Super Power from Switzerland

[NGT6 1315]

Morning all!

 

Just to give an advance announcement - there currently is a Roco clearout sale under way over here, which of course I did not let pass by . Thus, I shall post a few new articles about several European engines on here over the next few weeks as my new acquisitions are delivered. The first shipment to arrive included a BLS class Re 465 engine, which shall be the subject of this article.

 

During the 1970s the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) began working on what would be known as the „Bahn 2000“ concept and which was a long-term plan to prepare the national public transport system for the 21^st century. This concept comprised the following major items:

 

• more modern rolling stock,
• improved timetables based on a 30 minute interval on mainlines,
• more direct connections,
• higher overall train frequency on high-yield connections,
• expanded infrastructure capabilities by means of double- and quad-tracked lines,
• disentanglement of services at major rail nodes,
• improved urban commuter and regional services,
• expanded capacities and refurbishments in the Zurich area,
• a new high-speed line between Mattstetten and Rothrist.

The concept was eventually presented to the public in 1985 and ratified one year later. As part of it, the SBB contracted the Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works (SLM) and the Brown Boveri Company (BBC), which would be merged with the Swedish ASEA corporation and rebranded as ABB in 1988, to design and build a new type of high-powered electric locomotive based on three-phase equipment. The plans for this locomotive were finalized in 1987, and an initial order for twelve engines followed the same year. In keeping with the classic Swiss numbering system, the new engine was initially designated as Re 4/4^VI and meant to carry consecutive numbers in the 10700 range. However, it would then be redesignated as class Re 460, with 119 units eventually being built. The entire family of locos to be spawned by this design would become known as the "Lok 2000" type.

 

Of course, all other railway and public transport operators in Switzerland now also needed to adapt their services to match the SBB's, which is why „Bahn 2000“ essentially evolved into a nationwide programme which also affected the then Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon Railway. As goods traffic on the Lötschberg Railway saw a marked increase in 1989 and 1990, the company was frequently threatened by a shortage of suitable motive power which was expected to even aggravate with imminent major improvements such as the planned opening of the new Domodossola II goods terminal in 1991 and the opening of the last stretches of newly built double track on the Lötschberg Railway in 1992.

Thus, in 1989 the BLS entered negotiations with the SLM/ABB consortium to create an improved version of the Re 460, later to be called Re 465.

 

Founded in 1906, the BLS was indeed created to build and operate a second north-south mainline across the Alps to match the Gotthard Railway and thus provide the Berne area with direct access to Italy. The „old“ BLS also comprised the Spiez-Erlenbach-Zweisimmen Railway (SEZ), Gürbetal-Bern-Schwarzenburg Railway (GBS) and the Bern-Neuenburg Railway (BN) as economically independent subsidiaries; however, these three railways were fully merged into the „new“ BLS Lötschbergbahn AG in 1997. In 2006, then, the BLS acquired the Regionalverkehr Mittelland company (RM) and was transformed yet again into today's BLS AG. As such, it is the biggest non-national rail operator in Switzerland, with a network length of some 440 km.

 

But in any case – the BLS specified the following parameters for their new locomotive:

 

• maximum weight of 81 tonnes,
• maximum power of 7,000 kW at the wheels,
• maximum tractive effort between 300 and 320 kN from 0 to 80 kph,
• one traction inverter per wheelset,
• top speed of 230 kph and 160 kph inside the then-planned Lötschberg Base Tunnel with a 650 tonnes train,
• MU capability not only with other engines of the same type, but also with SBB Re 460, Re 4/4^II through ^IV and Re 6/6 as well as BLS Re 4/4, Ae 4/4 and Ae 8/8 type engines.

Dual voltage capacity for operation under the Italian 3 kV DC system was also considered, but eventually dropped as it turned out that any such engine would be larger, heavier and not be able to provide the required 7,000 kW power output.

