The CC 21000 was a class 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 (electricity), battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime mover (locomotive), ...

s in service with the French railways

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

, 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 ...

in 1969 and 1974. It was a dual voltage version of the CC 6500 class working off both 1500 V DC and

25 kV 50 Hz AC Railway electrification systems using alternating current (AC) at are used worldwide, especially for high-speed rail. It is usually supplied at the standard utility frequency (typically 50 or 60Hz), which simplifies traction substations. The dev ...

. Initially allocated to

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

, the first two, CC 21001 and CC21002, were fitted with cab signalling to allow them to operate test trains on the new high speed lines.

Amtrak

In 1977,

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

borrowed SNCF CC21003 for testing purposes. This engine was rebuilt by Alstom with its transformer and electrical components replaced with those compatible with

Amtrak's 25 Hz traction power system The traction power network of Amtrak uses 25 Hz for the southern portion of the Northeast Corridor (NEC), the Keystone Corridor, and several branch lines between New York City and Washington D.C. The system was constructed by the Pennsylvania Rai ...

, taller pantographs, Amtrak's cab signaling system, US style couplers, a bell, and other components required by the

AAR The Aare () or Aar () is the main tributary of the High Rhine (its discharge even exceeds that of the latter at their confluence) and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to i ...

for operation on US railroads. The X996 was equipped with a Nathan P01235 air horn, the same horn used on the more well known E60s This engine and a Swedish SJ Rc4 were imported and tested by Amtrak to determine the best design to replace the aging

PRR GG1 The Pennsylvania Railroad Class GG1 is a class of streamlined electric locomotives built for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), in the northeastern United States. The class was known for its striking art deco shell, its ability to pull trains at u ...

's operating on their

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...

. They were numbered by Amtrak as X996 and X995 respectively. However, the X996's suspension system proved unsuitable for the relatively rough US track construction, and despite modifications made over the course of testing, the engine's performance was deemed unsatisfactory for Amtrak's use. Thus, Amtrak favored the Rc4 design, which would serve as the basis for their

EMD AEM-7 The EMD AEM-7 is a twin-cab four-axle AAR wheel arrangement#B-B, B-B electric locomotive manufactured by Electro-Motive Diesel, Electro-Motive Division (EMD) and ASEA between 1978 and 1988. The locomotive is a derivative of the Swedish SJ Rc4 d ...

. After testing was completed, X996 was returned to France, reverted to its pre-Amtrak appearance and specifications, and continued to operate on the SNCF.

Disposal

The CC 21000's were rebuilt into class CC 6500 in 1995 and 1996, taking the numbers CC 6575–CC 6578. All were withdrawn by 2005. CC 21003 was turned into 6577 and was withdrawn and scrapped in 2005. CC 6575 (Formerly 21001) is preserved on static display at the SNCF Nimes Depot in Nîmes, Languedoc-Roussillon, France, approximately 45.6km Northeast from Montpellier, France.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sncf Class Cc 21000 21000 C-C locomotives 21000 21000 CC 21000 Standard-gauge locomotives of France Passenger locomotives 1500 V DC locomotives 25 kV AC locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1969