Alstom Prima diesel locomotives
A Syrian Railways Prima DE 32 AC
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| Type and origin | |
|---|---|
| Power type | Diesel |
| Builder |
Alstom with engine from EMD or Ruston Except BB 47500: Alstom / Siemens with engine from MTU |
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Transmission | Diesel electric |
The Prima Diesel-electric locomotives are a class of medium and heavy, four- and six-axle, passenger and freight mainline locomotives. They have been built both to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard and 1,668 mm (5 ft 5 21⁄32 in) broad gauges, and find use in the Middle East, Europe and North America. Alstom is the primary designer in cooperation with both General Motors (now EMD) and Siemens.
Initially the Prima locomotives were electric only, with the technology demonstrator and test platform being built in 2002 in Belfort France by Alstom. Next came the Prima 6000 technology demonstrator; this too was an electric locomotive, with 6000 kW of power and primarily intended to test and demonstrate multi-voltage operations for European cross-border operations. Orders for the Prima electrics came, mostly from SNCF.
A series of diesel locomotives also associated with the Prima name were also built. These were the General Motors (GM)-engined machines built by Alstom at its Spanish plant in Valencia, and Ruston-engined locomotives built in Belfort, France.
The Valencia plant was sold to Vossloh in 2004. Locomotives continued to be built there using EMD engines and electrical transmission systems - including almost total rebuilds of the RENFE 333 class. Vossloh changed the names of the products produced there to the "Vossloh Euro" platform (see Vossloh Euro locomotives) and the end came of the association of the Valencia plant with the Prima name.
Also produced in the 1990s were Prima diesels countries outside Europe. The DE32C was produced for Chemins de Fer Syriens in Syria, and Sri Lanka received 10 locomotives which it designated M9 class. A DE43C model was exported to Iran (AD43C). Nevertheless, the Euro 3000 and Euro 4000 products produced at Vossloh España continue to show similarities with the earlier Prima products—such as the centrally located driver position with radially located controls, the single drivers window, and general body shape and design of the rigid body shell.
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Wikipedia