 

Eventually, a contract for an initial eight class Re 465 engines was signed on 14 April 1991, with the first engine being completed in late 1994. On 5 September, Re 465 001 made her first tentative steps when she performed a short basic functional check on the grounds of the ABB plant in Zurich under her own power, and entered her trial phase on 22 September with a mainline trip to the Limmattal marshalling yard. Her braking performance was determined to be 135% and her weight as 83 tonnes. In October, 465 001 underwent her first load trials on the Südostbahn's Wädenswil-Burghalden line, which has a maximum gradient of 5%, and showed to be able to start and haul a 523 tonnes train on this steep incline. The first 465 was put into scheduled service around Christmas that same year, while 465 002 was fitted with measuring equipment and then used for further optimization trials.

 

In early 1995 the SBB board of directors agreed to place an order for another ten Re 465s which were then meant to be leased to the BLS as part of an ongoing cooperation between the two railways with the goal of providing optimized services on the Basle-Bern-Domodossola corridor. This cooperation meant that BLS drivers came to operate SBB engines on a regular basis and vice-versa – which is not a huge problem when switching from a Re 460 to a 465 or the other way round, as both engines have identical controls.

 

The last Re 465 was delivered in the summer of 1997, with engines 465 009-018 having been SBB property at that time. These were then bought by the BLS on 1 May 2003.

And now I believe I should offer some technical information about these impressive engines. On the mechanical side, the Re 460 and 465 feature a steel body and frame, with the cab fronts being made of fibreglass-reinforced polyester and the body sides being corrugated in order to save weight. The single-piece windscreen has been strengthened against impacting objects up to a size of 10 cm and a weight of one kilogramme, at a speed of almost 500 kph. The engines are well known for their aerodynamic and aesthetic appearance, which has, in fact, been styled by Pininfarina.

 

The bogies feature radially adjusting wheelsets for smoother curve running and high-reaching secondary suspension to reduce body tilting in curves and at high speeds. As a matter of fact, the 460 and 465 are known as being among the most “track friendly†locomotives. The bogies are connected to the frame using traction bars, with a flexible ring transmission serving to connect the traction motors to the wheelsets and the gear ratio being 1:3.666.

 

The pneumatic brake is laid out as a tread brake, which but is mostly used as a backup in case of an electric brake failure, as well as for preventing wheelslip and to clean the wheel treads. In addition, the engine is fitted with a magnetic rail brake, which, however, uses permanent magnets in place of electric ones, and is used both as an emergency brake and arresting brake.

 

The electrical side comprises a pair of single arm pantographs which are mostly hidden by the roofside shrouding when lowered. Originally, the pans were Schunk WBL85 types, but are now planned to be replaced by Faiveley types, much as those used on the French TGV sets. A number of SBB Re 460s have been fitted with one such pan each already, and from what I read there is an operational order in place to use the Faiveley pan whenever possible, so as to gather practical experience with this type. Meanwhile, the vacuum circuit breaker is hidden under the roofside shroud as well.

 

All Re 465s were later fitted with one pantograph with a 1,950 mm head in place of the usual 1,450 mm Swiss head, enabling them to reverse under German OHLE through the reversing loop at the intermodal terminal at Weil am Rhein, which is the only part of the German network where Re 465s may operate as they are not fitted with any German train protection systems. Here is a screenshot from Google Earth highlighting the reversing loop I just mentioned:

 

 

However, I was recently told that ten 465s will have two Swiss pans fitted again, as well as a Railvox passenger information device.

As previously mentioned, the Re 465 was designed to feature one traction inverter per wheelset, whereas the Re 460 has only one per bogie. The transformer has a maximum traction power output of 8,360 kVA on the 465 and 9,195 kVA on the 460, and six traction power taps with 1,321 V or four with 1,783 V respectively. The inverters are based on GTO elements – 60 on the Re 465 and 52 on the Re 460, with the DC intermediate circuit working with 2,800 V on the 465 and 3,500 V on the 460. The motors have a maximum speed of 4,180 rpm and a maximum voltage of 2,180 V or 2,640 V respectively.

