Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 7, 2012

NSB Di 6, later designated ME 26 and DE 2700, is a class of twelve diesel-electric locomotives built by Siemens for the Norwegian State Railways (NSB). The prime mover provides a power output of 2650 kW, a starting traction effort of 400 kN and a maximum speed of 160 km/h. They have a Co'Co' wheel arrangement. The bidirectional locomotives were designed for use with both passenger and freight trains. The units were ordered by NSB in 1992 as replacements for the aging Di 3, and were particularly intended for use on the Nordland Line and to a lesser extent on the Røros Line. Construction was done by Maschinenbau Kiel (MaK) in Kiel, Germany, which was then part of Siemens Schienenfahrzeugtechnik. The class is largely based on the MaK-built DB Class 240, with each unit costing 32 million Norwegian krone (NOK). The first units were delivered in March 1996, one year after schedule, but were plagued with faults. By 1999, the entire order was terminated and the locomotives returned to Germany. They were taken over by locomotive lessor Dispolok and were used by various German railway companies. Ownership was taken over by Vossloh in 2003, after which most of the class were leased to German passenger train operator Nord-Ostsee-Bahn. In 2008, three units returned to Norway and are now used by Cargolink for freight trains.