Polish Numbering System

[sftfan1909]

I was looking at various different Polish locomotives and I'm completely confused by the numbering/classification system they use.

As an example, here's locomotive BR285-121:

"BR 285 121" is displayed above the LOTOS logo. The number just below is part of its EVN, and I can't work out what the one below it is.

Another example is 111Ed-001:

There is no four digit number, and "111Ed" looks completely different to "BR285".

Finally this is loco EU44-001:

Here it is shown only carrying "EU44-001", but then sometime this year it was reliveried and now looks like this:

The previous number has been dropped, and it now only carries a section of the EVN (minus the check digit) and a four digit number.

Can someone please explain all this for me? I want to know what the standard way to refer to a loco is, as I'm very confused as to how it all works

(None of the images are mine)

 

[Fireless]

The official identity is the full EVN number (as found on the solebar).
As it is rather long and cumbersome, rolling stock owners usually have their own "internal" identity or identities of some sort.
The national block of the EVN number seems to have become the new standard in Poland replacing the classification system of the PKP (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PKP_classification_system), so I'd suggest using that system.

 

[43096]

The official identity is the full EVN number (as found on the solebar).
As it is rather long and cumbersome, rolling stock owners usually have their own "internal" identity or identities of some sort.
The national block of the EVN number seems to have become the new standard in Poland replacing the classification system of the PKP (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PKP_classification_system), so I'd suggest using that system.

But the Polish implementation of the EVN system is frankly ridiculous. Take the three Siemens multi-system electrics as an example:
ES64U4 (Taurus) are EU44 with EVNs 91 51 5370 001-010
ES64F4 are EU45 with EVNs 91 51 5370 011-012
Multi-system Vectrons are EU46 with EVNs 91 51 5370 013 upwards

Three different loco types all in the same EVN block. Utterly lacking in common sense.