8440 - the SNCF co-co CC6551 'Maurienne'.
Prototype information:
| At the end
of the 1960's, the requirement for faster locomotives led to the
introduction of the CC6500 series. The design of the prototype locomotive
(nicknamed ' Broken Nose') was attributed to Paul Arzens, the CC6500's are
the most powerful locomotives of the SNCF. Equipped with a speed control
enabling them to run at 100 km/h or 160 km/h, the locomotives of the first sub-class (as modelled by Jouef) are capable of 200 km/h. The CC
6500's were consequently committed to hauling the crack express trains in
the south-west, of which the 'Capitole' running between Paris and Toulouse
was permitted to run at 200 km/h. Until the introduction of the CC6500
this service was entrusted to the BB 9200's.
At the same time the new TEE and Grand-Confort coaches were introduced in the same livery as the CC 6500 which allowed the whole train formation to be in one livery. The locos were also associated with these coaches on the 'Standard' between Paris and Bordeaux and also in south-east where the CC 6500's provided traction for the 'Mistral' to Marseilles. They consequently could be seen across the major part of the south of France on various passenger and freight trains. Genuine mixed traffic locomotives, they were the last locos to be equipped with a purely electro-mechanical control system, which proved its worth with an unequalled reliability even today. |
| Number built: | 78 |
| Operating area : | South East and South West Regions |
|
Number range: |
6501 - 6578 |
| Maximum speed: | 200 km/h (125 mile/h) |
|
Power: |
7480 HP |
| Operating voltage | 1500v DC |
| Length | 20.2m |
|
Weight |
120t |
| Date entered service: | 1969 - 75 |
| Builder | Alsthom, MTE |