#1870
SBB Ce 6/8 I
🇨🇭 Switzerland ·built by Brown, Boveri & Cie· from 1919· class of 1 Swiss electric locomotive
1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. SBB Historic - F 125 00001-025 - Ce 6 8 I 14201 Zuschnitt: unbekannt· CC BY-SA 4.0
what is it?
The Ce 6/8 I 14201 was one of four test locomotives ordered by the Schweizerische Bundesbahnen (Swiss Federal Railways) (SBB) in June 1917. For gaining experience for ordering electrical locomotives this locomotive should – as its three siblings Be 3/5 12201, Be 4/6 12301 and Be 4/6 12302 – have been used for services on the Gotthardbahn (Gotthard railway). The development of freight locomotives subsequently took a completely different way which was not conceivable at the ordering date (see Ce 6/8II).
who runs it
base stats
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 107 years ago, in 1919.
- Weighs about as much as 20 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 19.2 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 63 years (1919–1982).
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1919
- in service from
- 1919
- retired
- 1982
- status
- retired
- number built
- 1
- kind
- Electric
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- builders
- Brown, Boveri & Cie, Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works
- operators
- Swiss Federal Railways
- top speed
- 65 km/h
- power
- —
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- electric system
- catenary
- wheel arrangement
- (1′C)+(C1′)
- length
- 19.2 m
- weight
- 118 t
- nicknames
- Köfferlilok, (due to the small cabinets on both ends)
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1752666, Wikipedia: SBB Ce 6/8 I (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.