The Ae 6/6 is a class of heavy electric locomotive used by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). It is sometimes also referred to as "canton locomotive" (), because the first 25 locomotives (a 26th was renamed after the separation of Jura) were named after the cantons of Switzerland and carried the canton's coat of arms on the side and chrome embellishments (a single raised stripe on each side and three raised stripes on each end), and the Swiss coat of arms on the front, between the chrome stripes. These adornments made them internationally famous. The other 95 (94) locomotives received the names of capital cities of Swiss cantons, and other towns and cities, but without the chrome embellishments. The namings were held as ceremonies in the respective cities. A less flattering moniker is () as the three axle bogie construction stresses the tracks heavily.
Originally designed for heavy services on the Gotthard route, as many Swiss locomotives were, the Ae 6/6 was one of the classic Gotthard locomotives.
All locomotives were originally painted in the SBB CFF FFS green livery, with the number, and either SBB CFF, or SBB FFS on each side, all raised numerals in chrome. Nowadays, about half are painted red, and a proportion of the fleet have been repainted in SBB Cargo livery, with all raised chrome embellishments removed apart from the Swiss coat of arms on each end. These locomotives have been renumbered (as class Re 610) in line with the current Swiss numbering scheme.
History Before the advent of the Ae 6/6, trains on the Gotthard route were hauled mainly by Ae 4/6, Ae 4/7 and Be 6/8 ("crocodile"), which were underpowered by contemporary standards. This led to many trains needing bank engines on the Gotthard ramps, and adding them was a tedious, uneconomical and impractical procedure.
Demands on the Ae 6/6 SBB needed a more powerful locomotive. The specification, created in 1949, included that the locomotive to be developed must be able the pull a 600 tonne train over the 26‰ gradients of the Gotthard line at . The first prototype with the number 11401 was scheduled for delivery in 1952.
Experiences with the prototypes Intense trial runs were made with the prototypes. They had bogies with fixed axles, which led to heavy rail and wheel flange abrasion. Despite some early technical issues, the SBB were convinced they were on the right path with the development of the Ae 6/6. After introducing side-elastic wheelsets and making the wheel flanges of the middle axles smaller, the series production started in 1954, resulting in the first series locomotives delivered in 1955.
Operations until the 1960s
Summary In its heyday, the 1950s and 1960s, the Ae 6/6 was the Gotthard locomotive par excellence, both for passenger and freight traffic. They were also used on the route through the Simplon tunnel. They were used in turns to ensure regular servicing in the main maintenance facility at Bellinzona. In the late 1960s, the two prototypes were retired from service on the Gotthard line; gradually followed by the rest of the class. After the introduction of the Re 6/6 locomotives, most Ae 6/6 were reallocated to services in the Swiss plateau. Subsequently, they were mostly used for freight trains, because they are too slow for the faster passenger services. An exception were those units hired by the BLS, which were sometimes used to haul relief and intercity trains over the Lötschberg route.
The prototypes The locomotive 11401 was delivered in 1952, and put on test runs. 11402 was completed in 1953. They were tested in a two-day programme on the Gotthard route, where they ran up to in one day. Temporarily, however, there were one or two of the six motors broken, which were replaced by ballast to keep the correct weight. The locomotives with broken motors where then used in services normally run by the less powerful Ae 4/7.
The series locomotives 11403-11520 were delivered from 1955 to 1966. They first replaced the Ae 4/7 and later the newer Ae 4/6.
For about 20 years, practically all heavy freight and passenger trains on the Gotthard route were hauled by this locomotive.
Numbering and namings Locomotive namings were a feature introduced to Switzerland with the Ae 6/6, a custom adopted from Britain. All Ae 6/6 were decorated with a coat of arms, either of one of the 26 cantons or a Swiss commune. They were grand events at the time, and every canton was proud to get its "own" Ae 6/6. Locomotives 11426 to 11520 got coats of arms of communes. Only those with canton names had additional chrome embellishments.
