NSB Di 3
Encyclopedia
NSB Di 3 is a class of 35 diesel-electric locomotive
s built by Nydqvist och Holm
(NOHAB) for the Norwegian State Railways (NSB). The class was built between 1954 and 1969, and delivered in two series, Di 3a and Di 3b. They are based on the Electro-Motive Division F7
and are equipped with EMD 567
engines. They have a distinct bulldog nose
and were numbered 602–633 (a-series) and 641–643 (b-series). The locomotives had a prime mover that gives a power output of 1305 kW. The a-series has a Co'Co' wheel arrangement, while the b-series has (A1A)'(A1A)'. The b-series has higher top speed, but lower tractive effort.
The class was the dominant locomotive on NSB's unelectrified lines. It was ordered as part of the company's dieselization of services during the 1950s and 1960s, and was initially used on the three mainline route of the Bergen, Dovre and Nordland Lines. During the 1960s, the Bergen and Dovre Lines were electrified
, and the Di 3 units transferred to smaller lines, such as the Meråker, Valdres, Røros, Solør and Rauma Lines. They remained in service with NSB until 2001, five years later than planned due to NSB returning their successor, the Di 6
. The units are still in use by the private operator Ofotbanen, the Kosovo Railways
, an operator in Sicily
and the Norwegian Railway Museum. The class is similar to the DSB Class MY
and MÁV M61.
unit delivered in 1942. It was more cost-efficient that the steam locomotives used on the non-electrified lines, and in 1945, NSB decided that it would not order more steam locomotives. General Motors
' Electro Motive Division (EMD) made a bid to deliver twelve units based on their F7, and NSB agreed to lease a single unit for trial. The body and mechanical components were built by NOHAB, the motors by ASEA
and prime mover by EMD. While under production in 1954, GM shipped a G12
for trial in Norway and Sweden. It was tested on the express train on the Dovre Line on 7 August, but proved to have insufficient power, causing the train to be 20 minutes late.
The trial unit from NOHAB was delivered on 17 September 1954. The first test runs in scheduled service were on the Nordland Line between Trondheim
and Mo i Rana
in October. There were not technical faults until 22 December, when a grounding error caused the locomotive to be grounded until 17 January. In March, the unit was sent back to NOHAB and went on a marketing tour that would eventually reach Ankara
, Turkey in 1955.
The locomotive returned to Norway on 1 July 1955, where it was numbered 602 and put into service on the Nordland Line. The trials were successful, with much higher regularity than the steam locomotives. The Di 3 was used eight days in a row, and then spent a single day in the depot. NSB signed an agreement with NOHAB for delivery of five additional locomotives. This caused a public debate, because the domestic supplier Thune
had offered to build a similar locomotive in cooperation with American Locomotive Company
. The first delivery was made on 25 April 1957, and the order completed by July. In March 1957, NSB received permission to purchase additional eight locomotives. Delivery started in October and was completed on 1 June 1958. The order was supplemented with another six trains, with delivery in 1958.
The Finnish State Railways
(VR) ordered five units in 1959, but these had to be canceled due to political reasons. The units were offered to NSB for a reduced price. Three were designated Di 3b because they had a slight specification variation, with a (A1A)'(A1A)' wheel arrangement and higher top speed. Two units had come short enough in the production process that they could be given the same specifications as the other Di 3a units, but received a slightly longer body. The Di 3b were given the numbers 641–643. During parts of 1960, no. 623 was leased by NOHAB and sent on a demonstration tour in Eastern Europe. This resulted in an order from the Hungarian State Railways
, where it became the MAV M61. The Røros Line was upgraded and the Bergen Line units transferred to Trondheim in 1960, but increased need for hauling forced NSB to not use the units on the Røros Line until the delivery of the next batch of six units in 1965. The final delivery, of four units, was made in 1969.
