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.

At the beginning of the 1990s, it had become apparent that the locomotives of the class 103 were worn out to the limit due to years of stress in front of heavy express trains and urgently needed a successor. ABB Henschel (later Adtranz) was commissioned to develop a 220 km/h high-power locomotive, which was based on the class 120. In addition to the use with express trains, however, it was also planned that freight trains could be pulled if necessary. This was of particular importance as there were plans to convert all long-distance traffic to multiple units in the future.

The 101 was the first class to receive the new smooth-surfaced locomotive body, which also offers good aerodynamic properties while being simple to manufacture. In this model, it is characterized by deep skirts over the chassis and is often used as a large advertising space. The traction motors and other parts of the electronics have been redesigned to meet the high demands. The transformer was optimized in terms of efficiency in accordance with a requirement from the DB and, at 13 tonnes, is the heaviest of all German traction units. When setting up the driver's cabs, almost the same layout as on the 120 and the ICE was used.

Between 1997 and 1999, 145 locomotives were put into service, which corresponds exactly to the number of 103s. They replaced them within a very short time and quickly became DB AG's driving force in long-distance traffic, even though the ICE remained the publicly perceived flagship. The greatest weakness was the undersized power train machinery, as some of the high-performance components reached their limits under heavy loads. This sometimes led to failures where locomotives of the classes 103 and 120 had to step in. Nevertheless, the 101 was also used at night and on weekends in front of freight trains, including the 160 km/h Parcel InterCity.

Since then, the primary area of application has been the IC trains, since the 101 is still the most frequently used class even after the introduction of newer three-phase locomotives. After some ICs had been replaced by ICE 4s, the first locomotives were retired. As of October 2022, in addition to the 101 destroyed in the Brühl accident, 32 others had already been retired or scrapped. With the planned introduction of the Talgo 230 from 2024, the class 101 will gradually disappear.

While ABB-Henschel had received the order from DB to build the class 101 express locomotive and Siemens was building the class 152 freight locomotive, AEG had received the order for a medium-power freight locomotive. This got the class number 145 and was based directly on the 12X. In addition to the lower continuous output of only 4,200 kW, the nose-suspended motors were an important distinguishing feature, since only 140 km/h had to be reached.

Since the rail vehicle division of AEG merged with ABB-Henschel to form ADtranz shortly after the order was placed, the 145 was now built together with the 101 under one roof. For reasons of rationalization, some standardizations were made that affected the electrics, bogies and the shape of the locomotive body.

DB Cargo ordered a total of 80 locomotives, the first ten of which were built in Hennigsdorf and the rest in Kassel. There were no further orders from DB Cargo because the multi-system class 185 locomotives were now available. Another 17 went to private leasing companies as the “145-CL” and six went to the Swiss Mittelthurgaubahn. The locomotives running there as Re 486 were handed over to SBB Cargo in 2003 when MThB was liquidated, renumbered as Re 481 and used in Germany. They later came to different companies.

In 1999, the DB Regio realized that, despite modern multiple units, they still needed locomotives to pull double-decker coaches at 160 km/h in highly frequented regional traffic. Thus, two locomotives of the class 145 were equipped with push-pull train controls and destination indicators and operated with a special permit at 160 km/h. Since this was successful, 20 more locomotives were converted in the same form in 2000 and used at the Expo.

The class 146⁰ emerged from these conversions, which was built 31 times up to 2002. It now had a quill drive instead of the nose-suspended motors and full-width destination indicators. After protests from passengers, it even partially took over the services of equally modern multiple units of the class 425 on longer routes. In 2010, all class 146⁰ locomotives were upgraded to a continuous output of 5,600 kW, which required adjustments to the software as well as a different ventilation system. Since this was not approved by the Federal Railway Authority, they were de-rated to 4,200 kW.

DB Cargo made the start for the TRAXX family by ordering a variant of the medium-power class 145 from Adtranz, which should also be usable 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 driver's 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, among others. 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 fast 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.

Mercitalia E.494.006 (TRAXX DC3) in May 2019 in Pomezia

Manny Mannheimer

With the third generation of the TRAXX, the variants AC3 for alternating current, DC3 for direct current and MS3 for both systems are again offered. Only on the AC3 are the side walls beaded and can be covered with an advertising tarpaulin. A last-mile diesel and/or a shunting battery are available as an option, allowing short, non-electrified stretches to be bridged at low speeds. With the F160AC3 freight variant, with nose-suspended motors a top speed of 160 km/h is now also possible, and a P189AC3 passenger train variant for 189 km/h would also be technically possible. Deutsche Bahn had a framework agreement with Bombardier for up to 450 locomotives and could now order more of them even after the takeover by Alstom. It uses the passenger variant as class 147 and the freight variant as class 187.

