SNCF Class BB 16500

what is it?

The SNCF BB 16500s were a class of SNCF electric locomotives operating at a supply voltage of 25 kV single-phase 50 Hz AC. Ordered from 1954 as part of the electrification of the radial lines from Paris to the north and east of France, a total of 294 locomotives were delivered between 1958 and 1964, which made them the most numerous class of electric locomotives put into service by the SNCF. These versatile machines operated over all the lines of the north-eastern quarter of France at the head of regional passenger trains or freight trains, descending as far as the Jura, Dole-Vallorbe, or venturing to the Channel coast at Cherbourg or Le Havre. Some locomotives also operated on the northern and eastern suburban lines of Paris. Eventually competition from more modern classes and the discomfort of their driving cabs, led to the locomotives all being withdrawn between 2001 and 2011.

who runs it

Société nationale des chemins de fer français

base stats

• speed 140 km/htop speed
• built 294made in total

Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.

fun facts

• 🎂First built 68 years ago, in 1958.
• 🏎️Top speed is 1.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 📏14.4 m long: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• ⌛Served for 53 years (1958–2011).

electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.

spec sheet

built

1958–1964

in service from

1958

retired

2011

status

retired

number built

294

kind

Electric

traction

electric

origin

🇫🇷 France

builders

Alstom

operators

Société nationale des chemins de fer français

top speed

140 km/h

power

—

gauge

1,435 mm standard gauge

wheel arrangement

B′B′

length

14.4 m

nicknames

Danseuses

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.