NSB El 1 is the first

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 g ...

series used by the

Norwegian State Railways Vygruppen, branded as Vy, is a government-owned railway company which operates most passenger train services and many bus services in Norway. The company is owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport. Its sub-brands include Vy Buss coach s ...

, from 1922 until 1973. Twenty-four engines were delivered from

ASEA ''Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget'' (English translation: General Swedish Electrical Limited Company; Swedish abbreviation: ASEA) was a Swedish industrial company. History ASEA was founded in 1883 by Ludvig Fredholm in Västerås a ...

and

Thune Thunes Mekaniske Værksted A/S, Thune for short, was a Norwegian manufacturing company that among other things built locomotives. The production facilities were last located at Skøyen. History Thune traced its roots to a workshop founded by Ande ...

, twenty-two in 1922 and two in 1930. Based on the German DB E 71 and Swedish SJ Oc it has two two-axle bogies with one motor in each.

History

When the

Drammen Line The Drammen Line ( no, Drammenbanen) is a railway line between Oslo and Drammen, Norway, which was opened on 7 October 1872. It serves all trains west of Oslo Central Station and is owned by Bane NOR. The line opened as a narrow gauge railway, ...

from Oslo West Station to Brakerøya was

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...

as the first NSB line in 1922, NSB was in need of electric traction. The engines were used both for passenger- and freight trains. At first it was used on the Drammen Line, then on

Sørlandet Line The Sørlandet Line ( no, Sørlandsbanen) is a railway line between Drammen (though this is connected to Oslo by means of the Drammen Line) via Kristiansand to Stavanger. The line is long between Oslo and Stavanger. History The railway was con ...

. In 1966 two of the locos, no. 2001 and 2002, were sold to the

Rjukan Line , logo = , logo_width = , logo_alt = , image = , image_name = , image_width = , image_alt = , caption = SF ''Ammonia'', at Mæl, where the rail ...

where they served until 1988. Two of the locomotives have been preserved (no. 2001 and 2011). {{DEFAULTSORT:NSB El 01 El 01 ASEA locomotives 15 kV AC locomotives Rjukan Line Electric locomotives of Norway Railway locomotives introduced in 1922 Norsk Transport locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of Norway