FS class E646

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FS class E646

Power type	Electric
Builder	TIBB
Build date	1958-1967
UIC classification	Bo-Bo-Bo
Wheel diameter	1.250 m
Wheelbase	13.550 m between bogies 2.580 m between axles in each bogie
Length	18.290 m
Width	3.013 m
Height	4.296 m
Total weight	110 tons
Transmission	25/64 gear ratio
Top speed	140 km/h
Power output	3,780 kW
Career	FS Trenitalia
Number in class	198
First run	1958
Disposition	decommissioned in 2007

FS class E646

Power type	Electric
Builder	TIBB
Build date	1957 – 1967
UIC classification	Bo-Bo-Bo
Wheel diameter	1.250 m
Wheelbase	13.550 m between bogies 2.580 m between axles in each bogie
Length	18.250 m
Width	3.013 m
Height	4.296 m
Total weight	110-112 tons
Transmission	21/68 gear ratio
Top speed	110 km/h
Power output	3,780 kW
Career	FS Trenitalia
Number in class	97
First run	1958
Disposition	decommissioned in 2007

The FS E645 and E646 are two classes of similar electric locomotives used on Italian railways. They were introduced during the 1950s and, as of 2005, they are still in service.

[edit] History

The E646 and E645 locomotives project was started in 1953, with a new model engine that was to be installed on the modified chassis of the already-existing six-axle locomotive E636. A similar concept for a 4-axle locomotive led to the development of the E444 high-speed locomotive in the 1960s.

The first prototypes were delivered in October 1958. The first thirty-seven individual locomotives differed only in their livery: twenty built for passenger traffic were painted in grey-green, while seventeen built for goods were painted in auburn. Later, the freight locomotives were reclassed E645. The total number of locomotives built amounted to 295 units.

Several locomotives from each class are still in service with FS Trenitalia, now assigned exclusively to goods service. They are scheduled to be retired by the end of 2007.

[edit] Technique

The E646 mounts 12 electric motors, each providing 360 kW, fed from a 3000 V catenary. These motors are more powerful than those mounted on the predecessor E636 class and able to improve performance up to 50%. Maximum speed is 140 km/h for the E646. The E645 had a different gear rate — 21/68 instead of 25/64 — with maximum speed reduced to 110 km/h. The locomotives weigh 110 tonnes.

In the 1960s the E646 locomotives were updated to permit usage in commuter passenger service.