The VL10 is an electric two-unit mainline DC

Direct current

Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...

 freight locomotive used in the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 and is still operated today by the state owned Russian rail company RZhD and Ukrainian Railways. The initials VL are those of Vladimir Lenin

Vladimir Lenin

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...

 (ru: Владимир Ленин), after whom the class is named.

History

The VL10 series was built as a replacement for the ageing VL8 which, by 1960, no longer met Soviet rail requirements. The VL10s were manufactured at the Tblisi Electric Locomotive Works (ТЭВЗ) between 1961–1977, as well as the Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant

Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant

Established in 1936, Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant is based in the Russian town of Novocherkassk, Rostov Region. It is now part of Transmashholding.-List of Products:...

 (НЭВЗ) during 1969 and 1976. It was also there that all the mechanical components for the series were produced. The first prototype of the VL10 series was built in the Tblisi works under the designation Т8-001. It was built in 1961 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Soviet rule in Georgia.