Though not as famous or numerous as other pieces of GDR heritage rolling stock such as the 143, Baureihe (Class) 155 deserves some attention for its raw power.
Developed in the 1970s, it was without any doubt one of the reasons for East German socialism to pretend going strong. A huge six-axled electric locomotive, its superstructure is an almost perfect cuboid and thus earned it the nickname of 'Container'. (They say it's not allowed to come near the Hamburg container terminal as there could be danger of it being accidentally loaded onto a contship as freight...)
270 units were built from 1977 through 1984. In service with Deutsche Reichsbahn, this loco was numbered Baureihe 250 and drove both freight and high-class passenger trains; today, with Deutsche Bahn (i.e. DB Cargo), it does heavy freight service and is probably in the process of being phased out.
Technical fact sheet:
- Concept: Co'Co' layout (six axles in two bogies), all axles driven; conventional two-phase AC motors controlled by a 30-level switch and thyristor fine control
- Power: 5,400 kW for one hour at 102 km/h, 5,100 kW sustained at 107 km/h
- Traction: 380 kN maximum, 196.2 kN sustained
- Top speed: 125 km/h
- Total weight: 123 tonnes (20.5 tonnes per axle)
- Length: 19.6 m
- Diameter of driven wheels: 1.25 m