 

An interesting feature on the 465 is that one bogie can be automatically powered down as long as the engine is not operating under heavy load, in order to save energy. Also, the 465 is fitted with an advanced fire detection and fighting system in the engine room which the 460 does not have.

 

Likewise, the cab layout on these engines is quite interesting as well. It was designed by Emmerich Horvath who took special care to listen to wishes and suggestions by actual drivers. Its most notable feature is that the power and brake regulators are laid out as “sliders†and located in the armrests to both sides of the driver's seat, with the power/brake and speed control sliders to the right and the electric and pneumatic brake sliders to the left. The cabs are fully pressure-sealed to allow for high speed operation even inside tunnels. As is the norm for Swiss engines, rear view mirrors which can be folded out by pushing a pedal are provided.

 

Both the 465 and 460 are fitted with the usual Swiss train protection systems Integra-Signum and ZUB 121, as well as an alerter. The two classes also are in the process of being refitted with ETCS.

As previously mentioned, the Re 465 is notable for being fitted with an extensive MU control suite which allows her to operate with entirely different engines. The “compatibility list†includes the following engines and EMUs:

• BLS classes Re 4/4, Ae 4/4, Ae 8/8
• SBB classes Re 460, Re 4/4^II, Re 4/4^III and Re 6/6, as well as class RBe 4/4 and RBDe 4/4 EMUs
• Südostbahn class Re 446 (former SBB Re 4/4^IV)
• former Mittelthurgaubahn class Re 4/4^II and ABDe 536
• Emmental-Burgdorf-Thun Railway class Re 4/4^III
• Solothurn-Münster Railway class Re 4/4^III
• Vereinigte Huttwil-Bahnen class Re 4/4^III
• Martigny-Orsières Railway class ABDe 4/4 EMU
• former Wohlen-Meisterschwanden Railway class BDe 4/4 EMU

This MU suite can be used in a "translator" mode even if the 465 is running dead in tow, meaning that it would be possible to couple a BLS Re 4/4 to a dead Re 465 and with a Re 6/6 behind, for example, and to control the Re 6/6 from the Re 4/4. The maximum number of working engines which can be controlled from a leading Re 465 is three additional engines of any of the above types.

 

Of course, the sophisticated technical and indeed external design made the Re 465 and 460 very expensive even by early 1990s standards, which probably contributed to the fact that only a small number of additional engines of the same basic design was ever built. The Finnish state railways (VR) opted to buy twenty class Sr2 engines which were fitted for the country's 25 kV/50 Hz system as well as the 1,520 mm broad gauge, and with Russian SA3 type couplers; the Norwegian state railways (NSB) got 22 class El 18 engines which were, of course, toughened against the cold climate of the northern latitudes, much like the Finnish Sr2s; and Hong Kong-based operator KCRC got two engines designated as TLN and TLS – which means “Through Train Locomotive North†and “South†respectively – which are fitted for 25 kV AC and have beefed-up air conditioning so as to withstand the tropical climate of the region.

 

The SBB's order for the ten Re 465s from 1995 which were then leased to the BLS had a total value of 67.9 million Swiss francs, meaning that each of these ten locos cost almost 6.8 million francs, which would amount to 4.1 million British pounds or 4.7 million euros as per today's exchange rate. As the Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works no longer exist, it is unlikely there will ever be any additional engines based on the Lok 2000 design.

