Swiss Crocodile

The Crocodile is a Swiss locomotive from the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1918, the Swiss Federal Railways (Schweizerische Bundesbahnen) had an electric locomotive developed for the steep tracks of the Gotthard line. The locomotives would mainly be used for heavy goods transport. For the tight curves on the Gotthard line, a three-part construction had been designed, in which the middle part (containing cabs and the heavy transformer), mounted on two extended drive bogies. These long “noses” at each end of the locomotive are reminiscent of the snout of a crocodile. In the end 51 locomotives were built, divided over series Ce 6/8 II (1919-22) and Ce 6/8 III (1926/27). All locomotives were delivered in the color brown. Existing locomotives were painted green with the next major revision. The Swiss Crocodile was highly successful and served until the 1980s.