FERROVIE NORD MILANO

Thank you, Benny. These new trains certainly are colorful.

When started wiring, FNM ordered also six electric locomotives, classed E 600, with a box cab over two two-axle trucks and powered by four electric motors giving a total output of 1040 kw.
Simple and strong, these units made an hard work with freight and passenger trains and, apart unit 05 cut up in 1958 after a derailment, lasted until the half of 2000s, also because of troubles with other classes. Unit E 600.03 is now preserved as historic locomotive and repainted in a similar-to-original black livery.

E 600-1 exchanging freight wagons in the FS station of Camnago in 1991 E 600-4 entering Cadorna station at the head of an heavy passenger train in 1991 Photos by S: Paolini courtesy of Photorail

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After II WW, with the restarting of economy, the boom of people and goods moving and more lines under the wires, FNM was in need of more electric locomotives, so in 1949 came the four units that formed E 610 class. In fact these new locos were a follow-on of the previous E 600s, with the same electrical scheme inside a new body, resembling FS E 424s, sleeping over two Pennsylvania-style trucks. The class born yet old but it had the big advantage of being a well known machine needing the same spare parts and having the same performances of the older ones. So, until their retirement, E 610s were used in a common diagram with E 600s on turns that comprised freight trains (with daily escapades on FS tracks through the transit points of Bovisa, Busto Arsizio and Camnago), heavy passenger trains and reserve service. In my memory, their last use has been the reserve in the new Bovisa and Cadorna stations.

A lateral wiew of E 610-04 waiting departure from Cadorna station in 1991 A short freight headed by E 610-01 was shooted arriving at Palazzolo in 1993 Images by S. Paolini courtesy of Photorail

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After E 610s, during more than 30 years in FNM there have been no more new locomotives, with various FS E 626s being hired to help with the increasing traffic.

E 600-6 and E626.332 manoeuvring in Cadorna station in 1983. Photo by W. Hardmeier In the wave of modernisation that the region began to take out FNM from its time warp, were ordered six electronic locomotives derived from FS E 633 but with only two single-motor trucks and two chopper columns. This new units were classified as E 620 and nicknamed "tigrotti" (tiger cubs) from their bigger sisters. They had an hourly power of 2600 kw, a maximum speed of 130 km/h, were equipped for one man driving and for push-pull operations.
Built to be used mainly with Socimi and double decker coaches, these locos had a very troubled life, with big problems in electronic and mechanical parts that forced to various periods of dumping.

E 620-02 and 03 waiting working time inside Novate depot in 1992. Photo by S. Paolini After some years, as for FS locos, spare parts became difficult to have and so one unit, the more troublesome, has been cannibalized to maintain the others to a minimum level of efficiency.

One of the last services for E 620-04 running on the four tracks line between Bovisa and Saronno near Serenella in 2007. Photo by S. Paolini Hated by drivers (tomorrow I will be on a tigrotto; I don't know when I will be back at home) the class has been phased out during the 2000s without regrets closing a bitter page of FNM history.

Images courtesy of Photorail

It will follow: let me time.

Ciao

Thanks for your well illustrated article, Benny. I wonder why they built the tigrotti with only one motor
per truck? Why do drivers hate the tigrottos?. I'll watch for an answer domani, mañana.

They don't build them like they used to...
Thanks!

philipmartin wrote:Thanks for your well illustrated article, Benny. I wonder why they built the tigrotti with only one motor
per truck? Why do drivers hate the tigrottos?. I'll watch for an answer domani, mañana.

The single motor trucks are of French origin. Instead of a motor each axle, there is a more powerful motor that drives all the axles of a truck. In Italy this technology was used on the main line diesels, on E 652s and on E 632/3 from which the FNM derived.
E 620 were hated because of the very low reliability(it's not a good thing becoming to a standstill in the middle of nowhere with 1000 angry commuters at your back).

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Thank you for the information, Benny.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fEOLFaSE68E" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The photo of the e620-05 is from "Trans Italia Foto Classic."

In the first half of the 90s, the state owned Czech railways had a surplus of DC locomotives, some of them, brand new, still in the hands of Skoda builder.
Because of the E 620s unreliability and new opportunities with open access, FNM was in need of locos so the three parties came to an agreement and the Lombardy company became the owner of nine practically new class 163 locomotives.
Reclassified as E 630, these units were repainted, had the driving desk displaced from right to left and changed pantographs and ATP. At the same time FNM also bought second hand M2 coaches from Belgian railways and someone was transformed in driving trailer so the Czech locos received the push-pull equipment to be remotely controlled from this stock.
With these locomotives, FNM started to operate the heavy peak hours trains and, jointly with other second hand traction stock, began the open access freight era.

E 630.05 at the head of a rake of belgian coaches is waiting departure time at Milano Cadorna station in 2001. E 630.01 going out of Melzo freight yard with an intermodal service to Rotterdam in 2004. The two images by S: Paolini courtesy of Photorail, probably the best italian site for railway photography.

With the progressive abandonment of loco-hauled trains in the original FNM network and the coming of more powerful (and generally policurrent) locomotives for freight services, E 630s became redundant and in 2010 they were bought by Regio Jet, a Czech open access passenger operator, returning in their homeland. The units are still in service, painted in a smart yellow with red lettering.

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Policurrent locos. That's new to me. It sounds like a good idea, if it will work.

Policurrent locomotives are on use in Europe from the 60s, the most famous ones being probably the French CC 40100 that used DC 1500 and 3000 V and AC 15000 and 25000 V. With the advent of power electronics this kind of locos is now far more simple and powerful so daily there are locomotives that cross Europe (e.g. the Melzo-Rotterdam generally is made by only one loco).
The main problems against free locos circulation are the train protection systems, generally different in each country, and pantographs, because of different wiring.

Ciao

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us, Benny. Here's a video on the cc-40100's manufacture. It has four pantographs, one for each type of current it would run under.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QJywWIgNh2Q&autoplay=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've always thought that those Skoda locomotive family looked good, particularly with bright colors.

My idea of the world's most attractive locomotive design: GM's E8s, E9s.

NorthWest wrote:I've always thought that those Skoda locomotive family looked good, particularly with bright colors.

Well, in the scarce design panorama of eastern Europe these locomotives can be considered, if not nice, at least not bad.
Surely a smart painting helps.

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