The MIFERMA Class CC 01-21

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...

s were built by

Alsthom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional a ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

between 1961 and 1965. The locomotives had been commissioned by the ''Sociéte Anonyme des Mines de Fer de Mauritanie'' (MIFERMA), then the owner of the

Mauritania Railway The Mauritania Railway is the national railway of Mauritania. Construction of the line began in 1960, with its opening in 1963. It consists of a single, railway line linking the iron mining center of Zouérat with the port of Nouadhibou, via ...

, which, since its completion in 1963, has connected the iron ore mine in Zouerate with the port of

Nouadhibou Nouadhibou (; , ), formerly named Port-Étienne, is the second largest city in Mauritania and serves as a major commercial center. The city has about 173,000 inhabitants. It is situated on a 65-kilometre peninsula or headland called Ras Nouadhibou ...

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

. The CC Class 01-21 locomotives were based upon the

SNCF Class CC 65000 The SNCF Class CC 65000 diesel locomotives were built by Alsthom, CAFL and SACM between 1957 and 1958. They were most often used in the triangle Nantes-Tours, Tours-Bordeaux and Bordeaux-La Rochelle-Nantes. The series was withdrawn from serv ...

, a French passenger diesel locomotive also built by Alstom. Like the CC 65000s, the MIFERMA locomotives were fitted with two diesel engines. However, the MIFERMA locomotives had more powerful versions of the engines. They were also equipped with a roof mounted "skyline casing", which housed special filtration equipment, to deal with the unusually sandy and dusty Saharan atmospheric conditions. Another change which made them differ from the CC 65000s was their use of different

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 ...

trucks (these being related to the trucks used on the CC 14000s) and a lower carbody with cabs taken from the CC 7100s. The cabs were slightly altered as they featured an extra center cab door on each end. In 1974, the assets of MIFERMA were nationalized. Thereafter, the Mauritania Railway and its locomotives were owned and operated by the

parastatal A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

''Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière'' (SNIM). Beginning in 1981, the CC Class 01-21s were supplemented by US built EMD SDL40-2s. In September 1997, they operated their last iron ore trains and subsequently, they were confined to SNIM's passenger train services.

Image Gallery

File:SNIM Alsthom CC05 1994 01.JPG, Locomotive CC 05 pulling a track maintenance train in 1994

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miferma Class Cc 01-21 Alstom locomotives Co′Co′ locomotives MIFERMA CC 01-21 Railway locomotives introduced in 1961

Image Gallery

See also

References