BLS Ae 8/8
| BLS Ae 8/8 Ae 485 |
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|---|---|
 485 274 on July 11, 1984 at Kumm
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| Numbering: | BLS Ae 485 271-275 |
| Number: | 5 |
| Manufacturer: | SLM Winterthur, BBC |
| Year of construction (s): | 1959-1966 |
| Axis formula : | Bo'Bo '+ Bo'Bo' |
| Length over buffers: | 30,230 mm |
| Empty mass: | 160 t |
| Top speed: | 125 km / h |
| Hourly output : | 6475 kW |
| Driving wheel diameter: | 1,250 mm |
| Power system : | Alternating current 15 kV 16.7 Hz |
The Ae 8/8 of the Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon-Bahn (BLS) (UIC-compliant designation since 1992: Ae 485 ) were put into service between 1959 and 1966.
With the increasing volume of traffic on the Lötschberg route in the 1950s and the increase in the trailer load on the 27 ‰ ramps to 900 t, many post-tensioning or intermediate services were required. The solution chosen by BLS to reduce these services provided for a permanently connected double locomotive , which in principle consists of two permanently coupled Ae 4/4s . The first order for an Ae 8/8 was placed in 1956.
A driver's cab was dispensed with on the tightly coupled sides of the two sub-units and a transition protected with bellows was installed instead. This design brought the eight-axle double locomotive created in this way to a length of over 30 m.
In 1959 Ae 8/8 No. 271 was put into service. It consisted of the Ae 4/4 No. 259 and 260, which were already under construction when the order was placed. In 1962 the machine No. 272 was delivered, followed in 1963 by the Ae 8/8 No. 273. In 1965 and 1966, four Ae 4s were built / 4 converted to Ae 8/8 No. 274 (ex Ae 4/4 No. 253/254) and No. 275 (ex Ae 4/4 No. 255/256), as the services provided by Ae 4/4 Express train services were taken over by Re 4/4 and therefore capacities of the Ae 4/4 were no longer needed here.
During the operational use of the Ae 8/8, some improvements were made, such as: For example, the installation of a multiple control system , so that the increase in train load to 1300 tonnes with a 27 ‰ gradient on the Lötschberg axis, which came into force in 1981, could be used in multiple traction.
The main area of use was heavy freight trains, but the Ae 8/8, popularly known as "Muni" (bull), were also to be found before passenger trains. Many services have been replaced by more modern machines over time. A final area of application for the Ae 8/8 No. 273 was the transport of excavation trains with excavated material from the new Lötschberg base tunnel.
In 1996, No. 274 was canceled after a transformer damage that had occurred the year before. No. 271 and No. 272 were destroyed in a shed fire in 1998 in Spiez . Ae 8/8 No. 273 was declared a historic locomotive in 2004. No. 275 was exhibited as part of a special exhibition in the Swiss Museum of Transport , but has been back at BLS since March 2006. In November 2016, no.275 had to vacate its original location in the Brig depot due to lack of space; it was transferred in two halves to Frutigen.
literature
- W. Grossmann: Train promotion on the Lötschberg and description of the Ae 8/8 locomotive .
Schweizerische Bauzeitung, Volume 77 (1959), Issue 39 (E-Periodica.ch, PDF 11.3 MB)