JurgenP55205038 at 20:45, 27 March 2026

2026-03-27T20:45:26Z

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{{Short description|Class of 22 Indian electric locomotives}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox locomotive
| name = GIPR EA/1<br/>IR WCP-1
| image = Electric loco 4006.jpg
| alt =
| caption = GIPR 4006 at the [[National Rail Museum, New Delhi]]
| powertype = Electric
| designer =
| builder = [[Schweizerische Lokomotiv- und Maschinenfabrik|SLM]], [[Metropolitan-Vickers|Metrovick]]
| ordernumber =
| serialnumber =
| buildmodel =
| builddate = 1928–1930
| totalproduction = 22
| rebuilder =
| rebuilddate =
| numberrebuilt =
| website =
| aarwheels =
| uicclass = 2′Bo(A1)
| Britishclass = 
| gauge = {{track gauge|1676mm}}
| trucks =
| bogies =
| wheeldiameter = {{convert|1600|mm|ftin|frac=8|abbr=on}}
| trailingdiameter =
| minimumcurve =
| wheelbase = {{convert|11.883|m|ftin|frac=4|abbr=on}}
| truck = 
| bogie = 
| pivotcentres = 
| pantoshoecentres =
| wheelspacing = 
| length = {{convert|16.300|m|ftin|frac=4|abbr=on}}
| over couplers =
| over bufferbeams=
| body =
| width =
| height =
| pantodown = 
| bodyonly = 
| frametype =
| axleload =
| leadingbogie/pony= 
| weightondrivers = {{convert|60|t|abbr=on}}
| trail bogie/pony = 
| locoweight = {{convert|100|t|abbr=on}}
| sandcap =
| powersupply =
| electricsystem = 1500 V DC
| collectionmethod = Overhead lines
| alternator =
| generator =
| tractionmotors = Six
| t/m amps 1 hr = 
| t/m amps cont = 
| headendpower =
| transmission = [[SLM universal drive]]
| gear ratio =
| multipleworking =
| trainheating =
| locobrakes =
| locobrakeforce =
| trainbrakes =
| reservoircap =
| compressorcap =
| exhaustercap =
| safety =
| coupling =
| maxspeed = {{convert|137|km/h|mph|0|abbr=on}}
| poweroutput =
| poweroutput start=
| poweroutput 1 hr= {{convert|2095|hp|kW PS|abbr=on}}
| poweroutput cont= {{convert|1830|hp|kW PS|abbr=on}}
| tractiveeffort =
| t/e starting = {{convert|150|kN|lbf|abbr=on}}
| t/e 1 hr =
| t/e continuous =
| factorofadhesion =
| f/adh starting =
| f/adh 1 hr =
| f/adh continuous=
| operator = {{ubl|[[Great Indian Peninsula Railway]]|[[Indian Railways]]}}
| operatorclass =
| powerclass =
| numinclass =
| fleetnumbers = {{ubl|GIPR 4000, 4003–4024|IR 20002–20023}}
| officialname =
| nicknames =
| axleloadclass =
| locale =
| deliverydate =
| firstrundate =
| lastrundate =
| retiredate =
| withdrawndate = 1980s
| preservedunits =
| restoredate =
| scrapdate =
| currentowner = [[National Rail Museum, New Delhi]]
| disposition = One preserved, remainder scrapped
| notes =
}}

The Indian locomotive class '''WCP-1''' (originally classified as '''EA/1''') is a class of 1.5 [[Volt|kV]] [[Direct current|DC]] [[electric locomotive]]s that were developed in late 1920s by [[Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works]] (SLM) for the [[Great Indian Peninsula Railway]] to handle passenger trains. A total of 22 WCP-1s were built in England between 1928 and 1929, and entered service in 1930.

The WCP-1 served passenger trains for nearly 50 years until its withdrawal in the early 1980s. Only one locomotive, GIPR 4006, is preserved at the [[National Rail Museum, New Delhi|National Rail Museum]], with the remainder of the units being scrapped.

== History ==
The electrification of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway began in 1922, and powerful locomotives were required to haul express trains on over the [[Western Ghats]].{{sfn|Haut|2000|page=48}} They also had to be able to reach speeds of 85 miles an hour (137 km/h)<ref name=Buchli>{{citation|surname1=Jakob Buchli|periodical=[[Schweizerische Bauzeitung]]|title=Universal-Antrieb "Winterthur" für elektrische Lokomotiven |trans-title=Universal drive "Winterthur" for electric locomotives |volume=Band 90|issue=23|year=1927|at=pp. 294–296|language=de|doi=10.5169/seals-41817|doi-access=free}}</ref> - a very high speed at that time, which was not even the case with the E 501 and 502 of the [[Compagnie du chemin de fer de Paris à Orléans]] had been requested.<ref name=":0">{{citation|surname1=Mitteilung der SLM|periodical=[[Schweizerische Bauzeitung]]|title=Neuerungen im mechanischen Aufbau elektrischer Schnellzuglokomotiven |trans-title=Innovations in the mechanical design of electric express train locomotives |volume=Band 89|issue=13|year=1927|at=pp. 174–175|language=de|doi=10.5169/seals-41673|doi-access=free}}</ref> Three test locomotives were therefore ordered from different manufacturers in order to be able to select a suitable design for the series. The tender and evaluation was monitored by the UK electrical engineering firm [[Merz & McLellan]] in London.{{sfn|Haut|2000|page=48}}

