At the beginning of the nineties, AEG began developing a modern mixed-traffic three-phase locomotive that was to become the successor to the class 120. The production took place in the former LEW Hennigsdorf, which later came to Adtranz and finally Bombardier. The new shape of the locomotive body was characterized by sloping roof edges and front areas and strengthened the structure. This design came from the draft for a three-phase locomotive of the class 255 of the Reichsbahn and influenced the shape of the later locomotives from Adtranz/Bombardier and partly from Siemens. The prototype, which was only built once, was tested in 1994 as class 128 and was still owned by AEG.

As with the successors, the transformer was already suspended under the frame between the bogies. The two traction converters each supplied power to one bogie and thanks to a total of four GTO thyristors, each axle could be controlled individually. The GEALAIF axle drives developed by AEG were based on a diaphragm coupling and were able to guarantee good cushioning even at very high speeds while being lightweight. Although the wheelbase of the bogies was shorter than usual for better running through curves, this drive allowed very smooth running at speeds of up to 330 km/h on the roller test stand.

The locomotive was approved for speeds of 250 km/h. Although the order for the class 101 express locomotive was won by competitor ABB Henschel, the 12X formed the basis for the class 145 locomotives and thus for the entire TRAXX family. Between 1996 and 1997, it was converted to IGBT thyristors at the ABB plant in Zurich, which would theoretically have allowed operation at multiple voltages. The locomotive modified in this way was now part of the locomotive pool of Adtranz and later Bombardier and was used in a large area. After the turn of the millennium, it was used to test new technologies. Over the years it has carried AEG, UNICEF, Adtranz and Bombardier promotional liveries. Finally, since 2014, it can be found in the Weimar Railway Museum.

The locomotive factory in Datong had developed the HXD2 together with Alstom. An only slightly modified variant was developed for use in Belarus, which is also a double locomotive with two four-axle sections. The total output of both sections is 9,600 kW and thanks to an axle load of 25 tonnes, a tractive effort of 760 kN is possible. The twelve ordered double locomotives were delivered in 2011 within a few months.

DB Cargo made the start for the TRAXX family by ordering a variant of the medium-power class 145 from Adtranz, which was also to be used abroad and under 25,000 volts. Adtranz (later Bombardier) further developed the class 145 accordingly and now marketed it as the TRAXX F140 AC1. The name stands for “Transnational Railway Applications with eXtreme fleXibility”. DB Cargo had now converted an option for the class 145 to the new locomotive.

The origin from the 145 means that the freight variant still has nose-suspended motors, which was unproblematic with the current state of the art at 140 km/h. The transformer is still under the frame and there is only one anti-slip control per bogie and not for each individual axle. Since the equipment needed to operate in all the countries required would have beaten the weight, individual country packages were offered. The cabs were equipped with multifunction displays in order to be able to display the various information.

The 200 F140 AC1 locomotives of DB Cargo run there as class 185⁰. The designation stands for freight, 140 km/h, alternating current and generation 1. They mainly replaced the class 140. 65 of them have the Switzerland package so that the locomotives can be used on the Gotthard ramp and other lines. Other customers with a Switzerland package are SBB Cargo and BLS, which use 35 and 20 examples respectively and run them as Re 482 and Re 485. 20 other examples from DB Cargo have the France package, which also includes suitability for 25,000 volts and 50 hertz. Other F140 AC1s are owned by leasing companies. They often change operators and only get the color scheme of the leasing company.

The Luxembourg CFL uses 20 locomotives as the series 4000, which basically correspond to the F140 AC1. However, these are used in passenger service and are therefore also referred to as P140 AC1. These are still driven by nose-suspended motors.

The P160 AC1, which has a quill drive to improve running characteristics, was developed directly for passenger transport. DB Regio uses 32 units as class 146¹, mainly in front of 160 km/h double-deck coaches. Ten more are used by the regional transport company of Lower Saxony under the brand name “Metronom”, here too with double-decker coaches. Both these locomotives and the freight variant have been partially upgraded from 4,200 to 5,600 kW through a software update.

