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Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon Railway BCFe 4/8 and ABDe 4/8
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Switzerland | 1945
13 produced
ABDe 4/8 No. 750 in Spiez
ABDe 4/8 No. 750 in Spiez
J.J.Smit

The BCFe 4/8, later ABDe 4/8, designates electric double railcars built for the BLS group for regional traffic. Each car has two powered axles in the inner bogie with 240 hp per traction motor in the first variant. They got the nickname “Blue Arrows”, like some other railcars of the BLS. Originally built with second and third class seats, later vehicles were built with first and second class seats and the older ones were later retrofitted. This changed their designation from BCFe 4/8 to ABDe 4/8.

The first three were built in 1945 by SIG and SAAS with a top speed of 110 km/h. The next three built in 1954 and 1955 had 300 hp per traction motor and a top speed of 125 km/h. Two more followed in 1957 and five in 1964, all of which had 400 hp per traction motor. Also the three pairs of the second batch were later upgraded to the new traction motors

Later some received an additional driving trailer. To accomplish this, they lost the cab in one of the two cars and got a gangway in this place. With the new scheme from 1989, the ABDe 4/8 became the ABDe 535. The less powerful vehicles of the first batch were retired from 1991 and the last one was gone in 2007.

Variantfirst variantlast variant
General
Built1945-1964
ManufacturerSIG, BBC, SAAS, BLS
Wheel arr.2-B+B-2 
Gauge4 ft 8 1/2 in (Standard gauge)
Seats144128
Dimensions and Weights
Length153 ft 6 1/2 in156 ft 9 7/8 in
Wheelbase140 ft 5 1/16 in156 ft 9 7/8 in
Service weight187,393 lbs211,644 lbs
Adhesive weight121,254 lbs136,686 lbs
Axle load30,424 lbs34,172 lbs
Boiler
Variantfirst variantlast variant
Power Plant
Power
Power sourceelectric - AC
Electric system15.000 V 16⅔ Hz
Hourly power947 hp (706 kW)1,578 hp (1,177 kW)
Top speed68 mph78 mph
Starting effort13,264 lbf22,031 lbf
Calculated Values
EMU
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last changed: 12/2025
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