While the selection process for the series С electric locomotives to be imported was still going on, an electric locomotive was developed that was to be manufactured entirely in the Soviet Union. While the imported locomotives, with a maximum speed of 65 km/h, were more intended for use in front of freight trains, these locomotives were designed to be lighter and faster for use in front of passenger trains. After the first example was completed in 1932, series production did not start until 1934. Based on the service weight of 114 tonnes, the locomotives were initially called ВЛ114. The letters ВЛ (WL) were chosen in honor of Vladimir Lenin. They soon switched to an axle load based system and renamed it ВЛ19.

In the basic structure they had a lot in common with the locomotives of the series С and the appearance also showed great similarities. Of a total of 144 units, 13 were designed in such a way that they could also be operated with 1,500 V on previously electrified lines. In 1947, ten were modernized with a top speed increased by five km/h and with 400 kW traction motors, which were listed as ВЛ19М. In 1954, 53 more locomotives were converted for operation with two different voltages. The service life of all variants of the ВЛ19 ended between 1969 and 1977.