 

The following is a list of all Re 465s with their acceptance dates and names:

 

• 465 001-6 "Simplon/Sempione" - accepted 4 November 1994
• 465 002-4 "Gornergrat" - accepted 1 May 1996
• 465 003-2 "Jungfraujoch" - accepted 17 March 1995
• 465 004-0 "Mittelallalin" - accepted 13 April 1995
• 465 005-7 "Niesen" - accepted 26 April 1995
• 465 006-5 "Lauchernalp" - accepted 12 May 1995
• 465 007-3 "Schilthorn" - accepted 24 May 1995
• 465 008-1 "Niederhorn" - accepted 9 June 1995
• 465 009-9 "Napf" - accepted 29 November 1996
• 465 010-7 "Mont Vully" - accepted 19 December 1996
• 465 011-5 "Wisenberg" - accepted 23 January 1997
• 465 012-3 "Euro Tunnel" - accepted 28 February 1997
• 465 013-1 "Stockhorn" - accepted 17 April 1997
• 465 014-9 "Spalenberg" - accepted 23 May 1997
• 465 015-6 "Vue-des-Alpes" - accepted 7 May 1997
• 465 016-4 "Centovalli" - accepted 19 June 1997
• 465 017-2 "Schrattenflue" - accepted 25 June 1997
• 465 018-0 "Brienz-Rothorn-Bahn" - accepted 31 July 1997

Next, of course, will be a few images of the model itself .

 

 

 

This model is Roco's reference number 62399, representing Re 465 018, the last engine of its kind. The Lok 2000 type is also known for being an unusually quiet locomotive, which of course has much to do with the aerodynamic design as a whole, the skirted bogies and the shrouded roofside equipment. Of course, the track friendly bogies also contribute to the low overall noise level.

 

Roco have done many releases of both the Re 460 and 465 over the years - the BLS engines coming with both the old and the new logo, with reference 62399 carrying the current logo.

 

 

 

 

A look at the front with the distinctive slot-like headlights and the large windscreen. The Re 465 has an additional pair of handrails on both fronts - the 460 missing the pair on the driver's side. On the other hand, Roco chose to not represent the additional MU sockets which the 465 has. I'm not sure if these might be available as aftermarket parts anywhere. Still and all, paintwork and lettering are flawless, in my impression. The cutout in the frontside skirt for the model couplers can be closed with an add-on part, which of course requires the coupler pockets to be removed.

 

 

 

Broadside view on the Cab 1 side. The model does not have the new UIC-TSI engine number yet, which would have to read "91 85 4465 018-0 CH-BLS" - perhaps I'll add these numbers using some decals.

 

The remaining inscriptions read as follows:

 

• grid with total weight (84 tonnes) and arresting brake weight (28 tonnes),
• braking weights: R 114 tonnes, G/M 76 tonnes; electric brake available; towed braking weight ("Geschleppt/Remorqué/Rimorchiato") 57 tonnes; last overhaul (level R1) completed at the Spiez repair works on 2 September 2005 - Spiez being pronounced roughly like "shpee-ets."
  

 

 

 

And the Cab 2 end. Aside from the builder's plaques there are no significant inscriptions here. Also note the permanent magnetic rail brake between the wheelsets, which, by the way, the Norwegian, Finnish and Hong Kong Lok 2000 derivatives do not have. The recessed handrails to the sides of the cab doors are among the add-on parts. Likewise, the rear view mirrors need to be added as well, with a choice of attaching them in the open or closed position.

The German 1,950 mm pantograph is located on the Cab 2 side on those 465s which are such fitted.

 

 

 

 

Looking down at the roof where nothing much is visible, except for the pantographs. On those 465s with a German 1,950 mm pan, the head obviously extends beyond the recess which was tailored for the narrow Swiss head. Likewise, the Norwegian, Finnish and Hong Kong Lok 2000s all have broader pantograph heads as well, and the Finnish Sr2 are, in fact, lacking the shrouding around the pantograph mounting positions altogether.

 

 

Finally, here is an overview of the primary technical parameters of the Re 465:

 

• overall length: 18.5 metres
• width: 3 metres
• height: 4.54 metres
• overall weight: 84 tonnes
• bogie wheelbase: 2,800 mm
• wheel diameter: 1,100 mm
• maximum train weight of 650 tonnes on a 2.7% gradient at 100 kph
• maximum power at the wheels: 7,000 kW
• maximum tractive effort: 320 kN at 79 kph
• continuous tractive effort: 242 kN at 93 kph
• top speed of 230 kph
• maximum transformer power output: 10,700 kVA

My sources for this article were the book "Lok 2000" by Hans-Bernhard Schönborn, published by GeraMond in 1998 and 2001, and the descriptions found at http://lokifahrer.ch/ , which is owned by a SBB train driver.

