The SNCF Class CC 72000 was a class of C′C′
diesel-electric locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...
s designed and built by French manufacturing conglomerate
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 ...
. They are regarded as being the most powerful class of diesel locomotives to be built in France.
Ninety-two locomotives were produced between 1967 and 1974, numbered CC 72001 to CC 72092. The last regular workings of the type were conducted during August 2019.
Development and design
During the 1960s, French national railway operator
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 ...
investigated the use of high-power diesel locomotives for heavy express trains on its non-electrified major lines.
Following trials of prototype locomotives during the mid-1960s, which were considerably more powerful than any equivalent previously operated by the SNCF, it chose to order 92 locomotives for mixed passenger and high speed freight traffic. Designated ''CC 72000'', the class was a six-axle
diesel-electric locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving whee ...
.
Each locomotive had one
SACM 16 cylinder
four-stroke
A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...
of 3,550 horsepower (2,650 KW) driving an
alternator
An alternator (or synchronous generator) is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field wit ...
whose output was rectified by
silicon rectifiers. There were two
traction motor
A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric vehicle, electric or hydrogen vehicles, or electric multiple unit trains.
Traction (engineering), Traction motors are used in electrically powe ...
s, each mounted on a 3-axle
monomotor bogie with two-speed gearing. A unique feature of the monomotor design was the choice of two speed settings, which was intended to benefit its dual use on both freight and passenger services; selecting the 85 km/h max speed 'regime marchandises' maximized tractive effort (beneficial when hauling heavy freight trains), while the 140/160 km/h max speed 'regime voyageurs' was suited for higher speed express trains.
The cab design provided enhanced collision protection for its crew, but otherwise followed traditional practices.
The exterior of the locomotive originally bore the operator's standard blue and white livery, produced by designer Paul Arzens.
Between 2002 and 2004, 30 were rebuilt with
SEMT Pielstick
SEMT Pielstick was a French company that designed and built large diesel engines. Its full name was (Company of Thermal Machines Studies).
Founded in 1948, SEMT was bought by MAN Diesel in 2006
During its existence as an independent compan ...
engines, after which they were re-designated as
SNCF Class CC 72100
The SNCF Class CC 72100 is a class of C′C′ diesel-electric locomotives rebuilt from SNCF Class CC 72000, CC 72000 locomotives during 2002–2004.
30 locomotives were converted: 21, 30, 37–41, 43, 45, 47, 48, 51, 56–60, 63, 66, 68, 72, ...
. The original power units had been considered to be noisy and smoky, which had led to a ban of the type by Swiss authorities from
Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
’s SNCF station in the early-2000s.
The rebuilt locomotives are numbers: 21, 30, 37–41, 43, 45, 47, 48, 51, 56–60, 63, 66, 68, 72, 75–80, 82, 86, 89–90.
In addition to the domestic production run, Alsthom marketed the locomotive to the export market. These efforts led to 14 locomotives closely resembling the CC72000 being built for
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
in 1969, numbering them DF100-114.
In 2006, Moroccan operator
ONCF
ONCF (from French: ''Office National des Chemins de Fer''; ''al-Maktab al-Waṭaniyy lis-Sikak al-Ḥadīdiyyah''; ''Moroccan National Railways Office'') is Morocco's national railway operator. ONCF is a state-owned company that is under the c ...
procured six redundant CC72000s from SNCF to supplement their existing fleet, renumbering these as DF115-120. In Morocco, they have been operated for freight and passenger services on non-electrified routes.
During the early 1980s, the
Portuguese Railways procured a batch of 13
CP Class 1900
The Série 1900 locomotives of Portuguese Railways are 13 diesel-electric locomotives built in 1981 for freight duties. Prior to electrification, coal trains were hauled by triple-headed Série 1900 locomotives inland from the Port of Sines. The ...
and 17
CP Class 1930
The Série 1930 are a class of diesel-electric locomotives formerly used by Portuguese Railways (CP). They are visually very similar to the Série 1900 locomotives, but have a higher top speed of 120 km/h. They were assembled in Portugal ...
locomotives, which had a strong family resemblance to the CC72000.
