The SNCF Class BB 9400 was an electric locomotive of the

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...

. It was used to haul L’Aquilon, a high-speed passenger train between

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

and Lyon-Perrache. The locomotives were given the nickname "

Vespa Vespa () is an Italian luxury brand of scooter (motorcycle), scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of ...

", as they were very lightweight. They were one of a series of locomotives called the "BB Jacquemin", as they used bogies designed by engineer André Jacquemin. The locomotive itself was designed by noted French railway designer Paul Arzens. In later years they hauled passenger trains on the difficult

Béziers Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hos ...

–

Neussargues Neussargues-Moissac (Auvergnat: ''Nuçargues e Moissac'') is a former commune in the Cantal department in south-central France. On 1 December 2016, it was merged into the new commune Neussargues en Pinatelle. Population Sights * Château S ...

line. The locomotive series was built between 1967 and 1969, numbered 9401 to 9535. These fell into two groups; the original group was limited to , with units BB 9531 to 9535 capable of . These units operated under a 1,500 V DC catenary, with a power of . The locomotives are long and weigh . They were fitted for multiple unit and push–pull working. Some were modified in the 1980s to work in freight service and reclassified as BB 9600, with sound-proofed cabins and a unified control stand for the operator. The class was withdrawn from service by 1994, with one example, BB 9411, preserved on display at the

Gare de Nîmes Gare is the word for "station" in French and related languages, commonly meaning railway station Gare can refer to: People * Gare (surname), surname * The Gare Family, fictional characters in the novel '' Wild Geese'' by Martha Ostenso Places * ...

Notes

{{SNCF locos 9400 9400 1500 V DC locomotives B-B locomotives Passenger locomotives