The FS Class E.621 was a class of five

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 or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas ...

s 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 estate ...

(FS). They were rebuilt in 1947 from

FS Class E.620 The FS Class E.620 was a class of third-rail electric locomotives built by Officine Meccaniche Reggiane for the Italian State Railways (FS). They were built in 1925 using motors and electrical equipment from railcars which had been withdrawn in ...

, which was originally built in 1925. The main change was conversion from 650 V DC

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 t ...

to 3,000 V DC

overhead line An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipmen ...

power supply.

Overview

The locomotives were built in 1925 by the Officine Meccaniche

Reggiane Officine Meccaniche Reggiane SpA (commonly referred to as ''Reggiane'') was an Italian industrial manufacturer and aviation company. Reggiane was founded during 1904 by its parent company Caproni, which was in turn owned by the aeronautical eng ...

, reusing electrical parts from withdrawn

railcar A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a drive ...

s. There were two 3-axle bogies and six

traction motors 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 ...

, giving a maximum speed of 85 km/h. The motors were nose-suspended and geared to the axles. The rebuild was done to enable the locomotives to work under a 3,000-volt

power supply and to cope with a post-war shortage of locomotives. In order to use the electrical equipment, and the 650-volt motors, without excessive modifications, the

metadyne A metadyne is a direct current electrical machine with two pairs of brushes. It can be used as an amplifier or rotary transformer. It is similar to a third brush dynamo but has additional regulator or "variator" windings. It is also similar to an ...

system was adopted. This halved the line voltage of 3,000 volts to 1,500 volts. The 1,500 volt supply was then fed to the motors 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 ...

pairs, giving 750 volts per motor. The power output was increased from continuous to (1 hour rating).

References

* Giovanni Cornolò, Locomotive elettriche FS, Parma, Ermanno Albertelli Editore, 1983, pp. 195-198. * Stefano Garzaro, Locomotive elettriche FS, editrice Elledi, 1986. * Giovanni Cornolò Claudio Pedrazzini, Locomotive elettriche FS, Parma, Ermanno Albertelli Editore, 1983. * Angelo Nascimbene, Aldo Riccardi, Ferrovie italiane anni '50 - Seconda parte, trazione elettrica, in Tutto treno tema, 1996, n. 9, p. 125 * Giovanni Cornolò, Dall'E.626 all'Eurostar. 1928-2008: ottant'anni di locomotive elettriche FS, Parma, Ermanno Albertelli, 2008, pp. 291-296, . {{FS locos 3000 V DC locomotives Co+Co locomotives E.621 Railway locomotives introduced in 1947 Standard gauge locomotives of Italy Rebuilt locomotives