text: nsb el 17 the nsb el 17 is a class of twelve electric locomotives built by thyssen - henschel and norsk elektrisk & brown boveri ( nebb ) for the norwegian state railways ( nsb ) . the class was built in two batches , the first delivered in 1982 and numbered 2221 – 2226 , and the second delivered in 1987 and numbered – . the traction system of the el 17 was based on the db class 120 of germany ( bbc , aeg and siemens ) and were among the first in the world to feature three - phase asynchronous motors . the units were ordered to be used on the intercity bergen , dovre and sørland lines , but were plagued with technical faults ( overheating traction equipment , transient voltages , etc . ) . the unreliability and lack of sufficient power forced nsb to instead use them in the regional vestfold and gjøvik lines . with the delivery of the el 18 , the first series was retired or used as shunters . the second series has been used on the flåm line since 1998 . the locomotives have a maximum 3 , 000 kilowatts ( 4 , 000 hp ) power output and a 240 kn ( 54 , 000 lbf ) tractive effort , allowing the locomotive to haul a six - car train . they run on a 15 kv 16 2 ⁄ 3 hz ac power supply and are capable of operating at 150 km / h ( 93 mph ) . the units have a bo 'bo ' wheel arrangement , have regenerative brakes and weigh 64 tonnes ( 63 long tons ; 71 short tons ) . the series was delivered at the same time as the di 4 and have some similarities with the class . history during the late 1970s , nsb was in need of new rolling stock for their intercity trains . at first electric multiple units were considered , but nsb instead chose to order locomotives and waggons , to have greater operational flexibility . the choice fell on the german db class 120 , which was the first three - phase asynchronous locomotive in the world in " almost " regular service ( prototype 120 . 0 in test service 1979 , the serial version 120 . 1 from 1986 ) . however , the norwegian variation was scaled down due to the maximum axle load ( 16 . 0 t or 15 . 7 long tons or 17 . 6 short tons , class 120 has 21 . 0 t or 20 . 7 long tons or 23 . 1 short tons ) and had a lower power output than the class 120 . because of this , the el 17 is less powerful than its three predecessors , el 14 , el 15 and el 16 ( 3 . 0 mw instead of 4 . 4 mw ) . when the order was placed , it was the first norwegian electric locomotive with the mechanical components built in germany . at the same time , nsb ordered five six - axle diesel - electric locomotives from thyssen - henschel ( mark di 4 ) , almost the same as the danish mark me 1500 . the di 4 / me 1500 have many similarities to its electric counterpart el 17 . the two were planned to have the same rectifiers and motors , but due to weight restrictions the el 17 received the same type as class 120 . the first six locomotives , numbered 2221 – 2226 , were delivered in 1982 . at the same time , the delivery of the b7 passenger cars from strømmens verksted was made , and the first train with an el 17 and in regular service operated on the dovre line on 14 september 1982 . the el 17 was plagued with problems ( overheated components , etc . ) , and nsb quickly decided to operate them in pairs in case one unit should fail . on 6 july 1982 , there was a fire in 2224 , and it was sent to thyssen - henschel to be redesigned . nsb initially placed the unit in service with a round trip from oslo to trondheim each day . due to the technical malfunctions , all the six original trains were rebuilt several times ; in the end , they all had different technical solutions . eventually nsb felt confident that they had found a technical solution that would be satisfactory , and ordered another six units to allow all trains on the dovre , bergen and sørland lines to be hauled with the class . units – were delivered in 1987 , and put into regular service on the sørland line . although better than the first series , the second series was also prone to technical problems , and never entered regular service on the bergen line . during the 1990s , they were also put into service on the regional rail services on the vestfold and gjøvik lines . the units were never well - liked by nsb , in part because of the bad name the first series had given , and partly because the number of available units was unpredictable . it also took a while for nsb to discover that asynchronous locomotives needed to be operated differently . the locomotives had been designed to haul a six - car train , but nsb regularly needed to haul eight - car trains , and therefore instead used the more powerful el 16 . in the early 1990s , nsb decided that they would replace the intercity trains with the class 73 tilting multiple unit , and the locomotives for loco - hauled trains with the swiss - designed el 18 ( also with electric equipment from abb , former bbc ) . in 1997 , no . 2226 was put aside , and scrapped the following year . from 1998 , the second series of el 17 was put into service on the flåm line , a steep tourist line that connects to the bergen line . the units were painted green and connected at each end of a train of six b3 passenger cars . from 2003 , the first series was taken out of regular service , and units , 2224 and were put into shunting service at . unit was transferred to the norwegian railway museum , where it was put on display . specifications the el 17 was built by the manufacturer thyssen - henschel of germany . the locomotives have three - phase asynchronous motors with a continuous output power of 3 , 000 kilowatts ( 4 , 000 hp ) , allowing a maximum speed of 150 kilometres per hour ( 93 mph ) . the units receive 15 kv 16 2 ⁄ 3 hz ac power from a pantograph and are the first class of locomotive for nsb that has regenerative brakes . the electrical equipment was designed by the manufacturer bbc ( german plant mannheim ) but built by the norwegian manufacturer norsk elektrisk & brown boveri ( nebb ) . each locomotive is equipped with four nebb motors , giving a bo 'bo ' wheel arrangement and a maximum tractive effort of 240 kilonewtons ( 54 , 000 lbf ) on dry rails . the el 17 is an electric locomotive designed for intercity trains , but is also capable of hauling light freight trains . the body is welded as a self - containing construction . the roof ( light alloy ) sections can be removed , and the locomotives were the first norwegian locomotives to have a center aisle in the machine room . the locomotives are 16 . 30 metres ( 53 ft 6 in ) long , have a wheel diameter of 1 , 100 millimetres ( 3 ft 7 in ) and weigh 64 . 0 tonnes ( 63 . 0 long tons ; 70 . 5 short tons ) . the locomotives can run in multiple ; by using a uic 568 signalling cable , the locomotives do not need to be adjacent to each other in the the el 17 has the unique pointed front that was first used on the el 16 , and is also found on the di 4 and di 6 classes .