The FS E.428 was a class of

Italian railways The Italian railway system is one of the most important parts of the infrastructure of Italy, with a total length of of which active lines are . The network has recently grown with the construction of the new High-speed rail in Italy, high-spe ...

electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a Battery (electricity), battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime mover (locomotive), ...

s. They were introduced in the course of the 1930s, for fast services on the

Florence–Rome railway The Florence–Rome railway is part of the traditional main north–south trunk line of the Italian railway network. The line is referred to by Ferrovie dello Stato (the State Railways) as the ''Linea Lenta'' (meaning "slow line", abbreviated '' ...

, being decommissioned in the 1980s.

History

When in the 1930s, in the course of the

Fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

government's program of railways development, a new locomotive was needed to provide a fast service on the newly electrified

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

-Rome mainline at 3,000 V DC. This was also permitted by the introduction of new metallic passenger cars, capable of relative higher speeds. The requirement was shipped to the FS design team of Ing. Giuseppe Bianchi at

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. The new locomotive was impressive for the times: huge, heavy, powerful and fast. They were longer than the E.626, the first Italian DC electric locomotives, and weighed more. The original requirement asked for the notable service speed of , but this was later reduced to . The E.428 was to be built in conjunction with a lighter version, the E.326, but those proved unsuccessful and were limited to lower speeds. The first wheel arrangement devised was a 2-Do-2, with four trailing axles at the fronts and a single motor driving four central axles. However, the experiences with the E.326 suggested to split the central

bogie A bogie ( ) (or truck in North American English) comprises two or more Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets (two Railroad wheel, wheels on an axle), in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes ...

into two motorized ones. The first locomotive, E.428.001, was released in May 1934. A first series, for a total of 97 units, was produced until 1937. A second order in the same series requested a shorter gear ratio (29/103) and larger air intakes, which caused an increase in weight of four tons. The second series (81 units) differed in the removal of the frontal bonnets, replaced by a more profiled driving cabin: this set a style which was adopted for all the following Italian locomotives. A third order was issued on April 5, 1939, for 80 locomotives, but the construction was halted by the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

after the completion of 39 units. Some of those locomotives, built by

Ansaldo Ansaldo Energia S.p.A. is an Italian power engineering company based in Genoa, Italy. The original parent company, Gio. Ansaldo & C., was founded in 1853, and merged with Finmeccanica in 1993 (now Leonardo S.p.A.). In 2024, the company's share ...

, were theoretically capable of speeds up to 150 km/h. All the E.428s, aside from two, were repaired or rebuilt after World War II. Curiously, the bronze fascist

lictor A lictor (possibly from Latin language, Latin ''ligare'', meaning 'to bind') was a Ancient Rome, Roman civil servant who was an attendant and bodyguard to a Roman magistrate, magistrate who held ''imperium''. Roman records describe lictors as hav ...

ial crests on the front were removed only in 1946. In the 1960s, the "Fast sub-class", with the 34/98 gear ratio, was built back to the shorter 29/103.

References

* {{Authority control 3000 V DC locomotives E.428 2-Bo-Bo-2 locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1934 Gio. Ansaldo & C. locomotives Breda locomotives Reggiane locomotives Standard-gauge locomotives of Italy