Class ME / SU175
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DSB ME 1533 (Henschel
32780), Valby, Denmark, September 16, 2007; old
livery version. Photo by someone who wants to be known as Rso-ksj
(source: www.commons.wikimedia.org).
DSB ME 1527 (Henschel
32727/1983), Østerport station,
Copenhagen, June 2, 2017; new livery version. Photo by Leif Jørgensen
(source: as above). |
Between 1981 and 1985 Danish
state railways Danske Statsbaner (DSB)
took delivery of 37 heavy six-axle diesel locomotives from Henschel.
Classed ME and numbered 1501 through 1537, they were among the first diesels
featuring AC drive built in quantity. They were used mainly for heavy local
traffic in Zealand. In 2017, 33 examples were still in use; three had been
scrapped and No. 1501 had been transferred to the Danish railway museum of
Odense in 2015. With 42 new ‘Vectron’ electric
locomotives ordered from Siemens in
2018 (class EB), all MEs were withdrawn until 2021, being the last diesel
locomotives in regular service in Denmark. 27 were sold to Swedish Nordic Re-Finance AB leasing company;
they were intended for passenger and freight traffic across Scandinavia. The
remaining six examples (numbered 1503, 1505, 1511, 1517, 1522 and 1532),
initially also dispatched to Sweden, were finally sold in 2022 to Polish
private operator SKPL Cargo (Stowarzyszenie Kolejowych Przewozów Lokalnych – Association for Local Railway Traffic).
In early October ME 1511 was re-numbered SU175-001. ME 1517 (SU175-002) and
ME 1532 (SU175-003) followed in July 2024. The former was, immediately after
re-numbering, leased to Hungarian MÁV Rail
Tours for tests; the Hungarian operator finally leased fourteen examples
for passenger traffic. Polish MEs will most probably be leased to other
operators. ‘175’ indicates maximum speed, although – according to most
sources – it was in fact reduced to 130 km/h. Main
technical data
References and acknowledgments
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www.ilostan.forumkolejowe.pl; |
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