The initial use for the Di 3 was to operate the three non-electrified long-distance lines of NSB: the Bergen Line, the Dovre Line and the Nordland Line. Following the delivery of the first batch in 1957, they were from 2 June used on the Dovre Line, north of Otta
to Trondheim, and further north along the Nordland Line to Mo i Rana. The stock was sufficient to replace all steam locomotives on the Nordland Line, and reduced travel time by one hour. From Hamar to Otta, the track did not have sufficient permitted axle load. From the second batch of eight units, five were put into service on the Bergen Line, the rest on the Dovre and Nordland Lines. Necessary upgrades of the permitted axle load had been made to the Dovre Line and Nordland Line, and the locomotives were in use from Hamar
to Saltdal
. On 30 November, the Nordland Line was completed to Fauske
, and the full length operated with Di 3.
The first section of the Bergen Line, the Gjøvik Line and the Roa–Hønefoss Line, was electrified in February 1961. This allowed diesel and electric locomotives to haul all trains from Oslo
to Bergen
. In 1962, the Nordland Line was completed to Bodø
, but the increased need for locomotives was more than compensated by the electrification of the Bergen Line being extended to Ål
. The first Di 3 ran on the Røros Line in 1964, that had previously been denied due to bridges with insufficient axle load permits. In 1965, the Bergen Line was electrified, and all but one Di 3 was transferred to Trondheim. A single unit, usually no. 610, was stationed at Finse Station
as a snowplow. Along with additional deliveries, there were sufficient Di 3 units to terminate most steam operations.
After the Bergen Line was electrified, the work continued on the Dovre Line. The section from Hamar to Otta was finished in 1967, and the following year to Dombås
. This allowed the locomotives to be transferred to secondary lines. With the final delivery of the last units in 1969 and the completion of the electrification of the Dovre Line in 1970, the final steam locomotive was taken out of service. During the last half of the 1960s, the Di 3 was put into service on the Rauma Line, the Røros Line, the Solør Line, the Valdres Line and the Meråker Line.
In November 1970, the Dovre Line was electrified, and the last steam locomotives were retired. A long-term plan to electrify half the lines was finished, and for two decades, NSB's operations were very stable with no major investments to infrastructure or closing of lines. NSB had slightly less diesel locomotives than they needed, but plans to order additional Di 3 was never fulfilled. In 1981, NSB took delivery of five Di 4
to supplement the older units. They were mainly used on the Nordland Line, and Di 3 units were predominantly used on the other lines, although they continued to operate som trains on the Nordland Line. On 1 April 1987, a Di 3 612 caught on fire; the damage was small enough that it could have been repaired, but NSB instead decided to put aside the unit. At the time NSB planned to order additional Di 4, but these plans were put on hold. In 1988, the Valdres Line was closed; this was the only time a line with Di 3 in regular service was closed.
During the 1980s, NSB started leasing SJ T44
-locomotives from Sweden to supplement the Di 3. In 1992, the decision was made to order 12 Di 6
and 20 Di 8
to replace the Di 3. The former was based on the Di 4 and had twice the power of the Di 3. The Di 8 was slightly more powerful than the Di 3, and were intended for freight trains. Both series were put into service in 1996, but the Di 6 proved to have so many technical problems that they were returned to Siemens
in 1998. The Di 3 units had been set aside and some had been scrapped, but the return of the Di 6 forced NSB to put the units back into service.
During the mid-1990s, NSB had initiated a program to replace the traditional locomotive and carriage trains with new, tilting multiple units. This had led to the order of sixteen Class 73
four-car units for the three mainline routes on the Bergen Line, Dovre Line and Sørland Line. To supplement this, the board of NSB decided on 14 November 1996 to purchase seven tilting diesel multiple units for the Røros and Rauma Lines. The choice fell on Class 93, with fifteen units eventually delivered. This allowed all passenger trains on diselized lines to either be operated with Class 93 be hauled by the Di 4. The last Di 3-hauled train ran on 7 January 2001.
