Railway Herald
In permanent situ at the western end of Sofia Central station is SKODA Class 41 electric locomotive No. 41-127. Many a year has passed since it last turned a wheel and is now used as a BDZ passenger carriage warmer. Constructed by the Czechoslovakian SKODA factory in Pilsen it was one of a batch built between 1961-1962. The type entered service in April 1963 on the then newly electrified line between Sofia and Plovdiv, the first route to be electrified in Bulgaria. But by 1965 just two years in, the performance of the type was deemed to be less then satisfactory resulting in 39 of the original 41 locos returning to SKODA for modifications and updates. The remaining two had already been scrapped following serious electrical fires. The class returned to service with some success and paved the way for the even more improved Class 42 that was introduced on to the Bulgarian network between 1964 and 1970. All Class 41 electrics had been removed from regular service by 1998. Image recorded on 6th October 2016.
Stephen Ginn