These locomotives were locally manufactured by
Sorefame
Sorefame (an abbreviation of ''Sociedades Reunidas de Fabricações Metálicas'', meaning ''"Reunited Society of Metalwork Fabrications")'' was a Portugal, Portuguese manufacturer of railway rolling stock and industrial equipment, such as dam gat ...
having secured a
production license arrangement with Alsthom. The Class 1900s were tasked with heavy freight work, while the slightly faster Class 1930s performed express passenger services.
Operational history
The type was manufactured at Alsthom's works in
Belfort
Belfort (; archaic , ) is a city in northeastern France, situated approximately from the Swiss border. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort.
Belfort is from Paris and from Basel. The residents of the city ...
, eastern France, between 1967 and 1974. On 20 December 1967, the first CC 72000 was delivered to SNCF.
As more examples followed, the locomotive was initially operated upon the main lines to
Brittany
Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
in the north-west; it soon began to replace both less powerful diesels and many of the remaining express
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...
s.
The type operated services across the national network, including those between
Nantes
Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
,
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
and
Toulouse
Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
in the south-west, between
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
,
Mulhouse
Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...
,
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
,
Annecy
Annecy ( , ; , also ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Haute-Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, regi ...
and
Grenoble
Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...
in the east; as well as the core
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
to
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...
route. The final unit was delivered on 21 June 1974.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the SNCF continued its policy of railway electrification, which resulted in a gradual but permanent decline in the need for diesel-hauled express passenger services.
Accordingly, the CC72000s were often transferred to new areas, as well as being increasingly used for freight traffic. Despite this progression, the type was heavily used well into the 2000s on various lines, including
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 ...
-
Reims
Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...
, Paris-Laon and
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...
-
Calais
Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
, for passenger services.
After new
SNCF Class BB 75000
The SNCF BB 75000 (also known as the SNCF BB 475000) are 4 axle, Bo′Bo′, diesel electric locomotives ordered in 2000 by SNCF for freight operations to renew its aging fleet.
The locomotives are also classified as Prima DE30BAC
They are simil ...
diesels began arriving in 2006, as well as a general drop in freight traffic around this time, the type began to be permanently withdrawn. By early 2010, only four original CC72000s remained.
Between 1999 and 2005, Nos. CC72061/062/064 were fitted with
Scharfenberg coupler
The Scharfenberg coupler (, abbreviated ''Schaku'') is a commonly used type of fully automatic railway coupling.
Designed in 1903 by Karl Scharfenberg in Königsberg, Germany (today Kaliningrad, Russia), the coupler has gradually spread from tr ...
s, enabling them to haul
TGV Atlantique
The TGV Atlantique (TGV-A) is a class of high-speed trains used in France by SNCF; they were built by Alstom between 1988 and 1992, and were the second generation of TGV trains, following on from the TGV Sud-Est trainsets. The trains were named ...
sets along the unelectrified line between
Nantes
Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
and
Les Sables-d’Olonne; this prevented any conventional services being run with these three locomotives as the modification necessitated the removal of their
buffers.
During August 2019, the CC72000 performed its last regular workings.
Names
Nineteen members of the class were named.
Preservation
CC 72029 is preserved at
Cité du Train
The Cité du Train (English: ''City of the Train'' or ''Train City''), situated in Mulhouse, France, is one of the ten largest railway museums in the world. It is the successor to the ''Musée Français du Chemin de Fer'' (French National Railw ...
,
Mulhouse
Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sncf Class Cc 72000
Railway locomotives introduced in 1967
C′C′ locomotives
CC 72000
CC 72000
Alstom locomotives
72000
Standard-gauge locomotives of France
Standard-gauge locomotives of Morocco