The Voith Gravita locomotives are a family of

road switcher A road switcher is a type of railroad locomotive designed to both haul railcars in mainline service and shunt them in railroad yards. Both type and term are North American in origin, although similar types have been used elsewhere. A road ...

diesel-hydraulic locomotives A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels ...

built by Voith Turbo Lokomotivtechnik GmbH & Co. KG. Available in a range of configurations from 4 to 6 axles, they are designed for shunting and light and medium freight operations. The 10BB version has been chosen by

Deutsche Bahn The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder. describes itself as the ...

as a replacement for its DB Class 290 locomotives with an order of 130 locos in 2008.DB German Railways Orders 130 Diesel Locomotives from Voith

Voith The Voith Group is a German manufacturer of machines for the pulp and paper industry, technical equipment for hydropower plants and drive and braking systems. The family-owned company, which operates worldwide and has its headquarters in Heid ...

press release, 2008-09-23

History

Voith, a well known manufacture of hydraulic transmissions and other locomotive components entered the locomotive building business in 2006 with the launch of the Voith Maxima locomotives at InnoTrans. The Gravita series was launched at the 2008 InnoTrans event.Voith Turbo adds Gravitas
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Railway Gazette International ''Railway Gazette International'' is a monthly business magazine and news website covering the railway, metro, light rail and tram industries worldwide. Available by annual subscription, the magazine is read in over 140 countries by transport ...

'', 2008-09-23 For the production of these locomotives a new plant has been constructed in

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

, a city already known for locomotive production. The Gravita 15BB variant was presented at InnoTrans 2010. The Gravita BB locomotives are currently used in Germany, Norway and Sweden.

Technology

Key features of this series are large fuel tanks, modular construction (allowing interchangeability of some parts between different classes), multi-traction (consisting) with other Voith locomotives, manual or remote operation, and a centrally located air conditioned drivers cabin. The locomotives meet requirements for noise ( TSI) and

exhaust gas Exhaust gas or flue gas is emitted as a result of the combustion of fuels such as natural gas, gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, fuel oil, biodiesel blends, or coal. According to the type of engine, it is discharged into the atmosphere through an ...

emission UIC II/EU IIIA (see

International Union of Railways The International Union of Railways (UIC, french: Union internationale des chemins de fer) is an international rail transport industry body. History The railways of Europe originated as many separate concerns, and there were many border chang ...

and

European emission standards The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and EEA member states and the UK, and ships in EU waters. The standards are defined in a seri ...

)

Variants

Voith offers 5 variants of this locomotive, ranging from a light shunter to a medium power locomotive. Some technical specifications are presented above (in the 'infobox'), the purpose of use is given below. *20BB Designed for regional and cross border traffic *15BB Designed for heavy shunting as well as mainline use *10BB Shunting and freight - minimalist design for heavy industrial operation *5C Heavy shunting and light freight *5B Light shunter

Servicing

Under an agreement with Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln (HGK) a workshop for servicing Voith locomotives has been established at Brühl-Vochem near

Köln Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

.Maxima locomotive finds a new home
''

'', 2007-11-09

Career and orders

On 23 September 2008 it was announced that Deutsche Bahn had placed a €250 million order for 130 of the 10BB variant to be operated by its

DB Schenker DB Schenker is a division of German rail operator Deutsche Bahn that focuses on logistics. The company was acquired by Deutsche Bahn as Schenker-Stinnes in 2002. It comprises divisions for air, land, sea freight, and Contract Logistics. Histo ...

subsidiary.DB announces €250m Voith loco order
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'', 2008-09-23 The 1000 kW locos will have engines supplied by MTU, and are intended to replace the well known

DB Class V 90 The DB Class V90 (after 1968 the DB Class 290) locomotive is a German road switcher diesel-hydraulic locomotive for shunting and freight hauling. History and design The DB Class V90 locomotives are similar to DB Class V 100 (Class 211 & 212) ...

(aka DBAG Class 290); the new reporting number for this class of locomotive was 260. vehicles fitted with a

diesel particulate filter A diesel particulate filter (DPF) is a device designed to remove diesel particulate matter or soot from the exhaust gas of a diesel engine.Tom Nash (May 2003) "Diesels: The Smoke is clearing", ''Motor '' Vol.199 No. 5, p. 54, Hearst Business Publ ...

received the class number 261. 10BB and 15BB type locomotives were initially offered via lease from Ox-Traction; the company ceased trading in August 2010. Swiss companies Stahl Gerlafingen and Panlog AG took delivery of their Gravita 10BB locomotives in March 2010. Stahl Gerlafingen operates 2 locos, Panlog AG 3 locos. The first 3 built locomotives were sold to leasing company Northrail and painted in orange livery in mid-2010. Voith has 5 additional leasing/stock locomotives which are being tested by different rail operators. Baneservice Scandinavia currently operates a fleet of five Gravita 15BB locomotives based at the

Port of Gothenburg The municipally-owned Port of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs hamn) is the largest port in the Nordic countries, with over 11,000 ship visits per year from over 140 destinations worldwide. As the only Swedish port with the capacity to cope with the ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, Sweden, where they are designated as "Class 261". These locomotives primarily perform shunting duties at the Port of Gothenburg and have also more recently been used for some limited regular freight traffic, such as the Gothenburg–Limmared freight route.

References

External links

{{Swedish railway stock Voith locomotives 260 Diesel-hydraulic locomotives of Germany Diesel locomotives of Sweden Locomotives of Sweden Freight locomotives