SNCF BB 15000
| BB 15000 | |
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 BB 15007 on July 30, 2010 at Amiens station
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| Numbering: | 15001-15065 |
| Manufacturer: | Alsthom -MTE |
| Year of construction (s): | 1971-1976 |
| Axis formula : | B'B ' |
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
| Length over buffers: | 17,480 mm |
| Service mass: | 88 t |
| Wheel set mass : | 22 t |
| Top speed: | 160 km / h |
| Continuous output : | 4300 kW |
| Power system : | 25 kV 50 Hz AC |
| Power transmission: | Overhead line; 1 pantograph |
| Number of traction motors: | 2 |
The BB 15000 is an electric locomotive series of the French state railways Société nationale des Chemins de Fer Français (SNCF) for use on the route network electrified with alternating current of 25 kV 50 Hz. The locomotives were built by Alsthom between 1971 and 1978.
Together with the BB 7200 (only for direct current operation) and the dual-system locomotives of the BB 22200 series , the BB 15000 form a series family. The locomotives have the " Nez cassé " (broken nose) front shape typical of the 1960s and 1970s , which was designed by the designer Paul Arzens and was first used on the machines of the CC 40100 series . It is controlled electronically via thyristors with automatic speed control. In operation they have proven to be very reliable. The maximum design speed is 180 km / h, in practice the maximum speed is limited to 160 km / h. The machines are the first French mainline locomotives with two driver's cabs that have only one pantograph and were designed as the last electric locomotives of the SNCF only for the AC system. The front windows of the last fifteen locomotives were less inclined in favor of larger driver's cabs.
commitment
All of the locomotives were based in Strasbourg in Alsace from the outset, where they were used in local traffic and high-quality passenger trains. Her achievements included the TEE and later Intercités trains Goethe , Iris and Stanislas . They were later split between the Long Distance, TER Alsace and Lorraine divisions. When the LGV Est européenne opened in 2007, many locomotives became available for other uses. By the end of 2011, all BB 15000 were successively relocated to Achères , where they largely replaced the BB 16000 series locomotives and the BB 16100 series locomotives completely. They are now assigned to the STF (Supervision technique de flotte) Champagne-Ardennes, Lignes Normandes and Picardy.
Appearance
The first five locomotives were delivered in green. All other machines were factory - fitted in the Grand Confort color scheme in silver-gray with fronts set off in red and orange-colored decorative stripes as well as red sides with an orange border. This color scheme was also carried over to the previously green locomotives. Two locomotives (15034 and 15040) were repainted on concrete gray with orange stripes. In contrast to the sister locomotives of the series BB 7200 and BB 22200, this color scheme on the BB 15000 was only short-lived and is no longer used today. In the 1990s, numerous locomotives were repainted in Corail plus (different shades of gray with a red front and red trim). The en voyage design was later added to nine locomotives (silver with a surrounding band in light blue and purple with different faces). The locomotives have not been repainted for a number of years, so the remaining locomotives are still on the road in three color variants (Grand Confort, Corail plus and En voyage).
Conversions
Memor II +
Locomotives 15005, 15008, 15016 to 15021, 15023 and 15025 were retrofitted with the Memor II + train protection system for use in Luxembourg . With the withdrawal from the Strasbourg depot and the operations in Luxembourg, this equipment was no longer used and was therefore expanded again.
Push train control
From 2007 to 2009, 24 locomotives and from 2013 to 2014 a further 10 locomotives (BB 15026–15032, 15034–15038, 15040–15049, 15052–15059, 15058–15062 and 15064–15065) with a time-multiplexed push-pull train control ( retrofitted at SNCF for short "MUX" ).
Temporary modifications to test locomotives
The BB 15007 served between 1974 and 1985 as the BB 7003 in the direct current network, then as the three-phase test locomotive BB 10003. By January 1997, it was reduced to series production and renumbered as BB 15007. The BB 15055 was also rebuilt between 1982 and 1989 for experiments with three-phase drive technology and was used under the number BB 10004 . It was also dismantled to the BB 15055 after the end of the tests.
Retirement
BB 15011 was the first locomotive to be withdrawn from the fleet in 1976 after an accident. By mid-2019, thirteen locomotives had been decommissioned, three of them each after accidents and fire damage. The first locomotive built 15001 was taken over into the inventory of the Mulhouse Railway Museum . This means that there are still 51 locomotives in service. Due to the progressive delivery of new railcars of the Régiolis and Regio 2N types , the locomotives have been increasingly decommissioned since 2018.