Four units (619, 633, 641 and 643) were sold to the United Nations
and was put into service in Kosovo, in what has since become the Kosovo Railways
. Four units (622, 626, 630 and 631) were sold to an operator in Sicily
, Italy. The Norwegian National Rail Administration bought one unit (628) for maintenance, and has painted it yellow. The Norwegian Railway Museum in Hamar has preserved three units, of which two (602 and 616) were operated by GM-Gruppen
and one (615) is kept for spare parts. NSB has kept one unit as reserve at Ål Station
. The remaining units have been scrapped, put aside or sold as spare part units.
The Di 3 was built by Nydquist och Holm of Trollhätten, Sweden, as part of a series of GM EMD AA16 locomotives in Europe. They are technically similar to the DSB Class MY of Denmark and the MAV M61 of Hungary. The locomotives are powered by a sixteen-cylinder EMD 16.567
C or E engine that has a power output of 1305 kW at 835 revolutions per minute (rpm). The engines power a EMD D32 or D12 generator that feeds six ASEA
LJB76 or LJB84 motors on a Di 3a. The Di 3b is equipped with four EMD D40 or D77B motors. This gives a tractive effort of 265 kilonewtons (265,000 N) for the a-series and 176.5 kilonewtons (176,500 N) for the b-series. The motors have a power output of 1100 kW. The maximum speed is 105 kilometres per hour (65.2 mph) for the a-series and 143 kilometres per hour (88.9 mph) for the b-series.
The steel bodies are 18.6 or long. The longer length is for the three b-series units and the two a-series locomotives that were made in the batch, originally intended for VR. The a-series has a Co'Co' wheel arrangement, while the b-series has a (A1A)'(A1A)' arrangement, where the center of the three axle
s on each bogie
is unpowered. The wheels have a 1016 millimetre wheel diameter and the locomotives have a weight of 102 tonnes (100.4 LT) for the a-series and 103 tonnes (101.4 LT) for the b-series. The trains can be run in multiple with the Di 4, Di 6 and Di 8. All the Di 3 engines featured a bulldog nose, the only locomotive type in Norway to do so. The locomotives were at first delivered in a dark green livery
, but during the 1960s this was changed to red, and the last delivered units never had a green scheme.
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
s built by Nydqvist och Holm
NOHAB
NOHAB was a manufacturing company in the city of Trollhättan, Sweden.The company was founded by Antenor Nydqvist, Johan Magnus Lidström and Carl Olof Holm in 1847 as Trollhättans Mekaniska Verkstad as a manufacturer of turbines for hydraulic power plants...
(NOHAB) for the Norwegian State Railways (NSB). The class was built between 1954 and 1969, and delivered in two series, Di 3a and Di 3b. They are based on the Electro-Motive Division F7
EMD F7
The EMD F7 was a Diesel-electric locomotive produced between February 1949 and December 1953 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors and General Motors Diesel . It succeeded the F3 model in GM-EMD's F-unit sequence, and was replaced in turn by the F9. Final assembly was at GM-EMD's La...
and are equipped with EMD 567
EMD 567
The EMD 567 is a line of diesel engines built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. This engine, which succeeded Winton's 201-A, was used in EMD's locomotives from 1938 until its replacement in 1966 by the EMD 645. It has a bore of , a stroke of and a displacement of 567 in³ per cylinder...
engines. They have a distinct bulldog nose
Bulldog nose
"Bulldog nose" is the nickname given, due to their appearance, to several diesel locomotives manufactured by GM-EMD and its licencees from 1939 to 1970...
and were numbered 602–633 (a-series) and 641–643 (b-series). The locomotives had a prime mover that gives a power output of 1305 kW. The a-series has a Co'Co' wheel arrangement, while the b-series has (A1A)'(A1A)'. The b-series has higher top speed, but lower tractive effort.
