Special and Experimental Units
- E.636.385 was part of the "PV Train" project and received photovoltaic cells used to recharge the 24 V batteries. Due to this, it has been inserted in the asset of Italian historical units;
- E.636.082 has been used for testing in 1965 of rheostatic braking (the same system was later adopted on FS Class E.444); a second, smaller lever was mounted on the top of the traction lever, and was used to control the braking rheostat. This units also mounted more and bigger vents on its sides. At this time, it has been stripped of many internal components, and is not able to run.
- E.636.284 is maybe the most famous unit of the group. The unit was involved in an accident, where the driving cabin was damaged. FS decided to recover the unit, and also decided to experiment a new type of driving cabin, similar to the ones used on FS class E.656. The unit is nicknamed "Camilla", originating from which is supposed to be the girlfriend's name of a worker employed in the rebuilding works, who wrote it with chalk near one of the couplers of the locomotive. This unit is also historical.
- In 1951 units 044 and 089 received the 92-250 type motors, used on FS Class E.424, and the gear ratio was also changed to 20/65, for a maximum speed allowed of 120 km/h (75 mph) (max power 2,490 kW/3,340 hp instead of 2,100 kW/2,800 hp). The results of this experiment had proven successful, as these locomotives had the same performances as FS Class E.428 (gear ratio 31/101), but with less weight and power; however they were later brought back to their original status.
- Units from 271 to 275 were built with different bogies than the standard ones (similar to the ones used on the FS Class E.646 prototypes), 32RT-200 motors, 5 shunt levels and a gear ratio of 24/74 (max speed 105 km/h/65 mph). These units were later made identical to standard units.
During the 1960s-1970s Ansaldo-Breda built a locomotive derived from E.636 for use in Yugoslavia, classified JŽ 326.
Read more about this topic: FS Class E636
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