NSB El 12 was 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 g ...
used by the
Norwegian State Railways
Vygruppen, branded as Vy, is a government-owned railway company which operates most passenger train services and many bus services in Norway. The company is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport. Its sub-brands include Vy Buss coach s ...
(NSB) to haul
iron ore trains on
Ofoten Line
The Ofoten Line ( no, Ofotbanen) is a railway line in Narvik, Norway. It runs from the Port of Narvik to Riksgränsen on the Norway–Sweden border, where the line continues as the Ore Line via Kiruna and Gällivare to Luleå. The Ofoten Lin ...
between 1957 and 1990. The locomotives were based on the Swedish
Dm that was used with success on the connecting
Iron Ore Line
The Iron Ore Line ( sv, Malmbanan) is a long railway line between Riksgränsen and Boden in Norrbotten County, Sweden, owned by Trafikverket (the Swedish Transport Administration). The line also contains two branches, from Kiruna to Svappavaar ...
. The eight units were always operated in pairs or in triples and were numbered 12 2113 - 12 2120. Four double sets remain as heritage locomotives.
History
![El12](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/El12.2114-1970.jpg)
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
the production resumed at the mines operated by
LKAB
Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB) is a government owned Swedish mining company. The company mines iron ore at Kiruna and at Malmberget in northern Sweden. The company was established in 1890, and has been 100% state-owned since the 195 ...
at
Kiruna and
Malmberget
Malmberget ("The Ore Mountain", Finnish and Meänkieli: ''Malmivaara'') is a locality and mining town situated in Gällivare Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden. It had 5,590 inhabitants in 2010, reduced to 927 by December 2020. It is situate ...
with estimates of a 50% production increase within few years. To solve the problems with increased traffic, the railway companies had the choice of either building
double track or hauling longer trains. The latter solution was chosen, and on the Norwegian side the ten
El 3 locomotives were converted from five double sets to three triple sets with one reserve and the two
El 4 converted to a double set. But this solution would require more locomotives.
The
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 i ...
(SJ), who operated the trains from the mines to
Riksgränsen
Riksgränsen, ( no, Riksgrensen), ''The National Border'' in Swedish, is a ski-resort in Kiruna Municipality, Lappland, Sweden, 200 km north of the Arctic Circle. The skiing season is from February to June. From end of May the lifts operate ...
, chose to buy 12 Dm units in 1952, based on the
Da units from 1950. NSB chose to buy six more or less identical units from
Motala Verkstad
AB Motala Verkstad is one of the oldest engineering companies in Sweden. The company was founded in 1822 during the construction of Göta Canal. Motala Verkstad has also built about 400 ships, 800 bridges (e.g. Västerbron, Skeppsholmsbron, Be ...
in 1954 and an additional two in 1957 from
NOHAB
NOHAB (Nydqvist & Holm AB) was a manufacturing company based in the city of Trollhättan, Sweden.
History
The company was founded by Antenor Nydqvist, Johan Magnus Lidström and Carl Olof Holm in 1847 as ''Trollhättans Mekaniska Verkstad'' as ...
. But the ore production continued to increase, and in 1960 SJ ordered a middle section for their
Dm units, creating the
Dm+Dm3+Dm unit configuration. NSB chose to rebuild three of their locomotive pairs to triple units, but in 1967 NSB ordered six new technically far more advanced
El 15 locomotives. The El 12 units were taken out of service between 1989 and 1992.
{{NSB stock
15 kV AC locomotives
El 12
NOHAB locomotives
Ofoten Line
Electric locomotives of Norway
Railway locomotives introduced in 1954
Standard gauge locomotives of Norway
1′D+D1′ locomotives