Class 15 is a type of
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
SNCB/NMBS
The National Railway Company of Belgium ( nl, Nationale Maatschappij der Belgische Spoorwegen, or NMBS; french: Société nationale des chemins de fer belges, or SNCB; german: Nationale Gesellschaft der Belgischen Eisenbahnen) is the national rail ...
. The locomotives were originally used for cross-border services TEE services between
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
and the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, and, like the
class 16, they became surplus after the introduction of
Thalys
Thalys (French: ) is a French-Belgian high-speed train operator originally built around the LGV Nord high-speed line between Paris and Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar trains that go from Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam to London via ...
and
Class 11s. They earned their keep in their last years of service by pulling commuter "P" trains in the
Liège area.
History
These five locomotives were constructed in 1962 by
La Brugeoise et Nivelles
La Brugeoise et Nivelles, later BN Constructions Ferroviaires et Métalliques was a Belgian manufacturer of railway locomotives and other rolling stock; it was formed by a merger of two companies: La Brugeoise et Nicaise et Delcuve and Les Ateli ...
and were the first polycurrent locomotives ordered by SNCB/NMBS. They were designed for use on the 25 kV 50 Hz system in Northern France, the 3 kV DC system used in Belgium and the 1.5 kV DC system in use in the Netherlands.
Prior to the January 1971 renumbering, they were known in the six-number scheme as Type 150, and were numbered 150.001 to 150.005.
In the early 1980s, lacking the power to haul increasingly heavy TEE trains, the Series 15 power units were replaced by the
SNCF Class CC 40100
The SNCF CC 40100 was a French class of quad-voltage electric locomotives. They were intended for high-performance passenger services on the Trans Europ Express (TEE) routes of the 1960s and 1970s. This non-stop international working required the ...
locomotives between Paris and Brussels, but they continued to be used on services between Brussels to Amsterdam until the late 1980s, when they were withdrawn due to lack of compatibility with the new Dutch
ATB
André Tanneberger (; born 26 February 1973), better known by his stage name ATB, is a German DJ, musician, and producer of trance music. According to the official world DJ rankings governed by ''DJ Magazine'', ATB was ranked No. 11 in 2009 and ...
signaling system. The Series 15 locomotives were then used on international trains between Liège and Paris, while being progressively incorporated into the Belgian domestic service, in particular on the Ostende-Liège line.
The units were stored in December 2000. A lack of suitable locomotives following the electrification of Line 43 between Liege and Luxembourg resulted in the locomotives returning to service to haul "P" (Peak hour) trains.
Final retirement from service was in 2004.
Two units were preserved 1503 (preserved by SNCB/NMBS at
Train World
Train World is a railway museum in Brussels, Belgium, and the official museum of the National Railway Company of Belgium. It is situated in the preserved buildings of Schaarbeek railway station and in a new shed built to its north. Although sched ...
Schaerbeek
( French and archaic Dutch, ) or (contemporary Dutch, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Etterbeek, Evere and ...
), and 1504 (preserved by
PFT).
References
External links
HLE 15Les locomotives électriques à trois courants type 150, revue Le Rail.
{{SNCB locos
National Railway Company of Belgium locomotives
1500 V DC locomotives
3000 V DC locomotives
25 kV AC locomotives
Electric locomotives of Belgium
Railway locomotives introduced in 1962
La Brugeoise et Nivelles locomotives
Standard gauge locomotives of Belgium
Bo′Bo′ electric locomotives of Europe