The class was the dominant locomotive on NSB's unelectrified lines. It was ordered as part of the company's dieselization of services during the 1950s and 1960s, and was initially used on the three mainline route of the Bergen, Dovre and Nordland Lines. During the 1960s, the Bergen and Dovre Lines were electrified
Railway electrification system
A railway electrification system supplies electrical energy to railway locomotives and multiple units as well as trams so that they can operate without having an on-board prime mover. There are several different electrification systems in use throughout the world...
, and the Di 3 units transferred to smaller lines, such as the Meråker, Valdres, Røros, Solør and Rauma Lines. They remained in service with NSB until 2001, five years later than planned due to NSB returning their successor, the Di 6
NSB Di 6
NSB Di 6 is a class of twelve diesel-electric locomotives built by Siemens for the Norwegian State Railways from 1995 to 1996. Twelve engines were built at the MaK plant in Kiel whilst it was part of Siemens Schienenfahrzeugtechnik, and numbered Di 6-661 to 6-672.-Construction:During the late...
. The units are still in use by the private operator Ofotbanen, the Kosovo Railways
Kosovo Railways
Kosovo Railways J.S.C is the railway carrier of Kosovo. It was originally formed as the UNMIK Railways from the lines of the former Yugoslav Railways that lie on Kosovo territory, and is owned by the state.- History :...
, an operator in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
and the Norwegian Railway Museum. The class is similar to the DSB Class MY
DSB class MY
The class MY is a series of diesel-electric locomotives built in the years 1954–1965 by NOHAB. A total of 59 units, numbered 1101–1159, were delivered to the Danish State Railways...
and MÁV M61.
Construction
The first diesel locomotive used by NSB was a single Di 1NSB Di 1
NSB Di 1 was the first diesel-electric locomotive used by the Norwegian State Railways . The engine was used on the Bergen Line, Dovre Line, Kongsvinger Line and Gjøvik Line...
unit delivered in 1942. It was more cost-efficient that the steam locomotives used on the non-electrified lines, and in 1945, NSB decided that it would not order more steam locomotives. General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
' Electro Motive Division (EMD) made a bid to deliver twelve units based on their F7, and NSB agreed to lease a single unit for trial. The body and mechanical components were built by NOHAB, the motors by ASEA
ASEA
Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget was a Swedish industry company. It merged with the Swiss Brown, Boveri & Cie in 1988 to form Asea Brown Boveri...
and prime mover by EMD. While under production in 1954, GM shipped a G12
EMD G12
The EMD G12 was a class of locomotive built by GM-EMD, and its Canadian affiliate General Motors Diesel. In addition, Australian licensee Clyde Engineering built ten locomotives for New Zealand in 1957, five for Hong Kong, 23 for Queensland, 14 for Western Australia and seven for BHP. Australian...
for trial in Norway and Sweden. It was tested on the express train on the Dovre Line on 7 August, but proved to have insufficient power, causing the train to be 20 minutes late.
The trial unit from NOHAB was delivered on 17 September 1954. The first test runs in scheduled service were on the Nordland Line between Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
and Mo i Rana
Mo i Rana
Mo i Rana is a town in the municipality of Rana, Nordland, Norway, located just south of the Arctic Circle and in the region Helgeland. The town is called "Mo i Rana" to distinquish it from other places named Mo - most notably the town of Mosjøen, also in Helgeland - though locally the town is...
in October. There were not technical faults until 22 December, when a grounding error caused the locomotive to be grounded until 17 January. In March, the unit was sent back to NOHAB and went on a marketing tour that would eventually reach Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, Turkey in 1955.
Thune
Thunes Mekaniske Værksted A/S, Thune for short, was a Norwegian manufacturing company that among other things built locomotives. The production facilities were last located at Skøyen.-History:...
had offered to build a similar locomotive in cooperation with American Locomotive Company
American Locomotive Company
The American Locomotive Company, often shortened to ALCO or Alco , was a builder of railroad locomotives in the United States.-Early history:...
