The Virginian Railway EL-3A was a class of 11 kV 25 Hz AC electric locomotives built for coal haulage over the electrified Elmore to Roanoke route.

Electric operations doubled the capacity on the line because they could handle the 21 ‰ grade twice as fast as steam locomotives, which could only haul 5500 tons at 11 mph (18 km/h) over the same stretch of track.

On downhill trips, the regenerative braking the locomotives were fitted not only reduced wear and tear, but also saved up to 15,000 MWh of energy per year.

[citation needed] The Norfolk and Western Railway, who had absorbed the Virginian, shut down electric operations in 1962.

This was equipped with radially sprung cranks, which were driven by a three-phase induction motor in Dahlander circuit with slip ring rotor.

[11] The current from the overhead wires was fed via a pantograph to an oil-cooled main transformer, which minimalized the voltage.

[10][12] When descending downhill, regenerative braking was automatically activated without any intervention from the driver and without changing the circuit.