Italian diesel locomotives

To be complete I need to remember the heavy shunting locos that have been used for main line services.

The first diesels that made regularly line services were the Whitcomb locos that came in Italy in 1944 with the USATC and helped allied troops to conquest the boot.
After WW2 49 of these "battle horses" were incorporated in FS rolling stock as class Ne 120 and destined mainly to heavy shunting but also to some minor line services. In the 60s they have been rebuilt substituting the original two Buda Lanova engines with one, more powerful, OM Saurer and reclassified as D 143.Because of their robust construction, the class arrived until yesterday; if I well remember the last "Truman" has been in service at Leghorn harbor until 2015. Now some units are preserved as historic items

D143.3026 caught during a movement between two Leghorn yards in 2006. Another movement in the Leghorn harbor area, in this case D 143.3007 crossing a rare turning bridge in 2001. The two images By S. Paolini courtesy of Photorail.


Ciao

A lot of those Whitcombs survived on short lines in the US for a long time as well. Dependable units!

That swing bridge is interesting because it is not a center pivot, so the left side must be the same weight as the right and so it is bulkier.

Thanks!

One of the first unified UIC projects, at the end of the 50s, has been a diesel locomotive to be used for heavy shunting or light main line services. This resulted in a two axle trucks loco with an off-center cab and electric transmission with the prime mover to be chosen by the user. This model has been in service in France(class BB 63000), Spain (307), Portugal (1200), Yugoslavia (643) and Luxembourg (850) as well as Italy. The 29 D 141 FS were equipped with a 450 kw engine built by Fiat under a Daimler-Benz license.
Ordered to substitute steam traction in heavy shunting services (they received from the beginning the green livery of shunting units), the class was mainly diverted to main line services on lines with a permitted low axle load and only in the second half of the 70s D 141s began to be used mainly for humping yards and harbor movements as well as last mile services.
At the beginning of the 80s some units were re-engined but the move has been stopped because of the birth of other classes.
Because of the new rules about safety devices and, mainly, the fall of FS freight services (e.g. humping yards are nearly all closed) the class is virtually extinct and D 141.1011 has been selected for preservation. Hoping...

D 141.1008 with a local passenger train on the Verona to Legnago line in 1975. Photo by B. Studer In 2006 D 141.1003 was caught on a transfer on the complicated Trieste web of freight lines. Photo by S. Paolini The two images courtesy of Photorail

Ciao

I've always felt that that family of units suitably repowered and rebuilt would make an excellent cheap common fleet for a private operator.
Too bad they're probably too old for that service.

Although look at the number of old UK diesels which have been re-engined (Class 43, for example - now over 40 years old and still in full fleet service) and in some cases more comprehensively rebuilt (most recently Class 73, originally built in the 1960s). Anything is possible!

NorthWest wrote:I've always felt that that family of units suitably repowered and rebuilt would make an excellent cheap common fleet for a private operator.
Too bad they're probably too old for that service.

In France various BB 63000 were ceded to other users like local entrepreneurs consortiums, tourist lines or small logistics firms but, in general, the European market is plenty of second hand diesels. More, ended the starting era of liberalization when everything was used for traction, leasing companies prefer brand new machines to have better reliability and more residual value after leasing.
Last but not least, now incumbent operators prefer to demolish their old stock instead of selling it and possibly helping a competitor.

Ciao

Class D 145 is really composed of two subclasses similar only in livery and shape.
At the end of the 70s power electronics entered in locomotive building and one of the results has been this class of center cab units, projected to renew the heavy shunting and light freight services.
D 145.1000s, built by Fiat Ferroviaria and bombasticly named Inloc (acronym of inverter locomotive) is moved by two groups composed each of an Iveco engine, an alternator as main generator and an inverter rectifier to feed traction motors, so power can be adapted to the service needs.

D 145.1028 tripping on the Busca to Dronero freight only line in 2004 D 145.2000 instead, built by TIBB, have only one traction group, powered by a Breda engine, so are conceptually different from the Fiat ones.

D 145.2053 on a last mile service at Cantalupo in 2002 The two images by S. Paolini courtesy of Photorail

Their main use has been in the principal marshal yards, in ferry boarding service and short line trips.
The class is still on use but the closure of humping yards, the end of freight traffic in Sardinia and the nearly complete use of block trains have reduced their use.

Ciao

Thank you for keeping us well informed about railroading in Italy, Benny. It's like being there, very pleasant for me.

Well, it seems me that this argument can be considered achieved.
Very, very quietly I will think in something more, e.g. the "private" railroads. How do you think about it?

Yes, please!