The SNCF Class CC 72000 was a class of C′C′
diesel-electric locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels ...
s designed and built by French manufacturing conglomerate
Alsthom
Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...
. They are regarded as being the most powerful class of diesel locomotives to be built in France.
Ninety-two locomotives were produced between 1967 and 1974, numbered CC 72001 to CC 72092. The last regular workings of the type were conducted during August 2019.
Development and design
During the 1960s, French national railway operator
SNCF investigated the use of high-power diesel locomotives for heavy express trains on its non-electrified major lines.
Following trials of prototype locomotives during the mid-1960s, which were considerably more powerful than any equivalent previously operated by the SNCF, it chose to order 92 locomotives for mixed passenger and high speed freight traffic. Designated ''CC 72000'', the class was a six-axle
diesel-electric locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels ...
.
Each locomotive had one
SACM 16 cylinder
four-stroke diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...
of 3,550 horsepower (2,650 KW) driving an
alternator
An alternator is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field with a stationary armature.Gor ...
whose output was rectified by
silicon rectifier
A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC), which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC), which flows in only one direction. The reverse operation (converting DC to AC) is performed by an inver ...
s. There were two
traction motor
A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric or hydrogen vehicles, elevators or electric multiple unit.
Traction motors are used in electrically powered rail vehicles ( electric multiple ...
s, each mounted on a 3-axle
monomotor bogie A monomotor bogie (french: bogie monomoteur) is a form of traction bogie (railway), bogie used for an electric locomotive or diesel-electric locomotive. It is distinguished by having a single traction motor on each bogie.
Development
The first el ...
with two-speed gearing. A unique feature of the monomotor design was the choice of two speed settings, which was intended to benefit its dual use on both freight and passenger services; selecting the 85 km/h max speed 'regime marchandises' maximized tractive effort (beneficial when hauling heavy freight trains), while the 140/160 km/h max speed 'regime voyageurs' was suited for higher speed express trains.
The cab design provided enhanced collision protection for its crew, but otherwise followed traditional practices.
The exterior of the locomotive originally bore the operator's standard blue and white livery, produced by designer Paul Arzens.
Between 2002 and 2004, 30 were rebuilt with
SEMT Pielstick
SEMT Pielstick was a French company that designed and built large diesel engines. Its full name was (Company of Thermal Machines Studies).
Founded in 1948, SEMT was bought by MAN Diesel in 2006
During its existence as an independent compan ...
engines, after which they were re-designated as
SNCF Class CC 72100. The original power units had been considered to be noisy and smoky, which had led to a ban of the type by Swiss authorities from
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
’s SNCF station in the early-2000s.
The rebuilt locomotives are numbers: 21, 30, 37–41, 43, 45, 47, 48, 51, 56–60, 63, 66, 68, 72, 75–80, 82, 86, 89–90.
In addition to the domestic production run, Alsthom marketed the locomotive to the export market. These efforts led to 14 locomotives closely resembling the CC72000 being built for
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
in 1969, numbering them DF100-114.
In 2006, Moroccan operator
ONCF
ONCF (from French: ''Office National des Chemins de Fer''; ar, المكتب الوطني للسكك الحديدية ''Al-Maktab al-Waṭaniy lil-Sikak al-Ḥadīdiyyah''; ''Moroccan National Railways Office'') is Morocco's national railway ope ...
procured six redundant CC72000s from SNCF to supplement their existing fleet, renumbering these as DF115-120. In Morocco, they have been operated for freight and passenger services on non-electrified routes.
During the early 1980s, the
Portuguese Railways procured a batch of 13
CP Class 1900
The Série 1900 locomotives of Portuguese Railways are 13 diesel-electric locomotives built in 1981 for freight duties. Prior to electrification, coal trains were hauled by triple-headed Série 1900 locomotives inland from the Port of Sines. The ...
and 17
CP Class 1930
The Série 1930 are a class of diesel-electric locomotives formerly used by Portuguese Railways (CP). They are visually very similar to the Série 1900 locomotives, but have a higher top speed of 120 km/h. They were assembled in Portugal ...
locomotives, which had a strong family resemblance to the CC72000.
