The Renfe Class 319 (originally Renfe 1900
[The prefix 3 is added to indicate a ]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 ...
) was a class of mainline medium-high powered diesel electric locomotives built by
General Motors Electro-Motive Division
Progress Rail Locomotives, doing business as Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), is an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. The company is owned by Caterpillar through its su ...
and by
Macosa
Stadler Rail Valencia SAU is a Spanish company, mainly producing products for the railway industry, subsidiary of Stadler Rail.
History MACOSA
The Company was founded in 1947 with the name Material y Construcciones S.A. (or MACOSA) by the merger ...
(under license) for the
state railways of Spain.
Background, history and design
In the mid-1960s General Motors won a contract to supply diesel-electric locomotives to
Renfe, which was seeking replacements for steam engines. The contract was for the locomotives to be built under license in Spain, but as the diesel locomotive building infrastructure in Spain was not yet developed the first ten locomotives were constructed at GM's locomotive factory in
La Grange, Illinois, USA; these were of an American single cabin design.
The American locomotives were
Iberian gauge
Iberian gauge ( es, ancho ibérico, trocha ibérica, pt, bitola ibérica) is a track gauge of , most extensively used by the railways of Spain and Portugal. This is the second-widest gauge in regular use anywhere in the world. The Indian gauge, , ...
versions of the
General Motors Electromotive type G16.
The remaining ninety three of the class were built by Macosa under license; though the locomotives contained the same components the arrangement of the components in the Spanish built versions was different, since the Spanish models were built to a two cab design of more European appearance.
The class worked on both freight and passenger trains, until the late 1980s when Renfe decided to replace the class. Some parts of the old locomotives were reused for the new class, named
Renfe 319.2 which also used the same GM engine
as well as other common parts such as the bogies.
Numbering
The Spanish built units were numbered 1901 to 1960, 1971 to 1999 and because all the digits of the 1900 class had been expended, 19901 to 19904, the American units were originally numbered 1961 to 1970.
Later the class became 319
and the numbers ran from 319.001 to 319.103.
See also
*
Renfe Class 319 (later versions)
The Renfe classes 319.2, 319.3 and 319.4 are six axle Co'Co' medium power mainline diesel-electric locomotives manufactured by Macosa using General Motors Electromotive division components under license.
Background and design
The first GM main ...
*
Renfe Class 321, contemporary locomotives, built to an
Alco
The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomo ...
design
Notes
References
Literature
*Locomotoras Diesel (III) Series 313, 314 y 319 americanas Renfe, Juan Andrés Piñar, Lluís Prieto i Tur, 2000,
*Locomotoras Diesel (IV) Tercer concurso en Renfe, las 319 bicabinas, Lluís Prieto i Tur, 2002,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Renfe Class 319 (Early Versions)
Railway locomotives introduced in 1965
Diesel locomotives of Spain
319 early
Macosa/Meinfesa/Vossloh Espana locomotives
Electro-Motive Diesel locomotives
5 ft 6 in gauge locomotives
Diesel-electric locomotives of Spain