LGB 24451 RhB Class Ge 2/4 Electric Locomotive

As early as 1913 the RhB purchased 7 units of the class Ge 2/4 small electric locomotive. This locomotive was so to speak a half Ge 4/6 as far as propulsion and electrical equipment were concerned. The 8.70 meter / 28 foot 6 inch long and 37 metric ton heavy locomotives had a performance of 210 kilowatts / 285 horsepower and reached a maximum speed of 45 km/h / 28 mph. The requirements set for these locomotives were a bit too much for them, problems kept cropping up mostly in the area of the electrical equipment. Between 1943 and 1946 three units were converted to switch engines with a central cab and they were rostered as road numbers 211 – 213. Two more locomotives were thoroughly modernized. They were given a new traction motor, additional resistance brakes – a pantograph was removed for these resistance brakes so that these two locomotives, road numbers 221 and 222, developed almost double the performance as the original version, namely 428 kilowatts or 582 horsepower. At the same time the weight was lowered to 30 metric tons, and the maximum speed climbed to 55 km/h / 34 mph. In 1998, road number 221 was scrapped, road number 222 continued as a museum locomotive and it can be encountered on the entire core network of the RhB on special runs.

Highlights