#1927
SBB Be 4/7
🇨🇭 Switzerland ·built by Société Anonyme des Ateliers de Sécheron· from 1921· class of 6 Swiss electric locomotives
2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. EMCH Spur 0 SBB Be 47: lhasarabat· Public domain
- 2. SBB Ce 6-8 II 14253 and Be 4-7 12504 Untere Wattingerbrücke: Kabelleger / David Gubler· CC BY-SA 4.0
what is it?
The Be 4/7, nicknamed the Big Sécheron is an electric locomotive for use on the Gotthard line by the SBB. It represents an early experiment in electric locomotive design. In contrast to the other locomotives of the era, the Be 4/7 did not have rod drive, but individual electrically-driven axles mounted directly on bogies.
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 105 years ago, in 1921.
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1921–1922
- retired
- 1976
- status
- retired
- number built
- 6
- kind
- electric locomotive
- traction
- electric
- origin
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland
- builders
- Société Anonyme des Ateliers de Sécheron, Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works
- top speed
- 80 km/h
- power
- —
- wheel arrangement
- (1’Bo1’)(Bo1’)
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q2205143, Wikipedia: SBB Be 4/7 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.