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The Nomenclature System of Locomotives on

IR
by Shirish Paranjape, 2000
Note: This article originally appeared in 'Indian Railways', Dec. 2000. It is reproduced here by
generous permission of the author, Shirish Paranjape. Readers may also be interested in the
FAQ pages on locomotives.
All travellers and enthusiasts would have observed, during their journeys, the alphanumeric
numbers, such as 'WAP-4', 'WAG-7' boldly painted on the body of the locomotives operating on
the Indian Railways. This article attempts to explain the system for nomenclature adopted by the
Indian Railways for the locomotives operating on the Indian Railways.
The numbering system of locomotives comprises two parts. First, the code prefix such as 'WDM2' or 'WAM-4' which denotes the type/class of the loco; and second, a serial number such as
'17604'. Each letter in the code-prefix has a specific significance, and the understanding of this
would help us in the overall understanding of the nomenclature adopted on IR, as well as the
varied types of locomotives running on the IR.
The first (left-most) letter denotes the gauge. Thus, 'W' stands for Broad Gauge, 'Y' is Metre
Gauge and 'Z' is Narrow Gauge. We will normally see one of these letters as the first letter in the
number of the loco.

The Steam Saga


In the bygone era, life was simple, because there was only one category of loco, based on the
fuel is used. Those were days of the elegant, huffing and puffing steam locos, also colloquially
called 'coal engines'. In those days, on the broad gauge, we had:

'WP' class locos, with a hemispherical front, which gave the loco a very majestic and
powerful look.
'WG' class locos, which had a flat front.

The letters 'P' and 'G' indicated Passenger service and Goods service, respectively. Which means
that 'WP' was a broad gauge passenger service loco, while 'WG' was a broad gauge goods service
loco. Due to the shift to diesel and electric traction, both these types of locos are no longer in
service on IR, and can be seen only in museums.
On the metre gauge, we had the omnipresent 'YP' class locos, which, unlike their broad-gauge
counterparts (WP), had a flat front. The goods trains on the metre gauge were pulled by 'YG'
class locos, which had a look similar to the 'YP' locos.

Thus, in the days of steam traction, the second letter indicated the 'service class' of the loco, and
mainly the 'WP'. 'WG', 'YP' & 'YG' class of steam locos dominated the IR scene.

The Change from Solid to Liquid Fuel


Then, in the sixties, came diesel traction, and life became a little more difficult. Most of the
diesel locos operating on broad gauge are 'WDM-2' series, where 'W' is Broad Gauge, 'D' is
Diesel, and 'M' is 'Mixed' (service). These versatile locos, made in India at DLW, Varanasi under
license from ALCO, USA, have put in an exceedingly meritorious and long service in hauling
passenger as well as goods trains, both singly and in pairs.
The number '2' indicates that it is a second generation loco, from design technology point of
view. Its predecessor 'WDM-1' was used in much smaller numbers and were last seen on the
Durg-Nagpur section of South Eastern Railway, hauling goods trains. The peculiarity of the
WDM-1 was that it had the driver's cab only on one end, while the other end was flat -- like the
ends of passenger coaches. So, while it appeared flush with the load behind it, the WDM- 1 had
to be reversed for the journey in the opposite direction. On the other hand, 'WDM-2', though
unsymmetrical, can be used in any direction without the need of reversing, thanks to the design
of its driver's cab.
WDM-2's cousin on the metre gauge is an equally versatile 'YDM-4', while that on the narrow
gauge is ZDM-1. You will also find 'WDS-4' bringing passenger trains into platform at the
starting stations. ('S' indicates 'shunting class'). There are other variants such as 'WDP-1' ('P' for
'passenger service', and higher-powered (3100hp), 'WDP-2' and 'WDG-2' locos for passenger and
goods service respectively.
While 'WDM-2' and its related variants are based on ALCO designs, IR has recently gone in for
a new technology, powerful (4000hp) locos based on the designs of General Motors, USA. These
locos are christened 'WDG-4' ('G' for Goods), and these are manufactured at DLW. These locos
can be seen operating on the Hubli Division of the South Central Railway, hauling goods trains
carrying bulk ore.
On the narrow gauge, locos such as 'ZDM' operate on Kangra Valley Railway and Kalka-Shimla
Railway, while other narrow gauge variants pull tourist trains on the Neral-Matheran Railway
near Mumbai.

The Electric Locomotives


The advent and the progress of Electric Traction has further complicated the numbering system.
From a simple 'WP' or 'WG', we now move on to more complex nomenclatures such as 'WCAM3', an addition of as many as 3 characters. But this addition is not without adequate meaning, as
we will realise after the following discussion.
Electricity comes in two forms -- AC (Alternating Current) and DC (Direct Current). On Indian
Railways, the Mumbai-Pune, Mumbai-Igatpuri and Mumbai-Virar sections are fed by DC supply