The ES64U2 is a high-power universal locomotive that belongs to the EuroSprinter family and was developed by Siemens on the initiative of the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB). There it won a tender for a new high-power locomotive with three-phase technology and has been used since 2000 as classes 1016 and 1116. The type received the protected designation “Taurus” and replaced a large number of old locomotives in all train types within a short time. While the 1016 is only equipped for the power grid with 15,000 V and 16⅔ Hz, as is mainly used in German-speaking countries, the 1116 can also be used as a multi-system locomotive under 25,000 V and 50 Hz. Due to the frequency steps of the pulse inverter, the locomotive plays a distinctive major scale melody when starting.

The ES64U4 is a further development that is technically based on the freight locomotive ES64F4, but also runs 230 km/h or 143 mph and looks like the ES64U2. At ÖBB it became class 1216. As the weight had grown due to the technical equipment, a lighter transformer with an hourly output of only 6,400 kW and a continuous output of 6,000 kW was used. In addition to the two AC systems mentioned above, the locomotive can also be used with direct current at 1,500 and 3,000 V. Under 1,500 V, the power is limited to a maximum of 4,200 kW to reduce the amperage.

On September 2, 2006, the later ÖBB 1216 025 reached 357 km/h or 222 mph on the Nuremberg-Ingolstadt high-speed line, making it the fastest locomotive in the world and breaking the record set by the SNCF BB 9004 in 1955. Apart from an increase in the overhead voltage and the dismantling of a few obstructive small parts on the locomotive, no special adjustments were made.

The most important user of the Taurus is the ÖBB, which uses the ckasses 1016, 1116 and 1216 under the trademarks “Taurus I”, “Taurus II” and “Taurus III”. They now make up almost 50% of the ÖBB locomotive park and are used equally in passenger and freight transport. The flagship is the Railjet, which at 230 km/h is one of the fastest locomotive-hauled trains in the world and consists of six trailers and one driving trailer, which are operationally permanently connected and are pulled or pushed by a Taurus. The ÖBB Taurus often reach Germany with the Railjet. After the night trains were discontinued by Deutsche Bahn, ÖBB Nightjets are also used in Germany. Freight trains with a Taurus as the motive power can also often be seen here.

Deutsche Bahn only uses 26 ES64U2 as class 182, which are used more in freight traffic. In addition to the 101, they also cover the 160 km/h (99 mph) Parcel Intercity. They were also used in regional traffic to achieve better acceleration and, if necessary, to achieve travel times comparable to multiple units. Due to the delayed delivery of the Talent 2, it was necessary to run some trains on the Central German S-Bahn with locomotive-hauled trains. Furthermore, the two series of Taurus are used by several private and state operators in Slovakia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Poland and Hungary. Cross-border, combined cargo transport is a main area of application for private operators.

In 1993, Krauss-Maffei won a tender for a three-phase freight locomotive to replace the six-axle class 150. As with the EuroSprinter ES64, which was developed for Spain and Portugal, Siemens contributed the electrical part. The new locomotive was designated ES64F and given the class number 152 in Germany. It is based on the EuroSprinter prototype, which in turn was based on the Spanish class 252. In addition to the new shape of the locomotive body, which is similar to that of the classes 101 and 145, the cheaper nose-suspended motors make a difference here due to the required maximum speed of only 140 km/h.

As with other modern electric locomotives, the transformer hangs under the frame and thus allows a continuous central aisle in the engine room. The control is carried out by GTO thyristors, each of which is connected to one power converter per axle and allows to control the axles individually. In order to make it possible to transport passenger trains, electric train heating and push-pull controls were also installed. In many components of the locomotive, the highest possible reliability was ensured, which is partly being done by redundancy.

ES64F4 No. 289 of MRCE Dispolok in November 2011 in Angermünde

Ralf Roletschek

DB AG planned to procure a total of 195 class 152 locomotives, of which only 170 were ultimately called off. The reason for this was that no certification for Austria had come about and instead 25 locomotives of the multi-system variant of the Austrian ES64U2 “Taurus” were ordered as class 182. Although the class 152 was also intended for use in front of passenger trains, it came to DB Cargo with the rail reform and was therefore no longer used in this area. Two locomotives were delivered to Siemens Dispolok and later sold to the leasing company ITL.

