The FS Class E.421 locomotive of the

Italian State Railways Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane S.p.A. ( "Italian Railways of the State"; previously only Ferrovie dello Stato, hence the abbreviation FS) is Italy's national state-owned railway holding company that manages transport, infrastructure, real estat ...

(FS) was a battery electric locomotive, built as a single unit (E.421.1) and used for shunting at the old

Milano Centrale railway station Milano Centrale ( it, Stazione Milano Centrale) is the main railway station of the city of Milan, Italy, and is the largest railway station in Europe by volume. The station is a terminus and located at the northern end of central Milan. It was o ...

. It was the only battery electric locomotive to be registered in the FS fleet.

History

The E.421 locomotive was built by in 1921, with electrical equipment by Tecnomasio Italiano Brown Boveri (TIBB). The batteries were built by Società Generale Italiana Accumulatori. The batteries were housed in the two bonnets. They weighed 30 tons and supplied electric power at a voltage of 450 V, which operated the four

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, one for each axle. The E.421 was used for shunting at the old central station of Milan, particularly in the western area, terminus of the

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

railway, which was electrified with a

third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...

. It was withdrawn from the service after only two years, in 1923, owing to its onerous maintenance requirements and short operating period - about one hour between charges. It was stored for a few years, and there was a proposal to convert it to third rail operation, but this was not implemented. The E.421 was scrapped around 1935.

References

* Giovanni Cornolò, Locomotive elettriche FS, Parma, Ermanno Albertelli Editore, 1994, pp. 17–20, . {{FS locos Bo′Bo′ locomotives E.421 Railway locomotives introduced in 1921 Standard gauge locomotives of Italy Battery electric locomotives Shunting locomotives