Technology
The locomotive's shell is shared with the other members of the "Nez Cassé" (broken nose) family (BB7200, BB22200) and is of the monocoque type.
The cabin is shared with the BB7200 and BB22200 series and have even a great deal in common with cabs of other SNCF locomotives of the 1960s. This class was also the first to introduce the VI ("Vitesse Imposée") cruise control system which is now standard on all SNCF locomotives delivered after 1971.
The electrical part consists of a single pantograph (type AM18U) which collects 25kV from the catenary. Power is passed through a transformer which lowers the tension to about 1500V AC and a bridge rectifier controlled by thrystors rectify it into DC, which is then fed into the traction motors.
Brake equipment consists of pneumatic, electro-pneumatic, regenerative and dynamic brakes. Bogies were derived from the Y217 bogies of BB67400 locomotives and have primary (coil springs) and secondary ("sandwich" blocs) suspension.
The reliability of the locomotives is outstanding, as some locomotives have already passed the 10,000,000 km mark and have less than 2 defects per million kilometres, a number unrivaled by other similar European locomotives.
Read more about this topic: SNCF Class BB 15000
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