At the beginning of the 20th century, Italy had built an extensive three-phase network in its northern parts. But after some time, it became clear that this technology brought lots of complexity with it. So they started to create a 3,000 V DC network in the twenties and early on, a mass-produced mixed traffic standard locomotive was created for this network. This was the E.626, of which 448 were built between 1927 and 1939. This made it the world's most numerous electric locomotive in the thirties. Some stayed in service until 1999.
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