(1,500V DC), while all other sections are fed by AC supply (25,000V AC). Therefore, the
nomenclature system for electric locos includes a letter to differentiate between locos with DC
traction from those with AC traction. As per this system, 'A' indicates 'AC traction' while 'C'
indicates 'DC traction (not 'D', so as to avoid any confusion with diesel). One can, therefore, find
'WCG' class locos (Broad Gauge, DC traction, Goods duty) operating on the Mumbai Division,
while their counterparts 'WAG' locos haul broad gauge goods trains on AC traction elsewhere on
LR. Similarly, trains, such as Mumbai-Pune Deccan Queen Express were, till recently, hauled by
gigantic 'WCM-l' and 'WCM-5' ('M' for 'Mixed' service, just as in 'WDM-2'), while Mail/Express
trains in the other parts of the country are powered by AC electric locos such as 'WAM-4' (Broad
Gauge, AC Traction, Mixed service).
The WAM-4 Ioco has been produced in very large numbers (upward of 500), and is in service
very widely in India. Its predecessor WAM-1/2/3 can be seen operating on Eastern Railway, for
instance, on Sealdah Division. 'WAG-2' is of Hitachi design and operates mainly on the
Bhusawal Division of Central Railway. This is a very handsome-looking loco, which is also the
case with its 'younger brother', the 'YAM-1' used for hauling trains on the only electrified metre
gauge section on IR namely the Chennai-Chengalpattu section. Under Project Umgauge being
implemented by the railways, this section will get converted to broad gauge, and rail enthusiasts
will surely miss the sight of this lovely loco hauling a load of metre gauge coaches.
What WAM-4 is to Mail/Express trains, 'WAG-5' is to goods trains operating on the broad
gauge. The WAG-S is the most common loco for hauling BG freight trains on AC traction. More
than 700 locos of this variety can be seen on LR.
Driven by the ever-growing need for more speed & power, we have seen technological
advancements on the IR scene too. Thus we now can commonly see a huge, 5000 horsepower,
red-coloured, and well-contoured loco, the 'WAP-4' hauling super-fast Mail pr Express trains of
as many as 24 coaches in various parts of the country. This BG-AC Passenger Service loco is
capable of achieving speeds upto 140 kilometres per hour. Its predecessors, the 'WAP-l' and
'WAP-3' can be found in much lesser numbers -- they were probably used to improve the
designs, which has now been adopted on the 'WAP4'

Modern Technology
The conventional locos had:

DC motors fed by DC overhead supply, such as for WCM, WCG locos (Electric locos,
DC traction)
AC overhead supply, stepped down through a multi-winding transformer, rectified by
static rectifiers, whose output was fed to the DC motors. Locos such as WAM, WAP,
WAG are equipped with this technology. (Electric locos, AC traction).
Diesel fuel driving an engine, which operates an alternator, whose AC Electric output
was rectified and fed to the DC motors, in locos such as WDM-2, WDP, WDG. Due to
this the diesel locos are actually 'diesel-electric locos. These locos were actually with an
on-board moving powerhouse operated on diesel fuel.

The latest technological innovation in traction is the use of 3-phase AC motors instead of DC
motors as the prime movers in the loco. With a desire to implement this technology, IR
purchased, under a transfer of technology agreement, two new types of electric locos from
ADtranz. These locos, one with 6000hp, 160km/h (upgradable to 200km/h), and the other with
6000hp, 100km/h capability, are christened as WAP-5 and WAG-9 on the Indian Railways.
These can be seen operating on the Northern and Eastern Railways hauling maillexpress and
goods trains respectively.
The technology of AC motors as pnme movers applied to diesel traction is also now available
with the IR. in the form of the WDG-4 loco, being produced at DLW under another technology
transfer agreement (with General Motors, USA). This 4000hp, 160km/h loco will be found in
increasing numbers as the production gradually increases.
While on one side this technology transfer was under progress, IR, through Chittaranjan
Locomotive Works and RDSO, have in parallell developed an indigenous, powerful 5000hp loco
for freight traffic, called the 'WAG-7'. This loco is already under manufacture at CLW, and can
operate at speeds upto 100km/h.

A Technological Challenge for theRailway Engineer


Since Mumbai Division is the only division on IR to have DC overhead supply, there is a need to
change from DC to AC (or vice-versa) for trains going out of (or coming into) Mumbai. This
changeover takes place at three locations. On the Central Railway route towards north and east,
this change takes place at Igatpuri -- on the platform -- in the form of change of the locomotive.
On the south-bound route, the changeover is to a diesel loco, at Pune station. But the most
interesting is the changeover on the Western Railway route, towards Vadodara/Delhi. This
change happens while the train is in full motion -- without any stopping or jerks whatsoever. To
achieve this, the trains on Mumbai Central - Vadodara / Ahmadabad route are operated by 'dualtraction' locos of WCAM series. (BG, DC and AC traction, Mixed service). The changeover
takes place just north of Virar, over a neutral section, while the passengers inside the train
normally remain oblivious of such a major (technical) happening!

The Numerals
After having discussed and understood the alphabetic nomenclature prevalent in naming the
locos operating on IR, let us take a brief look at the numerals too. Today, most locos have a 5digit number after the type-code. The first two digits (from left) also signify the type of the loco,
and the remaining three digits denote the serial number in that category. Thus WAP-4 class locos
always have numbers beginning 22, while WCG class locos start with 20. The new generation
WAP-5 and WAG-9 locos have numbers in the 30 and 31 series.

Who makes these locomotives?


While most of the electric locos today are manufactured at CLW, some, for instance, WCAM-2,
WCAM-3 and WAG-5-HB, are made by BHEL. Similarly, while CLW made most of the BG

steam locos of the bygone era, many 'YP' class MG steam locos were made by Tata Engineering
and Locomotive Company. Though TELCO no longer produces locomotives, the word
'locomotive' has remained etched in the name of the company. Similarly, while DLW has
contributed to almost all diesel locos, some shunting locos were made at CLW.
With this basic understanding of the loco numbering system adopted on the Indian Railways, the
readers will now be able to distinguish and recognize each type of loco separately, and perhaps,
make their friends and relatives too more aware of the interesting intricacies of the Indian
Railways, while continuing to enjoy their rail travel.

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