French State Railway 2D2 9100

The 2D2 9100 was the last series of French electric locomotives with a chassis designed like that of a steam locomotive. It had four powered axles mounted in the frames of which the two inner had a lateral flexibility of 25 mm. On each end there was a two-axle bogie to carry the weight and to guide the locomotive at speed. It was based on the 2D2 5500, but had more power and was approved for 140 km/h from the beginning. Both had Buchli drives on both sides.

Like their predecessors, these locomotives were built by Fives-Lille and the electrical part was constructed by CEM. In 1950 and 1951, 35 were completed. Their main task was to haul important express trains on the 1,500 V DC line between Paris and Lyon. Additionally, they ran all the way down to Marseille and even to the Spanish border.

Soon they lost their most important services to the CC 7100 that had a similar output with less total weight, but more adhesive weight. They were even more challenged when the regular speed of express trains was increased to 160 km/h. With the introduction of the TGV in 1981, they were only used in freight service. The last one was withdrawn in 1987, partially due to the complicated maintenance. Today only 2D2 9135 is existing, but stored in a depot.