These locomotives were locally manufactured by
Sorefame
Sorefame (an abbreviation of ''Sociedades Reunidas de Fabricações Metálicas'') was a Portuguese manufacturer of railway rolling stock and industrial equipment, such as dam gates equipment. The company was established in 1943.
In the 1990s the ...
having secured a
production license arrangement with Alsthom. The Class 1900s were tasked with heavy freight work, while the slightly faster Class 1930s performed express passenger services.
Operational history
The type was manufactured at Alsthom's works in
Belfort
Belfort (; archaic german: Beffert/Beffort) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Terri ...
, eastern France, between 1967 and 1974. On 20 December 1967, the first CC 72000 was delivered to SNCF.
As more examples followed, the locomotive was initially operated upon the main lines to
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
in the north-west; it soon began to replace both less powerful diesels and many of the remaining express
steam locomotives.
The type operated services across the national network, including those between
Nantes,
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...
and
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...
in the south-west, between
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
,
Mulhouse
Mulhouse (; Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning '' mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region, eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. It is the largest city in Haut-Rhin and second largest in Alsace a ...
,
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
,
Annecy and
Grenoble
lat, Gratianopolis
, commune status = Prefecture and commune
, image = Panorama grenoble.png
, image size =
, caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
in the east; as well as the core
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...
to
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attract ...
route. The final unit was delivered on 21 June 1974.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the SNCF continued its policy of railway electrification, which resulted in a gradual but permanent decline in the need for diesel-hauled express passenger services.
Accordingly, the CC72000s were often transferred to new areas, as well as being increasingly used for freight traffic. Despite this progression, the type was heavily used well into the 2000s on various lines, including
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 ...
-
Reims, Paris-Laon and
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
-
Calais, for passenger services.
After new
SNCF Class BB 75000 diesels began arriving in 2006, as well as a general drop in freight traffic around this time, the type began to be permanently withdrawn. By early 2010, only four original CC72000s remained.
Between 1999 and 2005, Nos. CC72061/062/064 were fitted with
Scharfenberg coupler
The Scharfenberg coupler (german: Scharfenbergkupplung, abbreviated ''Schaku'') is a commonly used type of fully automatic railway coupling.
Designed in 1903 by Karl Scharfenberg in Königsberg, Germany (today Kaliningrad, Russia), the coupler ...
s, enabling them to haul
TGV Atlantique
The TGV Atlantique (TGV-A) is a class of high-speed trains used in France by SNCF; they were built by Alstom between 1988 and 1992, and were the second generation of TGV trains, following on from the TGV Sud-Est.
105 bi-current sets, numbered ...
sets along the unelectrified line between
Nantes and
Les Sables-d’Olonne; this prevented any conventional services being run with these three locomotives as the modification necessitated the removal of their
buffers.
During August 2019, the CC72000 performed its last regular workings.
Names
Nineteen members of the class were named.
Preservation
CC 72029 is preserved at
Cité du Train
The Cité du Train (English: ''City of the Train'' or ''Train City''), situated in Mulhouse, France, is one of the ten largest railway museums in the world. It is the successor to the ''musée français du chemin de fer'' (trans. French national ...
,
Mulhouse
Mulhouse (; Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning '' mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region, eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. It is the largest city in Haut-Rhin and second largest in Alsace a ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sncf Class Cc 72000
Railway locomotives introduced in 1967
C′C′ locomotives
CC 72000
CC, cc, or C-C may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
* C.C. (''Code Geass''), a character in the ''Code Geass'' anime series, pronounced "C-two"
* C.C. Babcock, a character in the American sitcom ''The Nanny''
* Com ...
72000
Standard gauge locomotives of France
Mixed traffic locomotives