. The first delivery was made on 25 April 1957, and the order completed by July. In March 1957, NSB received permission to purchase additional eight locomotives. Delivery started in October and was completed on 1 June 1958. The order was supplemented with another six trains, with delivery in 1958.
The Finnish State Railways
VR Group
VR or VR Group is a state-owned railway company in Finland. Formerly known as Suomen Valtion Rautatiet until 1922 and Valtionrautatiet / Statsjärnvägarna until 1995...
(VR) ordered five units in 1959, but these had to be canceled due to political reasons. The units were offered to NSB for a reduced price. Three were designated Di 3b because they had a slight specification variation, with a (A1A)'(A1A)' wheel arrangement and higher top speed. Two units had come short enough in the production process that they could be given the same specifications as the other Di 3a units, but received a slightly longer body. The Di 3b were given the numbers 641–643. During parts of 1960, no. 623 was leased by NOHAB and sent on a demonstration tour in Eastern Europe. This resulted in an order from the Hungarian State Railways
Hungarian State Railways
Hungarian State Railways is the Hungarian national railway company, with divisions "MÁV Start Zrt" and "MÁV Cargo Zrt" ....
, where it became the MAV M61. The Røros Line was upgraded and the Bergen Line units transferred to Trondheim in 1960, but increased need for hauling forced NSB to not use the units on the Røros Line until the delivery of the next batch of six units in 1965. The final delivery, of four units, was made in 1969.
Operation
Otta, Norway
is a town in the municipality of Sel in the county of Oppland in Norway. It has about 2,750 inhabitants. The Otta river joins the Gudbrandsdalslågen river at Otta. Next to Otta lies the massive Rondane, which became the first national park in Norway in 1962, and which has several mountains over...
to Trondheim, and further north along the Nordland Line to Mo i Rana. The stock was sufficient to replace all steam locomotives on the Nordland Line, and reduced travel time by one hour. From Hamar to Otta, the track did not have sufficient permitted axle load. From the second batch of eight units, five were put into service on the Bergen Line, the rest on the Dovre and Nordland Lines. Necessary upgrades of the permitted axle load had been made to the Dovre Line and Nordland Line, and the locomotives were in use from Hamar
Hamar
is a town and municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hamar. The municipality of Hamar was separated from Vang as a town and municipality of its own in 1849...
to Saltdal
Saltdal
-Transportation:European route E6 passes through the entire length of Saltdal, with the Nordlandsbanen railway running alongside it. A road running east through the Junkerdalen valley leads to Sweden. The nearest main airport is in Bodø, a nearly two hour drive from Rognan.- Economy :Saltdal has a...
. On 30 November, the Nordland Line was completed to Fauske
Fauske
is a town and municipality located in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Fauske with approximately 6,000 inhabitants....
, and the full length operated with Di 3.
The first section of the Bergen Line, the Gjøvik Line and the Roa–Hønefoss Line, was electrified in February 1961. This allowed diesel and electric locomotives to haul all trains from Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
to Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
. In 1962, the Nordland Line was completed to Bodø
Bodø
is a city and a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten region.The city of Bodø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Bodin was merged with Bodø on 1 January 1968. Skjerstad was merged with Bodø on 1 January 2005...
, but the increased need for locomotives was more than compensated by the electrification of the Bergen Line being extended to Ål
Ål
Ål is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hallingdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Ål....
. The first Di 3 ran on the Røros Line in 1964, that had previously been denied due to bridges with insufficient axle load permits. In 1965, the Bergen Line was electrified, and all but one Di 3 was transferred to Trondheim. A single unit, usually no. 610, was stationed at Finse Station
Finse Station
Finse Station is a railway station located at Finse in Ulvik, Norway. The station is served by up to seven daily express trains in each direction, normally three per day and one overnight trains, all operated by the Norwegian State Railways. The station also features a navvy museum, dedicated to...
as a snowplow. Along with additional deliveries, there were sufficient Di 3 units to terminate most steam operations.
