DB Class E 40 - The standard electric loco for freight traffic

DB Class E 40 - Electric Locomotive with a long history of use

The layman knows her as the ‘typical’ old, red locomotive. Widely traveled with her in black and white paint the Brenner Pass. The locomotives of the DB series E 40 series have a long operational history and are among the longest-serving locomotives of Deutsche Bahn. The trains have proven themselves with a starting tractive force of 275 kN and a continuous output of 3,700 kW. With four traction motors, the drive takes place via a rubber ring spring.

From 1957-1973, 879 locomotives were built by Krupp, Henschel, Krauss-Maffei, SSW, BBC and AEG. After Deutsche Bahn began planning the use of a single-unit electric locomotive for freight traffic in 1950, the construction of the DB Class E 40 locomotive began in 1957. For the first time in history, train drivers were to be able to do their work sitting down. The E 40 series comprises 879 units and is thus the most successful of the electric locomotives of Deutsche Bahn. Since the 70s, the electric locomotive Class E 40 was used after a speed upgrade from 100 km / h to 110 km / h and the extension to Wendezugbetrieb and double traction in passenger transport.

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Details of DB Class E 40

Manufacturer mech. part:Krupp, Henschel, Krauss-Maffei
Manufacturer electr. part:SSW, BBC, AEG
Length: 16,490 mm
Numbering: E 40 / 140 001-879
E 40. 11: 31 examples with E-brakes:

E 40 1131-1137
E 40 1163-1166
E 40 1309-1316
E 40 1552-1563
taken from E 40 numbers,
from 1968 designated as EDV series
139;
to this came a further
eighteen locomotives through
conversion from class 110
Weight: 83.0 t
Years of construction: 1957-1973
139: 1959/60, 1964/65
Top speed: 100 km/h, later 110 km/h
Retirement: 1999 - 2016 (DB)
Number: 879
Power: 3700 kW
Propulsion:Rubber ring spring
Traction motors: 4
Power system: 15 kV 16 2/3 Hz AC
Attractive force: 275 kN
Brake: single-release Knorr air brake;
additional brake 139 also electric brakes
Permanent power: 3600 kW
Train protection: PZB, Sifa
Axle formula: Bo'Bo'
Interesting facts
The DB Class E 40 electric locomotive belongs to the Bo'Bo' construction type. The Bo'Bo' type has two individually driven axles in each of two different frame bogies.

More interesting facts

The application area of ​​the DB Class E 40

The field of application of the DB Class E 40 shifted over the decades from Höllental, via Offenburg, Mannheim to Munich, from where it also traveled the route via Austria to the Brenner Pass. Six of them are still used there today. The locomotives of the E40 series, renamed 1968 in E139, are retired since 2004. At present there are still 7 units in operation. However, there are still 95 pieces of the DB Class E 40, 68 have a valid main investigation. They are waiting for special operations and serve as reserve vehicles. Three locomotives can already be found in museums in Neuenmarkt-Wirsberg and Koblenz.