FS Class E.636

The E.636 was an Italian electric mixed-traffic locomotive for the 3 kV direct current lines of the Italian State Railways, designed by Alfredo d'Arbela and built in three series between 1940 and 1962. It had three two-axle bogies under a body split into two articulated halves, which suited lines with tight curves and steep gradients. Many builders took part, Ansaldo among them, and the total of 469 made it the most numerous electric locomotive class of the FS. Power was 2,100 kilowatts for a top speed of 105 km/h, later raised to 110 km/h, with a few units geared for 120 km/h passenger work. In the 1990s the class moved mainly to freight, and about 200 were rebuilt after a fatal accident in 1996 showed that the cabs gave the driver no safety in a crash. All were withdrawn in May 2006 and eleven were preserved.