The locomotives' names and numbers are summarized below: List of Ae 6/6 locomotives with names of cantons № Name PreservationBy SBB Historic, unless stated 11401 Ticino Eisenbahnmuseum in Horb, Germany. 11402 Uri Erstfeld 11403 Schwyz 11404 Luzern Elektrizitätsmuseum, Elektra Birseck Münchenstein 11405 Nidwalden 11406 Obwalden Only the cabin survives, preserved by DESM 11407 Aargau Brugg AG. On loan to the association Mikado. 11408 Solothurn 11409 Baselland 11410 Basel-Stadt 11411 Zug Erstfeld 11412 Zürich 11413 Schaffhausen Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne 11414 Bern Used as a source of spare parts 11415 Thurgau FD 11416 Glarus FD 11417 Fribourg 11418 St. Gallen Galliker Transport AG, Altishofen 11419 Appenzell I.Rh. Privately owned, Biasca 11420 Appenzell A.Rh. Museum in Sissach 11421 Graubünden On loan to the 'Erhalt Lok Ae 6/6' association, Steinen 11422 Vaud 11423 Valais 11424 Neuchâtel Swiss Train association 11425 Genève Olten 11483 Jura
List of Ae 6/6 locomotives with names of communes № Name № Name № Name 11426 Stadt Zürich 11458 Rorschach 11490 Rotkreuz 11427 Stadt Bern 11459 Chiasso 11491 Wohlen AG 11428 Stadt Luzern 11460 Lugano 11492 Emmen 11429 Altdorf 11461 Locarno 11493 Sissach 11430 Gemeinde Schwyz 11462 Biasca 11494 Schlieren 11431 Sarnen 11463 Göschenen 11495 Bülach 11432 Stans 11464 Erstfeld 11496 Stadt Wil 11433 Glarus 11465 Oerlikon 11497 St. Margrethen 11434 Stadt Zug 11466 Sursee 11498 Buchs SG 11435 Ville de Fribourg 11467 Zofingen 11499 Sargans 11436 Stadt Solothurn 11468 Lenzburg 11500 Landquart 11437 Stadt Basel 11469 Thalwil 11501 Renens 11438 Liestal 11470 Brugg 11502 Nyon 11439 Stadt Schaffhausen 11471 Pratteln 11503 Payerne 11440 Herisau 11472 Brig 11504 Le Locle 11441 Gemeinde Appenzell 11473 St.-Maurice 11505 Lyss 11442 Stadt St.Gallen 11474 Vevey 11506 Grenchen 11443 Chur 11475 Vallorbe 11507 Wildegg 11444 Aarau 11476 Les Verrières 11508 Wettingen 11445 Frauenfeld 11477 Martigny 11509 Gossau SG 11446 Bellinzona 11478 Sierre 11510 Rheinfelden 11447 Lausanne 11479 Visp 11511 Dietikon 11448 Sion 11480 Montreux 11512 Horgen 11449 Ville de Neuchâtel 11481 La Chaux-de-Fonds 11513 Wallisellen 11450 Ville de Genève 11482 Delémont 11514 Weinfelden 11451 Winterthur 11483 Porrentruy (later renamed Jura) 11515 Kreuzlingen 11452 Baden 11484 Romont 11516 Baar 11453 Arth-Goldau 11485 Thun 11517 Brunnen 11454 Yverdon 11486 Burgdorf 11518 Flüelen 11455 Biel/Bienne 11487 Langenthal 11519 Giubiasco 11456 Olten 11488 Mendrisio 11520 Langnau i.E. 11457 Romanshorn 11489 Airolo
Jura canton locomotive When the new canton of Jura (the 26th Swiss canton) was created in 1979, following decades of separatist demands, a locomotive had to be found to carry the new canton's name in keeping with the history of the Ae 6/6 as . Instead of the logical 11426 (the next number after the rest of the canton-named locomotives), engine № 11483, named after Porrentruy, a Jura canton commune, was chosen to receive the name 'Jura'. Its previous name Porrentruy was transferred to Re 4/4II 11239.
