The SJ Class Ra (or Rapid) is an

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 or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or ga ...

operated by

Swedish State Railways The Swedish State Railways ( sv, Statens Järnvägar) or SJ, originally the Royal Railway Board ( sv, Kungl. Järnvägsstyrelsen), was the former government agency responsible for operating the state-owned railways in Sweden. It was created ...

( sv, Statens Järnvägar, SJ). Ten units were built by

ASEA ''Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget'' ( English translation: General Swedish Electrical Limited Company; Swedish abbreviation: ASEA) was a Swedish industrial company. History ASEA was founded in 1883 by Ludvig Fredholm in Västerås as ...

, two in 1955 and eight in 1961. Ra was used on express trains until the 1990s.

History

During the 1940s SJ had a need for quicker locomotives for their express trains. In 1953 two

bogie A bogie ( ) (in some senses called a truck in North American English) is a chassis or framework that carries a wheelset, attached to a vehicle—a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of tr ...

-locomotives were ordered from ASEA. Inspiration for the appearance came from North America, with round shapes and a

bulldog nose "Bulldog nose" is the nickname given, due to their appearance, to several diesel locomotives manufactured by GM-EMD and its licensees from 1939 to 1970. The term originated with EMD F-units, as well as later E-unit models such as the E7, E8, ...

. The two first units were successful and SJ ordered additional eight units from ASEA, delivered in 1961. Though never being used for more than 130 km/h, it was capable for 150 km/h, and served mainly on Stockholm - Göteborg and Stockholm - Oslo. They were mainly taken out of service in the late 1980s, though two remained in service until 1996. Most have been preserved, including at the

Swedish Railway Museum The Swedish Railway Museum, ( sv, Sveriges Järnvägsmuseum), in Gävle, Gästrikland, Sweden is the national museum for Sweden's railway history. The Swedish Railway Museum is tasked with acquiring, preserving and supplying knowledge about Swedi ...

and at

Nässjö Railway Museum Nässjö () is a locality and the seat of Nässjö Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 16,678 inhabitants in 2010. History For many years, Nässjö was a rural village with agriculture as the dominant occupation. The turning point was ...

. In 2012, Ra 988 was sold by the Swedish Railway Museum in 2012 and was sold to Svensk Tågkraft and is still in service. SJ Ra 847

External links

Järnväg.net on Ra
{{Swedish railway stock Railway locomotives introduced in 1955 Ra ASEA locomotives Bo′Bo′ locomotives 15 kV AC locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of Sweden