1940s some drawbacks to the design, including poor operating qualities when operating in reverse, had become apparent. In 1949 the General Directorate of the Ministry of Railways authorized the development of a new 2-10-2 locomotive. Voroshilovgrad Works began designing the new locomotive and the prototype was ready in 1951. Initially the class was designated OR18, with the prototype locomotive numbered OR18-01, but the designation was later changed to class LV.

In addition to a new boiler and firebox, advancements over the class L included a centralized lubrication system, pneumatic grates, power reverse, and roller bearings on all axles. Upon arrival at the SZD testing facility in June 1952 the prototype locomotive was closely examined and found to exceed previous types in tractive effort and horsepower. It was also shown to be the most efficient design then in operation in Russia, with thermal efficiency of 9.27%. Locomotive OR18-01 was placed into revenue service at Lublin Depot in August 1953.

Following the successful test of OR18-01, a second locomotive was constructed in November 1953 incorporating minor changes, with two more pre-production locomotives produced during early 1954. Later in that year the first six production locomotives were built and the class designation was changed to LV (though the four prototypes were renumbered with LV18, rather than LV, prefixes). The six production locomotives, LV-0005 to LV-0010, were built with plain bearings but were designed to be converted to roller bearings later.