1970s to 1990s
Summary In the 1970s, the two prototypes 11401 and 11402 were further developed, but never reached the quality of the series locomotives. In 1971, the first 'challenge' to the dominance of the Ae 6/6 came in the form of the new Re 4/4III (Re 430) on the Gotthard line. The first real competition, however, was the Re 6/6 introduced in 1975, which was designed to be the successor of the Ae 6/6 and is nearly twice as powerful.
The former star of the Gotthard was thus displaced to 'lesser' services and has since mostly used in the Swiss plateau and Jura mountains.
Building blocks based construction The series locomotives 11403-11520 were built in 'modular' style, with each separate section easily replaced. Some were involved in serious accidents, and could be fixed in short time thanks to this system.
Accident at Winterthur On 12 April 1989, 11401 «Ticino» collided with an Re 4/4II at Winterthur. One third of the locomotive body was damaged, and the locomotive division of the main workshop Bellinzona wanted to scrap it. However, railfans stood up for the preservation of this very first Ae 6/6 locomotive, so it got a second chance. It was a most elaborate and expensive rebuild and took two years.
21st century
In 1999, all 120 locomotives were assigned to the SBB cargo division (SBB Cargo) following the internal reorganisation of the SBB. The Ae 6/6 is still a very reliable locomotive for freight traffic.
Because the Ae 6/6 have three-axle bogies, they are deemed "rail killers" because of the higher rail abrasion compared to engines with two-axle bogies. This was especially considered an issue for freight runs on the Chemin de fer du Jura route Porrentruy-Bonfol.
One of the biggest disadvantages of the Ae 6/6 is said to be the lack of multiple unit train control, which makes operating two engines together impractical. At one time, retrofitting this feature was proposed, but these plans were discarded due to the uncertain future of the locomotive.
It was also considered to equip some of the newer engines with cab signalling, to allow them to run on cab signalling only-routes. This was tentatively done on the 11512 «Horgen».
The remaining operational locomotives are still used for freight trains, but often they just stand about in larger shunting yards. After the coats of arms were found to be being stolen repeatedly (mostly as a souvenir, because it is generally assumed that the Ae 6/6 won't stay in service much longer and will eventually be scrapped), SBB Cargo ordered their removal in March 2005 and will presumably turn them over to SBB Historic.
On 6 April 2009, the SBB announced that 65 of the class will be withdrawn from service because of the slump in demand caused by the recession. 53 will be stored pending an upturn whilst 12 will probably be scrapped or cannibalised. Revenue service stopped in 2013.
Retirements from service The first locomotive to be withdrawn was 11410 «Basel-Stadt», due to an accident in 2002. Since then more of the class have been withdrawn, among them the prototypes 11402 «Uri» and 11401 «Ticino». The rate of withdrawal accelerated in 2009.
In 2002, 11401 «Ticino» was a guest on the open day at the Muttenz shunting yard, shortly after its 50th birthday. After a cable fire this locomotive was withdrawn on September 11, 2003.
Ae 6/6 for SBB Historic The foundation SBB Historic already received the prototype Ae 6/6 11402 «Uri», which will either remain operational as a historic locomotive or will become a static exhibit at Erstfeld railway station. 11401 «Ticino», the other prototype, is hosted at the railway museum Eisenbahn Erlebniswelt (Railway Adventure World) in Horb am Neckar (Germany). There is 11403 «Schwyz», and 11421 «Graubünden», in the SBB Historic club, 11405 «Nidwalden», was used for spare parts by SBB Historic for 11407 «Aargau», 11416 «Glarus», is used as spare parts for the historic locomotive 11425 «Geneva», for SBB historic, and also 11411 «Zug», is preserved by SBB Historic as well kept in running order. Also 11413 «Schaffhausen» is on long-term loan to Club del San Gottardo Railway from the Swiss Museum of Transport, Luzern.
Accident at Kaiseraugst