146 560 (TRAXX P160 AC2) at the top of an IC2 was the subject of staff training in November 2015

Falk2

The TRAXX 2 was created by modernizing the electronics and improving the crash safety of its predecessor. Its individual variants can be distinguished from the TRAXX 1 by the suffix two. The AC variant for freight trains, called the F140 AC2 here, again represented the largest number of units. The passenger variant P160 AC2 was also available with a quill drive. A new variant was also suitable for use under direct current and is sold as the F140 MS2. The total of 573 locomotives built went to a large number of customers in Central Europe, of which 206 were the classes 185² and 185⁵ for DB Cargo, 79 of the class 146² for DB Regio and 27 of the class 146⁵ for DB Fernverkehr.

F140AC2 as SBB Re 482 043 in August 2019 in Ansbach

DoomWarrior

The biggest disadvantage of the TRAXX 2E was that electric and diesel variants could not be built with the same locomotive body. This resulted in the further developed generation 2E, in which there is an installation field for the power converter or diesel generator in the middle of the locomotive body. Only a multi-system and a pure DC variant were created. The latter is also used in broad gauge in Spain. The multi-system variant is used by a large number of operators in large parts of Europe. Depending on the country, a maximum speed of 160 km/h is possible with the further developed nose-suspended motors. The diesel variants are described in a separate article.

The third generation of the TRAXX is again available in the variants AC3 for alternating current, DC3 for direct current and MS3 for both systems. Only on the AC3 are the side walls beaded and can be covered with an advertising canvas. Otherwise, there are again different variants for freight and passenger transport. The customer can choose from different combinations of power system and speed.

The freight variant for 140 km/h has nose-suspended motors and was subsequently also offered with a maximum speed of 160 km/h. The P160 passenger variant, on the other hand, has a quill drive with a maximum speed of 160 km/h. A planned approval for 189 km/h has not yet been realised, but the P200MS3 with a top speed of 200 km/h has been undergoing testing since 2023, which was ordered by the Belgian State Railways and has further adaptations.

Mercitalia E.494.006 (TRAXX F140DC3) in May 2019 in Pomezia

Manny Mannheimer

While the continuous output in AC operation was initially 5,600 kW, new locomotives are now being delivered with 6,400 kW. A last-mile diesel and/or a shunting battery are optionally available, which can be used to bridge short, non-electrified sections at low speed. Deutsche Bahn had a framework agreement with Bombardier for up to 450 locomotives and could now call for more after the takeover by Alstom. It uses the passenger variant as class 147 and the freight variant as class 187.

NJ Transit had used the ALP-44 on the electrified routes since the late 1980s, which was based on the AEM-7, which in turn was derived from the Swedish Rc. In 1999, the first 24 three-phase locomotives were ordered from Adtranz, which were based on the German class 101 and were intended to replace the ALP-44. They were manufactured in the Kassel plant and have been delivered by Bombardier since 2001.

The machines weighed a few tons more than the class 101 and were only designed for 100 mph due to the possible speeds on the NJ Transit network. On the east coast of the USA there are three different AC systems that the locomotives had to be suitable for. As with the class 101, GTO thyristors were used to control the power, but here each axle was not controlled separately and one bogie each was combined to form a control group. This connects them with the TRAXX locomotives, which Bombardier now offers in Europe and which, compared to the 101, have simplified traction electronics. A total of 29 ALP-46s were procured by 2002.

Between 2009 and 2011, another 36 pieces of the successor called ALP-46A were procured to replace the last ALP-44s. These now used IGBT thyristors and had an hourly output of 5,600 instead of 5,300 kW. Although the NJ Transit network was still not designed for speeds higher than 100 mph, the ALP-46A was built for a maximum speed of 125 mph in the event of later route expansions. In 2011, the Canadian GO Transit considered the purchase of the ALP-46A as part of the planned electrification of some routes, which did not happen. Since the work is currently not scheduled to begin until 2023, there will be a renewed search for suitable locomotives in due course.