Crocodile (locomotive)

A prototype locomotive, SBB-CFF-FFS Ce 6/8 I number 14201, was ordered in June 1917. The production "Crocodiles" were the series SBB Ce 6/8 II and SBB Ce 6/8 III locomotives of the SBB, Swiss Federal Railways, built between 1919 and 1927. There were 33 class Ce 6/8 II and 18 class Ce 6/8 III, making a total (excluding the prototype) of 51 locomotives. These locomotives were developed for pulling heavy goods trains on the steep tracks of the Gotthardbahn from Lucerne to Chiasso, including the Gotthard Tunnel.

The electric motors available at the time were large and had to be body-mounted above the plane of the axles, but flexibility was required to negotiate the tight curves on the Alpine routes and tunnels. An articulated design, with two powered nose units bridged with a pivoting center section containing cabs and the heavy transformer, met both requirements and gave excellent visibility from driving cabs mounted safely away from any collision. The two motors in each nose unit were geared to a jackshaft between the drive axles farthest from the cab (SBB Ce 6/8 II) or farthest from the end (SBB Ce 6/8 III), with side rods carrying the power to the drivers. These locomotives, sometimes called the "Swiss Crocodile" or "SBB Crocodile", were highly successful and served until 1982.[3] The German model railway manufacturer Märklin published a book about their history in 1984.[4] Nine out of 51 total produced have survived, but only three are still in operation as preserved historical locomotives in Switzerland.[3]

Between 1942 and 1947, thirteen members of class Ce 6/8 II were upgraded with more powerful motors, to allow a higher top speed, and these became class Be 6/8 II. This required raising the jackshaft above the plane of the axles, necessitating a more complex system of side rods. In 1956, all eighteen members of class Ce 6/8 III were upgraded and became class Be 6/8 III.[5]

Rhaetian Crocodile in Bergün

As well as standard gauge Crocodiles, there are also narrow gauge versions. The best known are the Rhaetian Railway (RhB)'s metre gauge locomotives of class Ge 6/6 I, the Rhaetian Crocodile. Several of these still run on passenger trains on special occasions. They are also used on freight trains in busy periods. The Bernina Railway (later merged with the RhB) also built a single Crocodile type, the Ge 4/4, nicknamed the "Bernina Crocodile". This locomotive survives and was restored to operating condition by the CLUB 1889 preservation group during 2000-2010.

Two other Swiss narrow-gauge railways also have locomotives nicknamed Crocodiles; the BVZ Zermatt-Bahn (BVZ) (which merged with the Furka Oberalp Bahn (FO) in 2003 to form the Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn) uses series HGe 4/4 I, known as the Zermatt crocodile, while the Chemin de Fer Yverdon-Ste. Croix owns a solitary class Ge 4/4 #21. Neither of these locomotive types have an articulated body, which leads some railfans to nickname them "false crocodiles".

Very similar locomotives were used in Austria as Austrian Federal Railways (Österreichische Bundesbahn) classes ÖBB 1089 and ÖBB 1189, and are often known as "Austrian Crocodiles".

The French SNCF 25 kV AC locomotives of classes CC 14000 and CC 14100, used mainly for iron ore trains on the Valenciennes-Thionville line, have sometimes been called "crocodiles", although more commonly "flatirons". They are different from the Swiss crocodiles in that they are not articulated, but are a single long steeplecab or 'monocabine' with a bogie beneath each end.

The German classes E 93 and E 94, also used by the ÖBB as series 1020, are sometimes called "German crocodiles". They are sometimes nicknamed "Alligators", instead, because of their broader, shorter snouts.

Crocodile locomotives were also used in India. These locomotives, of series WCG-1, were used from 1928 between Bombay and Pune, and were all built to the Indian broad gauge of 5 ft 6 in (1676 mm). The first 10 locomotives were built by Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works. Vulcan Foundry of Great Britain constructed a further 31 examples for this line.[6][7]

Ten locomotives similar to the ones operated in Switzerland and Austria were known as cocodrilo (Spanish for 'crocodile'). They were operated by Ferrocarriles Vascongados and its successor companies from 1928 to 1999.[8]