RENFE Class 319 (early versions)
Encyclopedia
The RENFE Class 319 was a class of mainline medium-high powered diesel electric locomotives built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division
and by Macosa
(under license) for the state railways of Spain.
, which was seeking replacements for steam engines. The contract was for the locomotives to be built under license in Spain, but as the diesel locomotive building infrastructure in Spain was not yet developed the first ten locomotives were constructed at GM's locomotive factory in La Grange, Illinois
, USA; these were of an American single cabin design. The American locomotives were Iberian gauge
versions of the General Motors Electromotive type G16
.
The remaining ninety three of the class were built by Macosa under license; though the locomotives contained the same components the arrangement of the components in the Spanish built versions was different, since the Spanish models were built to a two cab design of more European appearance.
The class worked on both freight and passenger trains, until the late 1980s when RENFE decided to replace the class. Some parts of the old locomotives were reused for the new class, named RENFE 319.2 which also used the same GM engine as well as other common parts such as the bogies.
General Motors Electro-Motive Division
Electro-Motive Diesel, Inc., also referred to as "EMD", is a wholly owned subsidiary of Progress Rail Services Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., that designs, manufactures and sells diesel-electric locomotives and diesel power engines worldwide under the Electro-Motive...
and by Macosa
MACOSA
Material y Construcciones S.A. or MACOSA was a Spanish heavy-engineering company, mainly producing products for the rail industry. From 1989 onwards the organisation was named Meinfesa and became part of the GEC-Alstom group of companies, until 2005 when it became part of the Vossloh group as...
(under license) for the state railways of Spain.
Background, history and design
In the mid 1960s General Motors won a contract to supply diesel-electric locomotives to RENFERENFE
Renfe Operadora is the state-owned company which operates freight and passenger trains on the 1668-mm "Iberian gauge" and 1435-mm "European gauge" networks of the Spanish national railway infrastructure company ADIF .- History :The name RENFE is derived from that of the former Spanish National...
, which was seeking replacements for steam engines. The contract was for the locomotives to be built under license in Spain, but as the diesel locomotive building infrastructure in Spain was not yet developed the first ten locomotives were constructed at GM's locomotive factory in La Grange, Illinois
La Grange, Illinois
La Grange, a suburb of Chicago, is a village in Cook County, in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 15,608 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, USA; these were of an American single cabin design. The American locomotives were Iberian gauge
Iberian gauge
Iberian gauge is the name given to the track gauge most extensively used by the railways of Spain and Portugal: namely ....
versions of the General Motors Electromotive type G16
EMD G16
The EMD G16 is a diesel locomotive built by General Motors in the USA and under licence by Clyde Engineering in Australia and MACOSA in Spain. It has been used in Australia, Brazil, Egyptian Railways, Hong Kong, Israel Railways, Spain, Yugoslav Railways and on the successor Croatian Railways,...
.
The remaining ninety three of the class were built by Macosa under license; though the locomotives contained the same components the arrangement of the components in the Spanish built versions was different, since the Spanish models were built to a two cab design of more European appearance.
The class worked on both freight and passenger trains, until the late 1980s when RENFE decided to replace the class. Some parts of the old locomotives were reused for the new class, named RENFE 319.2 which also used the same GM engine as well as other common parts such as the bogies.
Numbering
The spanish built units were numbered 1901 to 1960, 1971 to 1999 and because all the digits of the 1900 class had been expended, 19901 to 19904, the american units were originally numbered 1961 to 1970. Later the class became 319 and the numbers ran from 319.001 to 319.103.See also
- RENFE Class 319 (later versions)RENFE Class 319 (later versions)The RENFE classes 319.2, 319.3 and 319.4 are six axle Co'Co' medium power mainline diesel electric locomotives manufactured by Macosa using General Motors Electromotive division components under license.-Background and design:...
- REFNE Class 321, contemporary locomotives, built to an Alco design
Literature
- Locomotoras Diesel (III) Series 313, 314 y 319 americanas Renfe , Juan Andrés Piñar, Lluís Prieto i Tur , 2000 , ISBN 84-930930-0-9
- Locomotoras Diesel (IV) Tercer concurso en Renfe, las 319 bicabinas , Lluís Prieto i Tur , 2002 , ISBN 84-93-0930-4-1