NSB El 16

NSB El 16
Tågkompaniet train type El16 24, Sundsvall, Sweden (Image taken by Henrik Sendelbach).
Power type	Electric
Builder	ASEA
Build date	1977–1984
AAR wheel arr.	B-B
UIC classification	Bo'Bo'
Length	15.52 m (50 ft 11 in)
Locomotive weight	80 t (176,400 lb)
Top speed	140 km/h (87 mph)
Power output	4,440 kW (5,950 hp)
Career	Norwegian State Railways
Number in class	17
Number	16 2201 – 16 2217
First run	1977

NSB El 16 is an electric locomotive which is used on the Norwegian railway system by CargoNet to haul freight trains. Until it was replaced by the El 18, the El 16 engines also pulled passenger trains.

History

In the 1970s NSB was faced with a challenge on the steep and wintry Bergen Line and the El 14 was not adequate enough for the task. The solution seemed to be thyristor locomotive that had successfully been tested by ASEA and Canadian Pacific Railway with possibilities to pull 50% heavier trains than equivalent diesel electric locomotives were capable of. The Swedish Rc4 locomotives were tested on the Northeast Corridor with success and NSB also chose to try the units on the Bergen Line. The locomotives were also equipped with dynamic slip control. In 1976 NSB ordered six unites, but chose to modify the Rc4 design, including the pointed nose which is able to force through the occasional snowdrifts. In 1980 another four units were delivered and the final seven in 1984. The sets were numbered 16 2201 to 16 2217.

The engines were used throughout the electrified rail network, both passenger and freight trains, with the exception of the northern section of the Gjøvik Line and the Sørland Line west of Kristiansand, due to too weak power supply systems. But the systems have since been upgraded.

Retirement from passenger service started with the fissioning of Norwegian State Railways. 8 engines were transferred to the CargoNet freight company. In 2002, a further six engines were sold to Tågkompaniet and the remaining three engines were purchased by CargoNet. In 2007 all engines from Tågkompaniet were sold back to Norway.

References

Jernbane.net article on the El 16 (in Norwegian)