NSB El 4 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 or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas ...

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 se ...

(NSB) to transport

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

on the

Ofoten Line The Ofoten Line ( no, Ofotbanen) is a rail transport, 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 Malmbanan, Ore Line via Kiruna and Gällivare to ...

. NSB had a total of five triple-locomotive sets.

History

In 1923, Ofoten Line and the Swedish

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 Svappavaara ...

were electrified and NSB had to acquire electric locomotives to haul the trains. NSB chose to order five double-engine El 3 units and five triple-engine El 4 units for the purpose. The El 4 were built at NEBB,

Thune Thunes Mekaniske Værksted A/S, Thune for short, was a Norwegian manufacturing company that among other things built locomotives. The production facilities were last located at Skøyen. History Thune traced its roots to a workshop founded by Ande ...

and Hamar Jernstøberi. 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 opposin ...

, the production of iron ore in

Kiruna (; se, Giron ; fi, Kiiruna ) is the northernmost Stad (Sweden), city in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland, Sweden, Lapland. It had 17,002 inhabitants in 2016 and is the seat of Kiruna Municipality (population: 23,167 in 2016) in Norr ...

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 situated ...

increased dramatically and the train length was increased, with the consequence that each train needed more propulsion. NSB chose to order eight new El 12 locomotives at the same time it combined the ten El 3 locomotives to make three triple-engine sets with one reserve. When the El 15 locomotives were delivered in 1967, the El 3 and El 4 units were taken out of service. None of the locomotives have been preserved. One engine, 4.2046, is buried under gravel and soil below the railway near Katterat, where it ended up at a derailment in 1959. Heavy rainfall had caused flooding that damaged the line in Sørddalen. 4.2046 was hauling an inspection train when the

embankment Embankment may refer to: Geology and geography * A levee, an artificial bank raised above the immediately surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea * Embankment (earthworks), a raised bank to carry a road, railwa ...

that carried the track failed and the engine tipped over. Usable parts were stripped from the engine before it was buried when the embankment was rebuilt.Ofotbanen, Narvik - Riksgränsen
(headline Elektroloken)

References

External links

Jernbane.net page on El 4 with pictures
{{DEFAULTSORT:NSB El 04 15 kV AC locomotives El 04 Ofoten Line Brown, Boveri & Cie locomotives Electric locomotives of Norway Railway locomotives introduced in 1925