 

 

And a few Youtube videos:

 

Two 465s on a "rolling highway" road-rail service

 

 

Another rolling highway service with one 465 up front

[Allegheny1600]

Very impressive article, Dominik!

As indeed, a very impressive prototype - such a shame there will be no more as they were so distinctive!

Trust the Swiss to build the most capable and most expensive locos - that would never have done for us!

Cheers,

John E.

[NGT6 1315]

Yes, I don't think there was very much to tell the Swiss about building locos! It is sad that they do not build any machines like these anymore. Stadler does build the class Ee 922 shunter (Click), which may be very good for its purpose, but, well, is hardly the same as the Lok 2000 family.

 

Speaking of which - this is a Finnish class Sr2, this here's a Norwegian class El 18 and this one of the two KCRC engines from Hong Kong: Click. The latter do not have any buffers to go along with their automatic couplers, unlike the Sr2.

[Gordonwis]

.

 

 

Is this Super Super power?

 

 

.

 

 

See all my other Swiss galleries at: Swissrailways.fotopic.net

 

 

Cheers

 

 

 

Gordon

 

 

 

 

.

[NGT6 1315]

Is this Super Super power?

 

(...)

 

 

Oh, I've once seen a photo with four 465s in multiple with just about eight or ten wagons up back!

 

 

 

 

Informative as ever. Even if I have the book you've 'borrowed' from

 

2 questions though: where did you buy it and what did you pay for it?

 

Yes, I thought it would only be fair and good practice to state which sources I used .

 

You mean the model? I got it from a company called Schmidt where it was on sale for 99 € - apparently I got the last 62399, though, as I can no longer find it using their item search.

[NGT6 1315]

And a little modification I did to the loco last night - using a DB pantograph head from a spare which I had in my parts stash:

 

 

 

As is the case on many of the real Re 465s, the pantograph above Cab 2 now has a wide head for use under the German OHLE around Weil am Rhein.

[70000 Britannia]

Hi Dom

 

Good article again - you should write a thesis of your own (if you haven't already).

 

Anyway, to the nitty gritty - have to say that the BLS 465 is a smart beast - the new logo and livery is excellent. If you want quality engineering then Swiss hits the nail every time for me and 7000 kW is impressive. Mind you, your very own DB Class 103 is no weakling at 7440 kW and 312 kN - and then of course we go back to the 120t Re 620 (Re 6/6) at 7850 kW and 398 kN.

 

Interesting how these much lighter electrics stack up against those mouth-watering juggernauts in the US - whilst browsing I was interested to see that the (now retired ?) EMD SD90MAC-H had a massive tractive effort of 890 kN (200,000 lbf) and the current GE AC6000CW offers a similar performance.

[NGT6 1315]

Good article again - you should write a thesis of your own (if you haven't already).

 

Thanks .

 

 

Anyway, to the nitty gritty - have to say that the BLS 465 is a smart beast - the new logo and livery is excellent.

 

As you were mentioning a new livery - I do wonder if the 465s would look any good in the "NINA" livery, which is the one applied to several other types of BLS motive power, including the class RABe 525 "NINA" EMUs and the Re 485 and 486 engines, and looks like this: RABe 525 and Re 486.

 

 

If you want quality engineering then Swiss hits the nail every time for me and 7000 kW is impressive. Mind you, your very own DB Class 103 is no weakling at 7440 kW and 312 kN - and then of course we go back to the 120t Re 620 (Re 6/6) at 7850 kW and 398 kN.

 

You're correct, of course - interestingly, Roco will be releasing a Re 6/6 and 4/4''' twin pack next month (or later) - take two of these and you have a "Re 20/20" which would provide some 25,000 kW .