The New Electric Locomotive Type Re 4/4II of the Swiss Federal Railways and the Problems Related to the Development of Its Mechanical Part

Some three years ago, the Swiss Federal Railways introduced the prototype of a very efficient, high-power electric locomotive type Re 4/4II of the wheel arrangement Bo′Bo′. The locomotive weighs 80 tons overall and has a 1-hr rating of 6340 hp, and it had to be especially designed for small lateral forces between wheel and rail and good adhesion properties. In the first part of the paper, the basic theoretical problems related to the development of the mechanical part of the locomotive are outlined. The technical solutions of the various mechanical problems are described in the second part of the paper, which concludes with a few remarks on the numerous tests carried out with the completed locomotive.