Soviet Railways series Е

Just as the Imperial Russian State Railways had received the “Russian Decapods” from North American manufacturers in the First World War, larger numbers were again ordered from Baldwin and ALCO in the Second World War. These not only received the class designation E again, but were also based directly on the older locomotives. They were simplified for faster and cheaper wartime production.

Compared to their predecessors, they had a larger superheater, a stoker and welding technology was used. For safe transport across sea, the frames were reinforced, increasing weight and improving traction. Overall, they were around 20 to 25 percent more powerful.

A total of 2,123 were built between 1944 and 1947, of which 20 went to Finland and ten to China. With the introduction of diesel and electric locomotives in the Soviet Union, they were relocated to more remote areas such as Siberia in the 1950s. They were decommissioned in the seventies and eighties.