#1867
SBB Be 3/5
🇨🇭 Switzerland ·built by Oerlikon Works· from 1919· Swiss electric locomotive class of 1919
what is it?
The Be 3/5 11201 was one of four test locomotives ordered by the Schweizerischen Bundesbahnen (Swiss Federal Railways) (SBB) in June 1917. Intended to provide experience with electric traction, the locomotive was intended, along with Be 4/6 12301, Be 4/6 12302 and Ce 6/8I14201, to be used on services on the Gotthardbahn (Gotthard railway). The Be 3/5 was something of a stopgap offered by Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon (MFO) because they felt that the requirements required for the Gotthard Railway could not be fulfilled at the time.
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.
- 1.2 MW is about 14 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 15 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 13.5 m long: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 40 years (1919–1959).
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1919
- in service from
- 1919
- retired
- 1959
- status
- retired
- number built
- 1
- kind
- Electric
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- builders
- Oerlikon Works, Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works
- operators
- Swiss Federal Railways
- top speed
- 75 km/h
- power
- 1.2 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- electric system
- Catenary
- wheel arrangement
- 1′C1′
- length
- 13.5 m
- weight
- 91 t
- nicknames
- Zuger Berta, Langsame Berta (Slow Berta)
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q2205134, Wikipedia: SBB Be 3/5 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.