For the increasingly heavier trains on the Lötschberg line, the BLS needed a new locomotive in the mid-1920s that was supposed to be more powerful than the Be 5/7. On the route with a gradient of 2.7 percent, it had primarily to transport freight trains of 510 tonnes and, if necessary, also be used in front of the heaviest express trains. Since the route was single-track and therefore rapid operation had to be guaranteed, the speed to be reached was set at 75 km/h.

Since a rod drive fell out at the required speed, it was not possible to fall back on a type that had already been developed, such as the SBB Ce 6/8 II. The choice fell on the Secheron spring drive with double motors, a form of the quill drive. The locomotive stood on two bogies, each with one leading and three driving axles, which were coupled to each other. For the first time in Swiss history, there was a seat in the cabs so that the driver no longer had to stand.

With a maximum speed of 75 km/h, the locomotive was assigned to train series B, which led to the designation Be 6/8. In the years 1926 to 1931 only four pieces were made at Breda, another four were made between 1939 and 1943 at SLM. The second series was approved for 90 km/h with a different gear ratio and the locomotives of the first series were soon rebuilt in the same way. This was accompanied by a classification in the train speed row A, which led to the designation Ae 6/8, which is better known today.

The train weight of the freight trains over the Lötschberg was increased in the first few years with the Be 6/8 from 510 to 550 and finally 600 tonnes. As planned, they also took over express trains that were too heavy for the Be 5/7. They were the most powerful locomotives in the world until the SBB introduced the Ae 8/14 two-section locomotive in 1931. From 1960, thanks to engine to the chassis, the speed could be increased to 100 km/h. The last machine was only retired in 1995 and today there are still three preserved.

In the 4.75 mile long Hoosac Tunnel in Massachusetts, growing traffic volumes at the beginning of the century caused major problems for the operation with steam locomotives due to smoke and steam. So the Boston & Maine planned to use electric locomotives to pull trains with their steam locomotive through the tunnel. With the steam locomotive idling, it created much less smoke and steam. So they electrified the tunnel with 11.000 V AC at 25 Hz in 1910.

Five electric locomotives were ordered from Baldwin and Westinghouse and numbered 2501 to 2505. They were of conventional boxcab design and rode on two bogies consisting of two powered axles and a leading axle. Three got a gear ratio for freight service, while the two others got a faster ratio for passenger service. Just one year later they were renumbered 5000 to 5004. In 1917, two more were built which were the first to be retired in 1942 and 1945. After diesel locomotives took over, all were retired until 1947.

The total of six E 95 were developed to haul coal trains weighing 2,200 tonnes from Silesia to Dresden or Berlin. The development of the nose-suspended motors had made it possible to build a locomotive of this power class with this type of drive. Thanks to the carrying axles, it was possible to run at speeds sufficient for passenger trains. During test runs, the locomotives accelerated coal trains weighing up to 2,568 tonnes to 60 km/h. After the Second World War, they came to the Soviet Union for a while as reparations and were later refurbished again in the GDR. However, increasingly common problems led to their being phased out by 1969.

In the twenties, the Great northern built the new Cascade Tunnel and electrified the complete 73 mile (117 km) section over Stevens Pass with 11,000 V one-phase AC. Previously, only the old tunnel itself was electrified at 6,600 V three-phase AC and they now needed a replacement for the old GE boxcab electrics. So they ordered six 1-C+C-1 boxcabs from ALCO, which got their electric part from General Electric. They were numbered 5010 to 5017 and became class Y-1.

The alternate current from the overhead line was changed to direct current by a motor-generator. Over one hour, the locomotives delivered 3,300 hp, with a continuous output of 3,000 hp. In World War II, 5011 was badly damaged in an accident and its remains were used for a total rebuild where it got the streamlined cabs from the EMD FT.

No. 5011 after the rebuild

Stan Kistler

In 1956, the Cascade Tunnel was dieselized and equipped with large fans to carry away the exhaust fumes. Since the frame of 5011 had been bent in the accident, it had several problems in service and was scrapped. All catenary was removed and the remaining locomotives were sold to the PRR, which called them FF1. The PRR scrapped three of them in the following years, but the last four were used until 1966.

The ED76 is an electric locomotive for passenger and freight service with three bogies, only two of which are powered. The base model was the series 0, of which 94 were built. The 22 locomotives of the series 500 had a longer car body because the water and fuel tanks for the train heating had been enlarged. They had gangways at the fronts because they were often used in pairs. One example was adapted for the Seikan Tunnel and formed the series 550. 23 locos for express freight service formed the series 1000. In 2016 only ten locos were still in service, all owned by JR Freight.

The 1000 series was an electric locomotive that the NS ordered based on the Swiss Ae 3/6. This has been adapted to operate under 1,500 volts DC in the flat terrain of the Netherlands. The carrying axles were also combined here with the adjacent driving axle to form a Java bogie. The first three locomotives were manufactured by SLM with electrics from Oerlikon and the other seven only had the electrics from Switzerland. Despite their susceptibility to failure, they were used until 1982, but almost exclusively in front of freight trains.