The Class BB 8700 electric locomotives were rebuilt from the
BB 8500 (or
BB 88500) as the first subseries for the growth in
Maurienne
Maurienne ( frp, Môrièna) is one of the provinces of France, provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne.
...
.
Indeed, while the
CC 6500 participated in this task, the reorganization of traction in Maurienne had led them to other services. Since the BB 8500 had been restricted for some years to , as a result of their poor suspension and for the comfort of the drivers, it was decided to re-use twenty for Maurienne. These were renumbered as Class BB 8700.
Conversion
The conversion consisted particularly in the modification and expansion of the driving cabs at one end, by removing an air compressor. The BB 8700 were permanently coupled to run in pairs, with the unmodified cabs remaining in the middle, at the permanent coupling. Limited to and on a limited route, their discomfort was more bearable for the driving personnel.
Service
These locomotives, assigned to freight activity and attached to the
Chambéry
Chambéry (, , ; Arpitan: ''Chambèri'') is the prefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. The population of the commune of Chambéry was 58,917 as of 2019, while the population of the Chambér ...
depot, were used exclusively on the
Maurienne line for
banking
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Because ...
freight trains. They ran exclusively as paired units.
By 2005, the end of their career related to the reorganization of
Fret SNCF
SNCF Logistics was the division of the SNCF group responsible for freight transportation and logistics.
The division included the activities of: Geodis (and subsidiaries), general land transport and logistics; Fret SNCF the national rail freigh ...
and pushed them quickly towards withdrawal. Banking locomotives became less necessary with the introduction of the more powerful
Class BB 36000. If the occasion arose, a
Class BB 7200 was used.
See also
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List of SNCF classes
List of locomotive and multiple unit classes of SNCF. Classes in bold are in use, whilst those in ''italics'' have been withdrawn.
Numbering Scheme Locomotives and Multiple Units
Vehicle numbers are three to six digits long. The first (not alw ...
References
Further reading
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Standard gauge electric locomotives of France
SNCF locomotives
Railway locomotives introduced in 2001
B-B locomotives
{{electric-loco-stub
Freight locomotives
Rebuilt locomotives