After the Bergen Line was electrified, the work continued on the Dovre Line. The section from Hamar to Otta was finished in 1967, and the following year to Dombås
Dombås
The village of lies in the Dovre municipality and serves as an administrative center in the upper Gudbrandsdal, Norway. It lies at an important junction of roads: south leading to the current capital of Norway, Oslo, west via Lesja leading to Åndalsnes on the sea and north to the old capital,...
. This allowed the locomotives to be transferred to secondary lines. With the final delivery of the last units in 1969 and the completion of the electrification of the Dovre Line in 1970, the final steam locomotive was taken out of service. During the last half of the 1960s, the Di 3 was put into service on the Rauma Line, the Røros Line, the Solør Line, the Valdres Line and the Meråker Line.
In November 1970, the Dovre Line was electrified, and the last steam locomotives were retired. A long-term plan to electrify half the lines was finished, and for two decades, NSB's operations were very stable with no major investments to infrastructure or closing of lines. NSB had slightly less diesel locomotives than they needed, but plans to order additional Di 3 was never fulfilled. In 1981, NSB took delivery of five Di 4
NSB Di 4
The NSB Di 4 is a diesel-electric locomotive used by Norwegian NSB railways to haul passenger trains on stretches which are not electrified. They are used mostly on Nordlandsbanen, since the other unelectrified stretches are usually served by diesel multiple units.The five Di 4s which were built...
to supplement the older units. They were mainly used on the Nordland Line, and Di 3 units were predominantly used on the other lines, although they continued to operate som trains on the Nordland Line. On 1 April 1987, a Di 3 612 caught on fire; the damage was small enough that it could have been repaired, but NSB instead decided to put aside the unit. At the time NSB planned to order additional Di 4, but these plans were put on hold. In 1988, the Valdres Line was closed; this was the only time a line with Di 3 in regular service was closed.
During the 1980s, NSB started leasing SJ T44
SJ T44
T44 is a Swedish diesel-electric locomotive built by Nyquist & Holm and Kalmar Verkstad in 123 units between 1968 and 1987. It was the successor of T43, and used both for hauling and shunting. It is the most common diesel locomotive in Sweden, with state-owned Green Cargo as the largest operator...
-locomotives from Sweden to supplement the Di 3. In 1992, the decision was made to order 12 Di 6
NSB Di 6
NSB Di 6 is a class of twelve diesel-electric locomotives built by Siemens for the Norwegian State Railways from 1995 to 1996. Twelve engines were built at the MaK plant in Kiel whilst it was part of Siemens Schienenfahrzeugtechnik, and numbered Di 6-661 to 6-672.-Construction:During the late...
and 20 Di 8
NSB Di 8
The NSB Di 8 is a class of diesel electric locomotives used by Norwegian railway company CargoNet for freight use.20 engines were built between 1996 and 1997 at the Maschinenbau Kiel plant in Kiel whilst it was part of Siemens Schienenfahrzeugtechnik...
to replace the Di 3. The former was based on the Di 4 and had twice the power of the Di 3. The Di 8 was slightly more powerful than the Di 3, and were intended for freight trains. Both series were put into service in 1996, but the Di 6 proved to have so many technical problems that they were returned to Siemens
Siemens AG
Siemens AG is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich, Germany. It is the largest Europe-based electronics and electrical engineering company....
in 1998. The Di 3 units had been set aside and some had been scrapped, but the return of the Di 6 forced NSB to put the units back into service.
During the mid-1990s, NSB had initiated a program to replace the traditional locomotive and carriage trains with new, tilting multiple units. This had led to the order of sixteen Class 73
NSB Class 73
NSB Class 73 is a class of 22 electric multiple units built by Adtranz for the Norwegian State Railways. The four-car trains were modifications of Class 71, which was again based on the Swedish X2. The A-series consists of 16 intercity trains; they were delivered in 1999 and 2000 and are used on...
four-car units for the three mainline routes on the Bergen Line, Dovre Line and Sørland Line. To supplement this, the board of NSB decided on 14 November 1996 to purchase seven tilting diesel multiple units for the Røros and Rauma Lines. The choice fell on Class 93, with fifteen units eventually delivered. This allowed all passenger trains on diselized lines to either be operated with Class 93 be hauled by the Di 4. The last Di 3-hauled train ran on 7 January 2001.
