FS Class E.552
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The FS Class E.550 was a class of three-phase
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 (electricity), battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime mover (locomotive), ...
used in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, introduced in the 20th century, which remained in service until 1965.


History

In the wake of the success met by
three-phase Three-phase electric power (abbreviated 3ϕ) is a common type of alternating current (AC) used in electricity generation, Electric power transmission, transmission, and Electric power distribution, distribution. It is a type of polyphase system ...
electric locomotives on the
Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; (); or ; ; ) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Today it is known for its ski centre, hot spring spas, bresa ...
line, in the early 20th century the newly formed state-owned
Ferrovie dello Stato Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane S.p.A. (; ; previously only Ferrovie dello Stato, hence the initialism FS) is Italy's national state-owned enterprise, state-owned railway holding company that manages transport, infrastructure, real estate service ...
, led by Riccardo Bianchi, decided to electrify the important mountain line of the Giovi Pass as well, which connected the port of
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to the industrial cities of northern
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. The decision was taken because the line was close to full saturation despite the use of the powerful
470 __NOTOC__ Year 470 ( CDLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Iordanes (or, less frequently, year 1223 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination ...
class steam locomotives. Electrification of the line at 3,400V, 15.8 Hz was completed in 1916. The designer of the electric part was Hungarian engineer
Kálmán Kandó Kálmán Kandó de Egerfarmos et Sztregova (''egerfarmosi és sztregovai Kandó Kálmán''; July 10, 1869 – January 13, 1931) was a Hungary, Hungarian engineer, the inventor of phase converter and a pioneer in the development of AC electric rai ...
. The whole project, initially developed by the FS central design studio, was later completed by the Società Italiana Westinghouse of
Vado Ligure Vado Ligure (), in antiquity Vada Sabatia, is a port town and ''comune'' in the province of Savona, Liguria, in northern Italy. The town despite its size has become one of the largest ports in Northwest Italy. Economy Vado has a large indus ...
. The first E.550 prototype proved capable of hauling trains of up to at on the steep hill stretches of the Giovi railroad. In comparison, a pair of Class 470 steam locomotives were only capable of at half that speed. The use of electric traction solved the problem of smoke dissipation in the tunnels as well. A total of 186 E.550s were built between 1908 and 1921, in four series.


Description

E.550 had five axles connected to the two electric motors through an articulated
coupling rod A coupling rod or side rod connects the driving wheels of a locomotive. Steam locomotives in particular usually have them, but some diesel and electric locomotives, especially older ones and shunter locomotives, also have them. The coupling ro ...
. The three center axles were rigidly mounted to the frame and the center axle's wheels were without flanges. The outer axles were mounted in a manner that allowed them to turn into curves. The wheels were small, and thus adapted to heavy freight or slow passenger services at low speed. The locomotive had two cabs, one at each end of the central compartment. The motors were asynchronous three-phase, which could be connected in
series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...
at low speed and in parallel at higher speeds. The connections were enabled through a drum switch using a liquid-cooled
rheostat A potentiometer is a three-terminal (electronics), terminal resistor with a sliding or rotating contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider. If only two terminals are used, one end and the wiper, it acts as a variable resistor or rheostat. ...
. Feeding was provided by paired
trolley pole A trolley pole is a tapered cylindrical pole of wood or metal, used to transfer electricity from a "live" (electrified) overhead line, overhead wire to the control and the electric traction motors of a tram or trolley bus. It is a type of current ...
s at each end, each pair carrying two bow collectors for the two wires of the three phase system. Braking was provided by an automatic continuous brake and a regulated, hand-operated brake.


Developments

The locomotives of classes E.551, E.552 and E.554 were all developments of E.550. Some E.550s units were later transformed into snow-sweepers.


Transformations and reutilization

In 1953, locomotive E.550.023 was modified at Bolzano to add a large
snow plow A snowplow (also snow plow, snowplough or snow plough) is a device intended for mounting on a vehicle, used for removing snow and ice from outdoor surfaces, typically those serving transportation purposes. Although this term is often used to ref ...
to one end. It served on the Brenner line from 1955 to 1965. In 1955, locomotives E.550.086 and E.550.115 were demotorized and transformed into push-type snow plows; they received the classification Vnx 201 and 202. Between 1963 and 1966 additional units were transformed in the same fashion to become Vnx 210–222. Sometime thereafter, snow plow equipped E.550.023 was also demotorized. At some point, the Vnx were renumbered into the series Vnx 806.210-222. Some have since been renumbered into the 12-digit UIC scheme in the series 40 83 970 6 0xx-x.


Preservation

E.550.025 is at the National Museum of Transportation in
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
, in poor cosmetic condition due to being stored outside since 1968. It is awaiting transfer to Savigliano (CN), Italy, in the exhibition of the Piedmont Railway Museum. There is an ongoing fundraiser for its transfer by sea. E.550.030 is at the
Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan, dedicated to painter and scientist Leonardo da Vinci, is the largest science and technology museum in Italy. It was opened on 15 February 1953 and inaugurated by prime minister of ...
in
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
, Italy.


References

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External links


Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci

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{{DEFAULTSORT:FS Class E.550 E locomotives E.550 Railway locomotives introduced in 1908 Three-phase AC locomotives Standard-gauge locomotives of Italy