Crocodile (locomotive)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the locomotive style. For the railway safety device, see Crocodile (train protection system). For other uses, see Crocodile (disambiguation).

Origin of the term crocodile locomotive, Märklin 0-gauge item CCS 66/12920, in the Technorama, 2024
Swiss "crocodile" locomotive
Dimensions are for Be 6/8II
version - an upgraded Ce 6/8II
SBB-CFF-FFS
Official nameBe 6/8
NicknamesCrocodile

Crocodile (German Krokodil) electric locomotives are so called because they have long "noses" at each end, reminiscent of the snout of a crocodile (see also Steeplecab). These contain the motors and drive axles, and are connected by an articulated center section. The center section usually contains the crew compartments, pantographs and transformer.

The first evidence of the

gauge 1, item CCS 66/12921, which snake through the curves like a reptile when running through switch roads and counter curves, and are first referred to as such in the Märklin catalogue of 1933/1934. They are a reproduction of the Ce 6/8II and Ce 6/8III freight locomotives of the Swiss Federal Railways
(SBB), which were put into service starting in 1919.

Sometimes the term is also used for locomotives of a similar design.

History

Switzerland

Standard gauge

SBB Class Ce 6/8

A prototype locomotive,

Gotthard Tunnel
.

The electric motors available at the time were large and had to be body-mounted above the plane of the axles, but flexibility was required to negotiate the tight curves on the Alpine routes and tunnels. An articulated design, with two powered nose units bridged with a pivoting center section containing cabs and the heavy transformer, met both requirements and gave excellent visibility from driving cabs mounted safely away from any collision. The two motors in each nose unit were geared to a

side rods carrying the power to the drivers. These locomotives, sometimes called the "Swiss Crocodile" or "SBB Crocodile", were highly successful and served until 1982.[3] The German model railway manufacturer Märklin published a book about their history in 1984.[4][page needed] Nine out of 51 total produced have survived, but only three are still in operation as preserved historical locomotives in Switzerland.[3]

SBB Class Be 6/8

Between 1942 and 1947, thirteen members of class Ce 6/8II were upgraded with more powerful motors, to allow a higher top speed, and these became class Be 6/8II. This required raising the jackshaft above the plane of the axles, necessitating a more complex system of side rods. In 1956, all eighteen members of class Ce 6/8III were upgraded and became class Be 6/8III.[5]

Narrow gauge

RhB Class Ge 6/6 I
Rhaetian Crocodile in Bergün

As well as

metre gauge locomotives of class Ge 6/6I, the Rhaetian Crocodile
. Several of these still run on passenger trains on special occasions. They are also used on freight trains in busy periods.

RhB Class Ge 4/4

The

Bernina Railway (later merged with the RhB) also built a single Crocodile type, the Ge 4/4 No. 182, nicknamed the "Bernina Crocodile". This locomotive survives and was restored to operating condition by the CLUB 1889
preservation group during 2000-2010.

BVZ Class HGe 4/4 I and YSteC Ge 4/4

Two other Swiss narrow-gauge railways also have locomotives nicknamed Crocodiles; the

Chemin de Fer Yverdon-Ste. Croix
owns a solitary class Ge 4/4 No. 21. Neither of these locomotive types have an articulated body, which leads some railfans to nickname them "false crocodiles".

Austria

Very similar locomotives were used in Austria as

Austrian Federal Railways
(Österreichische Bundesbahn) classes ÖBB 1089 and ÖBB 1189, and are often known as "Austrian Crocodiles".

France

The French

CC 14100, used mainly for iron ore trains on the Valenciennes-Thionville line [fr], have sometimes been called "crocodiles", although more commonly "flatirons". They are different from the Swiss crocodiles in that they are not articulated, but are a single long steeplecab
or 'monocabine' with a bogie beneath each end.

Germany

The German classes E 93 and E 94, also used by the ÖBB as series 1020, are sometimes called "German crocodiles". They are sometimes nicknamed "Alligators", instead, because of their broader, shorter snouts.

India

Main article: Indian locomotive class WCG-1

Crocodile locomotives were also used in India. These locomotives, of series WCG-1, were used from 1928 between Bombay and Pune, and were all built to the Indian

broad gauge of 5 ft 6 in (1676 mm). The first 10 locomotives were built by Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works. Vulcan Foundry of Great Britain constructed a further 31 examples for this line.[6][7]

Spain

Main article: Brown Boveri electric locomotive (Ferrocarriles Vascongados)

Ten locomotives similar to the ones operated in Switzerland and Austria were known as cocodrilo (Spanish for 'crocodile'). They were operated by Ferrocarriles Vascongados and its successor companies from 1928 to 1999.[8]

Other Crocodile-like locomotives

Bo-Bo YSteC Ge 4/4 steeplecab in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland
Škoda-built narrow-gauge ChS11 locomotive at Bakuriani, Georgia

The articulated-body design was not unique to the Crocodiles. It was used in the United States on the Milwaukee Road class EP-2 "Bi-Polars", for example.

Many more locomotives adopted the design of long noses without articulation of the body. The single Ge 4/4 of the Yverdon–Ste-Croix railway was known as the "Crocodile", despite being an elongated Bo-Bo steeplecab with articulated bogies beneath, rather than an articulated locomotive. This extended to painting it with large crocodile heads on each side.

In the

Shildon Locomotion Museum
.

The Panama Canal uses double-ended locomotives, known as 'mules', to act as land-based tugs to steer ships through the Canal's lock chambers.

Furthermore, some examples of locomotives similar in design to the Crocodiles, which were manufactured by

route between Borjomi and Bakuriani in Georgia
.

Notes

  1. ^ This locomotive was later moved Zürich.[2]

References

  1. ^ "SWISS Ce 6". Personal.umich.edu. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  2. ^ Hotz, Stefan (15 September 2013). "Ein Krokodil kehrt zurück" [A crocodile returns]. NZZ (in German).
  3. ^ a b Stalder, Helmut; Ramp, Annick (28 April 2020). "Das Reptil aus der Urzeit der Elektrotechnik lebt" [The reptile from prehistoric times in electrical engineering is alive]. NZZ (in German).
  4. ^ Stammer, H.S. (1984). Märklin Krokodil. Gebr. Märklin & Cie.
  5. ^ "SWISS Ce 6". Personal.umich.edu. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  6. ^ "Indian Railways FAQ: Locomotives - Specific classes: DC & Dual Current Electric". Irfca.org. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  7. ^ "2,600 H.P. 0-6-6-0 Electric Freight Locomotive Great Indian Peninsular Railway" (PDF). IRFCA.
  8. ISBN 84-920629-3-2
    .

External links

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