The Great Indian Peninsula Railway ordered the test locomotives in 1923:{{sfn|Haut|2000|pages=48-49}}
* Number 4000, a 2'Bo(A1) locomotive with the [[Winterthur universal drive]], built by SLM and Metropolitan Vickers and designated as EA/1.
* Number 4001, a 2'Co2' [[Quill drive]] locomotive, built by [[Hawthorn Leslie and Company]] and [[General Electric Company]] and designated as EB/1, later known as the [[Indian locomotive class WCP-3|WCP-3]].
* Number 4002, another Hawthorn Leslie 2'Co2', with the difference being that it had [[Buchli drive]], and was jointly built by [[Brown Boveri]]. It was designated EC/1, later [[Indian locomotive class WCP-4|WCP-4]].

The EA/1 was ultimately selected for serial production, with 21 more locomotives of this design being ordered.<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |date=18 October 2014 |title=The Electric Locomotive Roster: DC & AC/DC Electrics |url=https://24coaches.com/the-electric-locomotive-roster-dc-acdc-electrics/ |website=24coaches.com |location= |publisher= |access-date=17 January 2025}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=January 2025}} On June 1, 1930, number 4006 hauled a seven-coach [[Deccan Queen]] over the newly electrified line to [[Pune]], then known as Poona.{{sfn|De Cet|Kent|2006|page=264}}

== Design ==
[[File:Typenskizze GIPR EA1.jpg|thumb|250px|Drawing diagram for the EA/1 (WCP-1)]]
[[File:Side View of WCP-1 20005.jpg|thumb|250px|Side view of no.20005]]
The EA/1 had three driving axles in the middle, a two-axle pilot bogie on one end, and a single trailing axle on the other end, which was joined in a [[Zara bogie]] with the nearest pair of driving wheels.{{sfn|Haut|2000|page=49}}

Two traction motors each drove a driving axle via a [[Winterthur universal drive|universal drive]] The motors were mounted high in the engine room, which
gave the locomotive a high center of gravity and protect it from water damage during the frequent floods in Bombay. The motors could be removed from the side through maintenance openings in the lower part of the engine room side wall.<ref name=Buchli/>

The locomotive's body spanned the entire length of the frame. The middle section between the two cabs was divided into three rooms. The first room housed the braking equipment with vacuum pump and air reservoir, the second room contained a cam-operated switch and other equipment for the control gear, and the third room contained the starting resistors. Control scheme was achieved with all six serially connected traction motors, two parallel groups of three motors each in series, or three groups of two motors each in series. In each grouping two field weakening stages were available, so that the locomotive had a total of nine continuous driving stages.{{sfn|Haut|2000|page=48}}

== See also ==
* {{section link|Rail transport in India|History}}
* [[Indian locomotive class WCG-1]]
* [[Indian locomotive class YCG-1]]
* [[Mumbai Suburban Railway]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book |last=Haut |first=F.J.G |date=January 2000 |title=The Pictorial History of Electric Locomotives |url=https://archive.org/details/pictorialhistory0000fjgh/mode/2up |url-access=registration |location= |publisher=Oak Tree Publications |page= |isbn=9780498076442 |access-date= |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}
* {{cite book |last1=De Cet |first1=Mirco |last2=Kent |first2=Alan |date=2006 |title=The Complete Encyclopedia of Locomotives |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PxpFSP62SBIC&dq=indian+electric+locomotive&pg=PA264 |location= |publisher=Rebo International B.V. |page= |isbn=9789036615051 |access-date= |via=[[Google Books]]}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last=Alam |first=Er Twahir |date=21 December 2019 |title=Electric Locomotives of Indian Railways |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vMylzAEACAAJ&q=indian+electric+locomotive |location= |publisher=Independently Published |page= |isbn=9781678856564 |access-date= |via=[[Google Books]]}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160303171617/http://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-specs.html#WCP-1 IRFCA FAQ]
*[http://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-loco2e.html Electric Locomotive Classes – AC], India railway fan club
*[http://www.irfca.org India railway fan club]

{{Broad gauge locomotives of India |state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:WCP-1}}
[[Category:Electric locomotives of India]]
[[Category:1500 V DC locomotives]]
[[Category:Railway locomotives introduced in 1928]]
[[Category:5 ft 6 in gauge locomotives]]
[[Category:Metropolitan-Vickers locomotives]]
[[Category:SLM locomotives]]
[[Category:Passenger locomotives]]
[[Category:Boxcab locomotives]]

Indian locomotive class WCP-1 - Revision history

JurgenP55205038 at 20:45, 27 March 2026