NSB El 16 is an

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 ...

which is used on the Norwegian railway system by

CargoNet CargoNet AS is the primary operator of freight trains on the Norwegian railway system. It was formed as NSB Gods after NSB (now Vy) fissioned into a passenger and a freight company. NSB Gods changed its name to CargoNet at the beginning of 200 ...

to haul freight trains. Until it was replaced by the

El 18 EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American ...

, the El 16 engines also pulled passenger trains on 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 ...

History

In the 1970s NSB was faced with a challenge on the steep and wintry

Bergen Line The Bergen Line or the Bergen Railway ( no, Bergensbanen or nn, Bergensbana), is a long scenic standard gauge railway line between Bergen and Hønefoss, Norway. The name is often applied for the entire route from Bergen via Drammen to Osl ...

and the El 14 was not adequate for the task. The solution seemed to be

thyristor A thyristor () is a solid-state semiconductor device with four layers of alternating P- and N-type materials used for high-power applications. It acts exclusively as a bistable switch (or a latch), conducting when the gate receives a current ...

locomotive that had successfully been tested by

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

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canad ...

with possibilities to pull 50% heavier trains than equivalent

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 were capable of. This was partly due to a system of dynamic slip control, where speed of traction motors was controlled and adjusted to avoid slippage and loss of adhesion. The Swedish

Rc4 In cryptography, RC4 (Rivest Cipher 4, also known as ARC4 or ARCFOUR, meaning Alleged RC4, see below) is a stream cipher. While it is remarkable for its simplicity and speed in software, multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in RC4, ren ...

locomotives were tested on the

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, ...

with success and NSB also chose to try the units on the Bergen Line. In 1976 NSB ordered six units of a modified Rc4 design, with

dynamic brakes Dynamic braking is the use of an electric traction motor as a generator when slowing a vehicle such as an electric or diesel-electric locomotive. It is termed " rheostatic" if the generated electrical power is dissipated as heat in brake grid ...

, increased traction power (from 4x900 kW on Rc4 to 4x1100 kW on El16) and a pointed nose which is able to force through the occasional

snowdrift A snowdrift is a deposit of snow sculpted by wind into a mound during a snowstorm. Snowdrifts resemble sand dunes and are formed in a similar manner, namely, by wind moving light snow and depositing it when the wind has virtually stopped, us ...

s. In 1980 another four units were delivered and the final seven in 1984. The sets were numbered 16 2201 to 16 2217. CargoNet El 16 2202 near Dombås

The engines were used throughout the electrified rail network, both passenger and freight trains, with the exception of the northern section of the

Gjøvik Line The Gjøvik Line ( no, Gjøvikbanen) is a Norwegian railway line between Oslo and Gjøvik. It was originally named the North Line (''Nordbanen'') and ran between Grefsen and Røykenvik. The line was completed to Gjøvik in 1902. The Gjøvik ...

and the

Sørland Line Sørland is a Seaside resort, fishing village and the administrative centre of Værøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the southern side of the island of Værøya. The village is the main population center of the islan ...

west of

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporati ...

, due to too weak power supply systems. But the systems have since been upgraded. Retirement from passenger service started with the fissioning of

. 8 engines were transferred to the

freight company. In 2002, a further six engines were sold to the Swedish operator Tågkompaniet and the remaining three engines were purchased by CargoNet. In 2007 all engines from Tågkompaniet were sold back to Norway.TGOJ Traffik replaces Class E1.16 ''

Today's Railways Europe ''Today's Railways Europe'' is an English-based monthly magazine covering rail transport in Europe. It was founded by Platform 5 in July 1994. Initially published bimonthly, from August 1997 it was published monthly. It also covered rail trans ...

'' issue 138 June 2007 page 56 Two 16 engines were lost when burnt up by fire during cargo services across the Swedish border.

References

External links

Jernbane.net article on the El 16
(in Norwegian) {{Rolling stock of Norway ASEA locomotives Bo-Bo locomotives 15 kV AC locomotives El 16 El 16 Electric locomotives of Norway Railway locomotives introduced in 1977 El 16 Standard gauge locomotives of Norway