Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 34, 2011
NSB El 9 is a retired class of three electric locomotives built by Thune for the Norwegian State Railways (NSB), with electrical equipment from Norsk Elektrisk & Brown Boveri (NEBB) and Per Kure. The locomotives were delivered in 1947 after a three-year delay caused by wartime sabotage in response to the German occupation of Norway. They were used nearly exclusively on the Flåm Line and Hardanger Line, two steep branch lines. The units were used on the Flåm Line until 1983, when they were replaced by El 11. They were then used as shunters until being retired in 1988. Two of the locomotives have been preserved. The class was custom-made for steep hills and slow speeds; it featured a low 48 tonnes (47 long tons; 53 short tons) weight which, with a Bo'Bo' wheel arrangement, allows for a 12-tonne (12-long-ton; 13-short-ton) axle load. This made the locomotives only 10.2 meters (33 ft) long. They had a power output of 712 kilowatts (955 hp), a tractive effort of 108 kilonewtons (24,000 lbf) and a maximum speed of 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph). They were given road numbers 2062 though 2064.
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