Briansk Machine Works

Briansk Machine Works 

(formerly a locomotive factory), one of the largest works for building transport machines in the USSR. It manufactures powerful, low-idle diesel engines for seagoing vessels, 880-kilowatt (kW)—or 1,200 horsepower—TEM-2 diesel switch engines, and five-car refrigerator sections for hauling perishable goods. It was founded in 1873 as a metallurgical works for the production of railroad fastenings and rails. It manufactured railroad cars, flat cars, and tank cars in the 1880’s and locomotives in the 1890’s. During the Civil War and the military intervention of 1918-20 the workers repaired armored trains, locomotives, and railroad cars and filled orders for the front. The Provisional Rules of Internal Order, which Lenin proposed to extend to all industrial enterprises (1918), were first developed at this factory. The plant was modernized and expanded during the prewar five year plans but was destroyed during the fascist German occupation of the city of Briansk. After the liberation of the city in September 1943, the plant was rebuilt, and new turbine, diesel, and other sections were constructed. In December 1946 the first postwar 1,470-kW Series “L” locomotive was manufactured. The plant has been producing railroad cars since 1946 and steam turbines in place of steam locomotives, since 1951. The first power-producing train, equipped with a steam turbine capable of producing 4,000 kW, was built in 1954. In 1958 the plant began to manufacture diesel switchers, and in 1961 the first 6,624-kW marine diesel was produced. The factory was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor in 1966.

V. P. LAPIN