FS Class E.220 was a two-axle
electric locomotive, powered by a
third rail, built for operation on the
Varese line of the Italian
Rete Mediterranea (Mediterranean Network) and registered as RM 02. It was acquired by the
Italian State Railways in 1918 and re-registered as 220.01. It remained a unique example.[1]
Overview
The locomotive was built by
Carminati & Toselli in 1912 for shunting, freight trains and passenger trains on the
third-railelectrified railway line
Milan -
Varese -
Porto Ceresio, operated by
Società per le Strade Ferrate del Mediterraneo. The electrical equipment was supplied by
General Electric. The total power output was 220 kW (300 hp) (1 hour) or 150 kW (200 hp) (continuous) and the maximum speed was 50 km/h (31 mph). The two traction motors were geared directly to the axles. It appears to have been "deported" by German troops fleeing in 1945 and abandoned in Austria where it was converted to power supply from
accumulators. In 1961 it was in
Linz awaiting scrapping.
Alessandro Albé, Le Varesine. L'avventura della terza rotaia dal 1900 al 1950. Le esperienze estere, Torino, editrice Elledì, collana Temi ferroviari, 1986.
Giovanni Cornolò, Locomotive elettriche FS, Parma, Ermanno Albertelli Editore, 1983, pp. 31-32.