A selection of BB7200 and BB26000 electric locomotives arriving and departing from Nîmes central railway station on SNCF Intercity services. All filmed in May 2023 by me you'll see a number of different trains.
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ABOUT THE BB7200 CLASS OF ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE
The SNCF Class BB 7200, an electric locomotive operated by the SNCF in France, is a variant designed for 1.5 kV DC power. It belongs to the 'Nez Cassé' locomotive family, which was constructed by Alstom between 1976 and 1985. These locomotives have a continuous power rating of 4,040 kW (5,420 hp). In France, the AC version is known as the SNCF Class BB 15000, and the dual-voltage version is called the SNCF Class BB 22200. The NS Class 1600 in the Netherlands is a DC locomotive based on the BB 7200.
Originally intended for passenger service, the BB 7200 locomotives are increasingly being assigned for freight operations, equipped with lower-geared bogies as passenger services transition to locomotive-hauled coaches by TGV services. These locomotives are restricted to operating on the French 1.5 kV DC electrified network, primarily in southeastern France from Paris and further south. As of 2016, 48 BB 7200 locomotives were allocated for freight service, 58 for intercity passenger service, 50 for regional passenger service, and two for auto-train service.
ABOUT THE BB26000 CLASS OF ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE
The SNCF BB 26000 locomotives, manufactured by GEC Alsthom between 1988 and 1998 for SNCF, belong to a class of dual-voltage electric locomotives with four axles and a B'B' configuration. They are capable of reaching a top speed of 200 km/h. These locomotives are commonly referred to as the Sybics.
The design and development of the BB 26000 locomotives aimed to fulfill both freight and passenger roles. They were designed to be able to haul 16 Corail coaches at a speed of 200 km/h on a 0.25% gradient, as well as a 2,050-ton freight train at 80 km/h on a 0.88% gradient.
The locomotives feature a two-cabin design with a steel body and are equipped with two pantographs, one for 1500 V operation and the other for 25 kV operation. The 25 kV AC supply is converted to 1500 V through rectification, and the power electronics are directly fed by a 1500 V supply. The locomotives utilize a thyristor bridge-based three-phase inverter circuit, with the three elements of the circuit connected in parallel. The power supplies per motor are series connected. At speeds below 15 km/h, a voltage-reducing chopper circuit is used for each motor bogie to assist with control. The power electronics of the two motor bogies are connected in parallel and cooled by evaporative cooling using boiling Freon 113.
The locomotives employ monomotor bogies with a primarily helical spring suspension system. The traction motors are three-phase synchronous type, similar to those used in the contemporary TGV Atlantique, but with two three-phase stator windings offset by 30 degrees. The power from the traction motors is transmitted to the wheels through a floating ring vibration isolation element and a hollow shaft drive.
The choice of monomotor bogies was based on the successful performance of previous locomotive classes such as the SNCF BB 22200, SNCF BB 15000, and SNCF BB 7200. The decision to use synchronous motors was driven by factors such as reduced mass, equipment simplicity, and cost-effectiveness. Two locomotives, SNCF BB 20011 and 20012, were specifically used for developing and testing the dual-voltage traction system, microprocessor control systems, auxiliary motors, and braking systems. The industrial design group MBD Design, based in Paris, contributed to the locomotive's design.
SNCF ordered a total of 264 locomotives of this class, but only 234 were eventually built. The last 30 locomotives of the order were constructed as a new triple-voltage design capable of operating on 3 kV DC as well. These locomotives utilized asynchronous electric motors and became known as the SNCF Class BB 36000 (Asytrit).
The BB 26000 locomotives have been deployed in various regions throughout France.
