SNCF Class CC 6500
| Company type | Electric locomotive |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Defunct | 2007 |
| Headquarters | France |
| Products | Electric locomotives |
The SNCF Class CC 6500 represents a fleet of 1.5 kV DC electric locomotives, belonging to the initial generation of the 'Nez Cassé' series, alongside the and diesel-powered CC 72000. Engineered for high-speed express services up to , these locomotives were also utilized for hauling substantial freight loads. Early in their service, they operated premier routes including SNCF's Le Mistral and notable Trans Europ Express trains such as Aquitaine, Le Capitole, and l'Étendard.
Technical details
Equipped with 3-axle monomotor bogies, each trio of axles was mechanically linked through gears. The speed control system relied on rheostats combined with series-parallel control. Their motors featured dual armatures, effectively forming four "demi-motors" that could be arranged in three configurations: full series, series-parallel, and full parallel. The power controller incorporated 28 discrete steps.
In the second production series, locomotives were fitted with third-rail current collectors to operate on the steep gradients of the Maurienne line in the Alps; these collectors were subsequently removed following the conversion of the route to overhead catenary electrification.
Production
A total of 74 units were manufactured between 1969 and 1976, with the final unit withdrawn from service in 2007. Additionally, four dual-voltage 1.5 kV DC/25 kV AC locomotives from the Class CC 21000 were converted to operate solely on DC power between 1995 and 1996, thereby expanding the CC 6500 class fleet to 78 locomotives.
Names
Nearly half of these locomotives were assigned names, predominantly derived from French towns. Among them, CC 6572 honors the World War II railway workers' resistance group known as Résistance-Fer.
CC 6521 |Saintes| CC 6569 |La Mulatière| CC 6522 |Limoges| CC 6570 |Armentières| CC 6523 |Brive| CC 6571 |Jeumont| CC 6524 |Toulouse| CC 6572 |Résistance-Fer| CC 6525 |Châteauroux| CC 6574 |Dole, Jura|| Number | Name | Number | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| CC 6502 | Ivry-sur-Seine | CC 6526 | Choisy-le-Roi |
| CC 6504 | Vitry-sur-Seine | CC 6527 | Amboise |
| CC 6505 | Sainte-Foy-la-Grande | CC 6529 | Issoudun |
| CC 6508 | Montauban | CC 6530 | Cahors |
| CC 6509 | Agen | CC 6531 | Saint-Pierre-des-Corps |
| CC 6510 | Carcassonne | CC 6533 | Beautiran |
| CC 6512 | Narbonne | CC 6534 | Béziers |
| CC 6513 | Cognac | CC 6535 | Saint-Chamond |
| CC 6514 | Poitiers | CC 6536 | Annecy |
| CC 6515 | Blois | CC 6537 | Salon-de-Provence |
| CC 6516 | Châtellerault | CC 6560 | Oullins |
| CC 6517 | Arcachon | CC 6563 | Laval |
| CC 6518 | Orléans | CC 6564 | Beaune |
| CC 6519 | Angoulème | CC 6566 |
Maubeuge | |
| CC 6520 |