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Bernese Oberland Railway HGe 3/3 No. 21 to 29
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Switzerland | 1913
9 produced
No. 23 on a works photo of Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon
No. 23 on a works photo of Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon
Bilddatenbank Nostalgie der Jungfraubahnen

The HGe 3/3 was a metre-gauge rack locomotive built for the Bernese Oberland Railway when they started electric operation in 1914. It had three axles and two separate electric motors for adhesion and rack operation. While only one motor ran on adhesion mode, both were operated in series when running on the rack section. On the flatter section they could haul 125 tonnes on 2.5 percent, what was reduced to 85 tonnes on the 9 percent on the Lauterbrunnen branch and to 60 tonnes on the 12 percent to Grindelwald.

Eight locomotives were built in 1913 and 1914 which received the numbers 21 to 28. A ninth one numbered 29 followed in 1926 that already included some improvements which had been made to the first eight. Their importance shrank after the ABDeh 4/4 railcars were introduced in 1949. The last ones to operate on the BOB with excursion or work trains were 24 and 29 in 2013. Today 29 is in working order on the Blonay–Chamby Museum Railway, while 24 and 26 are on static display at Zweilütschinen and Kerzers.

Variant21-2829
General
Built1913-19141926
ManufacturerSLM, BBC, Oerlikon
Wheel arr.C 
Gauge3 ft 3 3/8 in (Meter gauge)
Dimensions and Weights
Length27 ft 0 7/16 in
Wheelbase11 ft 5 13/16 in
Rigid wheelbase11 ft 5 13/16 in
Service weight78,484 lbs80,469 lbs
Adhesive weight78,484 lbs80,469 lbs
Axle load26,162 lbs26,824 lbs
Boiler
Variant21-2829
Power Plant
Power
Power sourceelectric - DC
Electric system1,500 V
Hourly power396 hp (295 kW)416 hp (310 kW)
Top speed25 mph
Calculated Values
electric locomotive
rack railway
passenger
freight
last changed: 10/2025
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