Virginian class EL-3A

In 1925, the Virginian Railway started the electrification of the 135 miles across the Alleghenies between Elmore and Roanoke. To haul heavy coal trains, a total of ten electric locomotives were built by ALCO and Westinghouse which consisted of three sections each.

Every section consisted of two groups of two axles each which were powered from a crank axle via side rods. Additionally, one carrying axle was located at each end. The traction motors were powered by three-phase AC that was created by rotary converters. The dynamic brakes were automatically engaged when the voltage in the traction motors started to rise on a downward grade. This allowed to save huge amounts of power.

The ten three-section locomotives managed to replace a total of 48 Mallets. On a grade of 2.1 percent, a train of 6,000 tons with a locomotive on each end could reach 14 mph, what was twice the speed of a steam-powered train. On light grades of 0.6 percent, one locomotive alone could haul 9,000 tons. They remained in service until 1959 when the Virginian cancelled its electric operations.