Post-NSB
With the delivery of Class 93, NSB started to retire or sell the Di 3. In November 2001, five units were sold for NOK 250,000 each—well under market price—to the new private operator Ofotbanen. The purchase raised controversy, because the potential operator Banetransport had offered full market price for the trains. One year after delivery, six of eleven Class 93-locomotives were out of order. To solve the problem, NSB had to rent back used Di 3 locomotives from Ofotbanen. NSB had chosen to sell the old locomotives for less than market price, but Ofotbanen demanded that NSB pay the entire purchase price for the short-term rental back.Four units (619, 633, 641 and 643) were sold to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and was put into service in Kosovo, in what has since become the Kosovo Railways
Kosovo Railways
Kosovo Railways J.S.C is the railway carrier of Kosovo. It was originally formed as the UNMIK Railways from the lines of the former Yugoslav Railways that lie on Kosovo territory, and is owned by the state.- History :...
. Four units (622, 626, 630 and 631) were sold to an operator in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, Italy. The Norwegian National Rail Administration bought one unit (628) for maintenance, and has painted it yellow. The Norwegian Railway Museum in Hamar has preserved three units, of which two (602 and 616) were operated by GM-Gruppen
GM-Gruppen
GM-Gruppen is a Norwegian heritage railway society that restores and operates Scandinavian operated diesel locomotives from General Motors Electro-Motive Division...
and one (615) is kept for spare parts. NSB has kept one unit as reserve at Ål Station
Ål Station
Ål Station is a railway station located at Ål, Norway. The station is served by up to six daily express trains operated by Norwegian State Railways. The station was opened as part of the Bergen Line between Bergen and Gulsvik in 1907....
. The remaining units have been scrapped, put aside or sold as spare part units.
Specifications
EMD 567
The EMD 567 is a line of diesel engines built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. This engine, which succeeded Winton's 201-A, was used in EMD's locomotives from 1938 until its replacement in 1966 by the EMD 645. It has a bore of , a stroke of and a displacement of 567 in³ per cylinder...
C or E engine that has a power output of 1305 kW at 835 revolutions per minute (rpm). The engines power a EMD D32 or D12 generator that feeds six ASEA
ASEA
Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget was a Swedish industry company. It merged with the Swiss Brown, Boveri & Cie in 1988 to form Asea Brown Boveri...
LJB76 or LJB84 motors on a Di 3a. The Di 3b is equipped with four EMD D40 or D77B motors. This gives a tractive effort of 265 kilonewtons (265,000 N) for the a-series and 176.5 kilonewtons (176,500 N) for the b-series. The motors have a power output of 1100 kW. The maximum speed is 105 kilometres per hour (65.2 mph) for the a-series and 143 kilometres per hour (88.9 mph) for the b-series.
The steel bodies are 18.6 or long. The longer length is for the three b-series units and the two a-series locomotives that were made in the batch, originally intended for VR. The a-series has a Co'Co' wheel arrangement, while the b-series has a (A1A)'(A1A)' arrangement, where the center of the three axle
Axle
An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to its surroundings, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle...
s on each bogie
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
is unpowered. The wheels have a 1016 millimetre wheel diameter and the locomotives have a weight of 102 tonnes (100.4 LT) for the a-series and 103 tonnes (101.4 LT) for the b-series. The trains can be run in multiple with the Di 4, Di 6 and Di 8. All the Di 3 engines featured a bulldog nose, the only locomotive type in Norway to do so. The locomotives were at first delivered in a dark green livery
Livery
A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in...
, but during the 1960s this was changed to red, and the last delivered units never had a green scheme.