History
The E.646 and E.645 locomotives project was started in 1953, with a new model engine that was to be installed on the modified chassis of the already-existing six-axle locomotive E.636. A similar concept for a 4-axle locomotive led to the development of the E.444 high-speed locomotive in the 1960s.
The first prototypes were delivered in October 1958. The first thirty-seven individual locomotives differed only in their livery: twenty built for passenger traffic were painted in grey-green, while seventeen built for goods were painted in auburn. Later, the freight locomotives were reclassed E.645. The total number of locomotives built amounted to 295 units.
Several locomotives from each class are still in service with FS Trenitalia, on push-pull services, and many have been converted in E.645 and assigned to goods services until 2009. They are substituted by E.464 engines on regional services.
Read more about this topic: FS Class E646
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