Hi all,

I have the 37323 set. Could any one explain what the prototypical headlight arrangement should be?


1) Heading locomotive: "A" (3 headlights on) front, and all off at the rear?

2) Rear locomotive: all off front, and single right lower light at rear?

Thank you and greetings from Houston, TX.

Hi Mike,

Do these sometimes operate with a pusher? There must be some amazing strain on the
couplers on these grades?

Jeremy.

Jeremy/All:

Prior to the introduction of the Re 10/10 as a concept, heavy traction on the Gotthard was performed using multiple Ae 6/6 or by one of the few single Ae 8/14 (a double Ae 4/7). On the Loetschberg/Simplon, this would have been done by one of the famous Ae 8/8s of the BLS or by multiple Ae 4/4. The length of a train that could be pulled by any of these locomotives was dependent on the maximum load that the couplers could support on the particular incline of the route.
In order to increase the number of cars that could be pulled by a single train, it was often common to find a train with one or two Ae 6/6 at the front, an additional Ae 6/6 within the first third of the train and in some cases a "pusher" or "banker" lok at the rear of the train. This enabled the transport of the ever longer and heavier trains and train traffic that the then newly formed common market necessitated through Switzerland on the Gotthard route. The older loks (before 1965) required that a driver be present in each lok. The drivers in the intermediate or pusher loks would be in contact with the lead locomotive via radio. The more modern Re 4/4II, Re 4/4III, Re 6/6 and Re 460 are capable of remote operation and can be directly controlled from the leading locomotive.
A single Re 6/6 can pull a 800 ton (optimal) train up the 26/1000 grade. A combined Re 10/10 can pull a 1200 ton train up the same grade. Adding a pusher or intermediate lok can increase the allowable weight up to over 1600 tons. The use of a pusher or intermediate lok decreases the pressure on the couplings ahead of that lok and allows additional weight to be towed behind that lok. The determining factors are the maximum weight that the locomotive can pull (by locomotive type) and the maximum strain (weight) on the couplings.

Regards

Mike C

Hi all,

Here is my Re 10/10 contribution - a photo taken during last summer's "once in a lifetime"
Swiss holiday. I seem to remember Stefan mentioning that it was taken at Liestal.

Jeremy.

Envy mode://on

The Re 10/10 is a unit composed of a coupled Re 6/6 (Re 620) and Re 4/4II (Re 420) or Re 4/4III (Re 430). These units are operated as a single unit and are assigned as such. This means that for the duration of the assignment, the two loks remain coupled together. The Re 10/10 was initially used on the Gotthard beginning in the 1980s. The frequency of these combinations increased over the years.

With the introduction of the Re 460 beginning in 1993, a large number of Re 6/6 and Re 4/4II locomotives were freed up and this allowed the SBB to increase the number of units operated as Re 10/10. This further allowed for the transfer of the Ae 6/6 from most of it's duties on the Gotthard route, which could then take over duties in the flatlands, freeing up even more Re 4/4II. In 1999, the tractive fleet was divided between passenger and cargo divisions. 12 Re 6/6 were assigned to the passenger division. Those Re 6/6 were transferred to the cargo division along with a number of Re 4/4II in exchange for the cargo division's Re 460s in 2003. This resulted in the largest potential number of loks being available for operation as Re 10/10s.

During the period 1984-1995, the SBB loks were modified to include the UIC connectors between the front windows (the little white piece on the front of the 34/37344/34345/37345/37356/29481/29483 Re 4/4II models and the 37321/37322 models). Shortly thereafter, handrails were added to facilitate the access to those connectors. A little earlier, the loks had begun being equipped with new halogen rectangular shaped headlights. It was possible over the years to see quite a variety of combinations in Re 10/10 operation.

The SBB has also used two Re 4/4II to pull some Express trains. Those loks are not operated as a Re 8/8, because at the end of the run, each locomotive goes on to separate duties and a different set may well handle the same operation the next day. The Re 10/10 is not broken up, unless one lok is replaced or both loks are assigned to other duties in a new schedule.

It is possible to see other combinations, say a Re 10/10 plus additional loks. These are not permanent and are separated at the end of the run or when the extra locomotives reach their destination along the way. It is common, for example, in heavier trains, for an intermediate or pusher lok to be detached from the train in Goeschenen as it is no longer needed for the descent on the other side of the tunnel. The lok most likely will return to Erstfeld as a solo, but be attached to a northbound train for additional braking power.

Here is a site with a lot of useful information about SBB and Swiss locomotives (in German):
http://www.lokifahrer.ch/
(Click on Lokomotiven der SBB CFF FFS)

Regards

Mike C

Thanks to Mike C for your reply and all the information in it.

I hope to be in Switzerland in 2012 (although probably only passing through) and my plan is to ride over the Gotthard one more time and see some of these units in action, along with all the more modern traction that now exists.

[My wife wants to visit Rome (neither of us have ever been) and also Venice. The plan is to fly to Rome and spend a few days there but then I have persuaded her to do the return trip by train. (She likes train travel so didn't need much persuasion). We will go Roma - Venezia, spend a day there, then Venezia - Milano - Chiasso - Basel - Paris - London! Sounds fun to me!!]

For those who like these wonderful 'beasts', you may be interested to note that even in 2012 it is still possible to see all-green Re10/10's in service.

This clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD0JdxaCMEk was taken on 18 February 2012 and you can see the all-green Re10/10 at Erstfeld from 9mins 10 seconds. Unfortunately the light is poor so it is not possible to make out the actual loco numbers.