Based on the multi-system variant of the ES64U2, Siemens developed the ES64F4, which looks similar to the ES64F, but like the 152 only has nose-suspended motors. A distinguishing feature are the corrugated side walls. Thanks to IGBT thyristors, it is designed for the four power systems that are common in Europe and was given the class number 189 in Germany. Train control systems for different countries can be combined as packages, and thanks to LED lighting, the headlight from different countries can be displayed. Only in Great Britain they can not be used due to the smaller loading gauge and the gauge would have to be changed for use on the Iberian Peninsula.

The DB AG changed the option for 100 more locomotives of the class 152 to the 189. Starting with road number 189 061, these were only given two pantographs instead of the four, since the area of application for these should only be in Germany. It is planned to equip all locomotives of this class with ETCS by 2026. The 5,000 tonne ore trains previously pulled by the class 185 in double were expanded to 6,000 tonnes in 2019 and are being pulled by the 189 since then. Ten of the DB Cargo locomotives were eventually sold to MRCE, which uses them on the Brenner route, among other places. A further 18 units were built for the SBB, of which only twelve were ultimately taken over as Re 474. The remaining six went to Sweden and Italy.

As a replacement for the electric locomotives of the Eurosprinter family and the diesel locomotives of the Eurorunner family, Siemens developed the Vectron without a customer order, which was to combine both families in one platform. This was also necessary because the Eurosprinter was still based on the DB AG class 152, which had been produced since 1996, and the Taurus was also largely created from the requirements of the ÖBB. As a result, these locomotives were not adaptable enough to be able to offer different variants for different customers at an attractive price. Likewise, new crash standards had come into force in the meantime, which the older locomotive families could no longer fully comply with.

This was directly preceded by the ES 2007, which had been sold to the Portuguese State Railways as the 4700 series and to the Belgian State Railways as the 18 and 19 series. This had already implemented the new frontend concept to meet the new crash standards. This meant that, unlike those on the Taurus, the ends of the locomotives were made of steel and could be replaced after an accident. The modular Vectron was developed from these locomotives in order to be able to counter the competitors from Bombardier and Alstom.

Although all Vectrons look almost identical from the outside, it was not entirely possible to combine the electric and diesel variants in an identically designed locomotive body. The electric variants continue to have a central aisle in the engine room, while the diesel engine and generator are arranged in the middle on the diesel variants. Nevertheless, the equipment of the Vectron is very flexible, with which all train protection systems used in Europe can be installed and track gauges between 1,435 and 1,676 mm can be implemented.

Power is transmitted via quills with multi-plate clutches, which has been simplified compared to the Taurus drive. The standard top speed is 160 km/h and can optionally be increased to 200 km/h. In 2019, a variant for 230 km/h was announced, which has modified bogies and was delivered to CD for the first time in 2022. Also optional are active rotary dampers, which actively adjust the steering angle of the bogies. A so-called shunting module can also be ordered as an option, which consists of a 180 kW auxiliary diesel with generator and allows running on non-electrified sections at low speed.

BLS Cargo Re 475 401 in September 2020 near Lyssach

Nelso Silva

In the purely electric variants, a distinction is made between AC, DC and MS. The AC is used in alternating current systems with 15 or 25 kV and has an output of 6,400 kW in the “High Power” variant and 5,600 kW in the “Medium Power” variant. The DC can be used under direct current with 3,000 and 1,500 volts and has an output of 5,200 or 3,500 kW. The MS is suitable for AC and DC systems, but cannot be supplied with a shunting module due to insufficient space.

Due to the large number of variants, more than 1,700 Vectrons could already be delivered by the beginning of 2023, with more than 700 open orders. There are already certifications for 20 countries. Some customers have ordered the locomotives with further adjustments, such as the Finnish State Railways. The locomotives used there as Sr3 have a higher roof with larger ventilation grilles to protect against icing, two shunting modules, impact shields on the front-end modules and side cab windows, which are otherwise not available.

The Smartron is offered as a simplified, non-configurable variant for small railway companies. In addition to the fully electric variants, there are also the diesel-electric DE and the dual-mode variant DM. After the DE was discontinued due to lack of demand, a Vectron DM Light is now also being offered. Two modifications with major adjustments are produced for the USA. On the one hand, there is the electric “Amtrak Cities Sprinter” ACS-64 and on the other hand the diesel locomotives of the Charger family, which have enjoyed great popularity since 2015.