Bombardier - TRAXX F140 AC2 / Kombi Verkehr livery

Last crawled date: 1 year, 8 months ago

In May 2004 Bombardier introduced an improved version of the TRAXX locomotive platform as demonstrator loco 185 561. The unit was fundamentally the same as the F140AC machines, with some minor improvements - cabins now had a crumple zone to improve crashworthyness, the previously synthetic ester cooled inverters based on GTO technology were replaced with water cooled inverters with IGBT technology - which is claimed to give an improvement in efficiency. The locomotives are also built to fit the French loading gauge, making them usable for work between France and Germany. The remaining 200 of the 400 freight locomotives ordered for DB Cargo where to be of this type, and the new versions were given the subclass designation DBAG Class 185.2. Since this large order represented the main body of production at Bombardiers Kassel plant, any further private orders for the AC locomotives would be included into the F140AC2 production line - thus the original F140AC type effectively ceased production when the production of DB Cargo's (by then renamed Railion) Class 185.2 began. 185 561 was the first of the TRAXX F140AC2 machines to be produced; it was produced ahead of the main tranche of locomotives for homologation of the class in Germany. Another machine 185 568 was used for tests on the then new HSL-Zuid in 2006, subsequently it was used for tests of the ETCS system. Both were eventually sold for normal use to private operators. #185 #bombardier #cargo #freight #kombi_verkehr #lokomotion #train #traxx