NSB El 15

NSB El 15 BR 161
Hr 161.106.0 at Hallsberg, Sweden
Power type	Electric
Builder	ASEA
Build date	1967
Total produced	6
AAR wheel arr.	C-C
UIC classification	Co'Co'
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Length	19.8 m (65 ft 0 in)
Locomotive weight	132 t (291,000 lb)
Electric system	15kV 16⅔ Hz AC
Top speed	120 km/h (75 mph)
Power output	5,400 kW (7,240 hp)
Tractive effort	420 kN (94,000 lbf)
Career	Hector Rail
Class	BR 161
Number in class	6
Number	161 101 - 161 106
Official name	The Tough Ones

NSB El 15 is a class of electric locomotives which are now operated by the Swedish company Hector Rail as Class 161 locomotives. The locomotives were originally built for the Norwegian State Railways (NSB) in 1967 to replace the NSB El 3 and NSB El 4 engines on Ofotbanen. The main task there is to pull heavy iron ore freight trains, and the El 15 is the most powerful engine which NSB has ever used.

History

After the electrification of Ofotbanen in 1923 NSB had been using El 3 and El 4 stock on the line. But in the 1960s these were getting worn out, and NSB decided that it needed to get new stock. NSB first acquired the El 12 stock parallel to the Swedish acquisition of the Dm3 locomotive. But unlike Statens Järnvägar, NSB chose to instead buy a newer technology locomotive from ASEA, based on the Romanian CFR 040. Thus NSB managed to get the same power out of their two-engined El 15s as the Swedish got out of their three-engined Dm3s. Since the locomotives were to be operated in pairs, NSB considered only installing driver cabins on one end, but chose in the end to install them on both ends to allow the locomotives to operate more flexibly, including allowing them to operate passenger trains. The locomotives were numbered 15 2191 to 15 2196.

In 1996 the operation of the ore trains was taken over by Malmtrafik, owned by NSB, SJ and LKAB, the owner of the mines. The new company ordered 18 new IORE locomotives from Bombardier and in 2004 the ageing engines were sold to Hector Rail.

References

• Jernbane.net article on the El 15 (Norwegian)
• Hector Rail Fact Sheet