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29-416: Ferrocarriles Vascongados was founded in 1906 with the merger of three different companies: Although the three companies were independent, they had numerous shareholders in common and overlapping interests. After long negotiations, the three companies merged on 1 July 1906. The merger of the companies was followed by a strong growth in both passenger and freight traffic. In 1929 its lines were electrified, with

58-724: A time when protectionist policies inhibited international expansion. In the early 1920s, Brown Boveri, which was already a geographically diversified company with successful operating subsidiaries in Italy , Germany , Norway , Austria , and the Balkans , suffered losses due to the devaluation of the French franc and the German mark . At the same time, in the Swiss domestic market, production costs increased while sales remained static, causing

87-585: A total of 71 steam locomotives, built by Couillet , Nasmyth & Wilson , Porter , Hanomag and Krauss . Due to the electrification of the Bilbao-San Sebastián line in 1929, electric rolling stock was acquired. Fourteen new locomotives were built by Brown Boveri and ASEA , and fourteen railcars by Ganz . In the 1950s, three more ASEA locomotives were bought, as well as four second-hand railcars. The last rolling stock acquired consisted of four railcars built by Ferrocarriles Vascongados itself in

116-542: The Basque Government . Despite ceasing operations in 1972, the company wasn't immediately disbanded. In 1976, an agreement was reached with the government regarding the transfer of its assets. This allowed the company to pay back its debts, and on 29 December 1995 its shareholders dissolved the company. After the merger, the new company inherited the steam locomotives and the coaches owned by its predecessors. Ferrocarriles Vascongados and its predecessors operated

145-552: The Cold War presented a variety of business opportunities for defense -related electrical contractors, but Brown Boveri's subsidiaries were seen as foreign companies in many of the countries in which they operated, sometimes making it difficult for the company to win lucrative contracts involving sensitive technology and other government contracts. The company, nevertheless, excelled at power generation, including nuclear power generators, and prospered in this field. Electrification in

174-524: The Spanish Civil War . After the original operator was absorbed into FEVE in 1972, the locomotives were renumbered as 4001 to 4010. This period saw a decline in freight traffic which coupled with the retirement of some multiple unit types meant the 4000 series was increasingly used to haul local train services . It was during this time that the locomotives had their axleboxes changed, the most significant overhaul during their lifetime. After

203-699: The Third World also provided Brown Boveri with substantial profits. In 1970 Brown Boveri began an extensive reorganization. The company's subsidiaries were divided into five groups: German, French, Swiss, "medium-sized" (seven manufacturing bases in Europe and Latin America ), and Brown Boveri International (the remaining facilities). Each of these groups was further broken down into five product divisions: power generation, electronics , power distribution , traction equipment , and industrial equipment. Throughout

232-523: The 1960s. Most of these train types were inherited by FEVE and later by Euskotren . Brown Boveri electric locomotive (Ferrocarriles Vascongados) The Brown Boveri electric locomotive was an electric locomotive type originally operated by Ferrocarriles Vascongados in the Basque Country , Spain . When that company was absorbed by FEVE , it came to be known as the FEVE 4000 series . It

261-730: The 1970s, Brown Boveri struggled to expand into the US market. The company negotiated a joint venture with Rockwell , the American manufacturer of high-tech military and aerospace applications, but the deal collapsed when the two companies could not agree on financial terms. Brown Boveri had a handful of major U.S. customers as its clients, among them large utilities such as the Tennessee Valley Authority and American Electric Power's Nuclear Plant in southwest Michigan DC Cook Unit 2 steam turbine. Brown Boveri's American market share

290-454: The Elorrio branch to Mondragón was studied in 1946, but wasn't carried out due to lack of funding. The company reached its peak in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War , but the improvements in road transport since the 1950s marked the start of its decline. Together with the declining traffic levels, the infrastructure and rolling stock became more obsolete. By the early 1970s the company

319-446: The Swiss company Brown, Boveri & Cie , while the mechanical parts were built by Forges Usines et Fonderies Haine-Saint-Pierre  [ fr ] , a Belgian company. Like other locomotives , they were nicknamed Cocodrilo ( Spanish for 'crocodile') due to their distinctive shape. While originally painted in red and cream colors, the locomotives were repainted in a less distinctive grey and green color scheme during

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348-589: The Swiss parent. For the next few decades Brown Boveri grew as fast as technological developments in electrical engineering. Each of the company's subsidiaries tended to develop individually, as if it were a domestic company in the country in which it operated, and broad geographic coverage helped insulate the parent from severe crises when a certain region experienced economic difficulties. Expansion continued during WWII. A BBC subsidiary in Mannheim, Germany used slave labor to expand operations. After World War II ,

377-401: The cam controller, the vacuum pump for the train brake, and the compressor for the pantographs and whistle. On the other are the low-voltage frame, the quick-action switch, the converter for the control power supply, the batteries, and the traction motor fan. The cam gear is mechanically driven by the handwheels of the master controllers in the cabs via a chain transmission. A hand air pump allows

406-525: The company entered into a licensing agreement with the British manufacturing firm Vickers which gave the British firm the right to manufacture and sell Brown Boveri products throughout the British Empire and in some parts of Europe . The agreement gave Brown Boveri a significant amount of money and the promise of substantial annual revenue, and also helped the company expand into foreign markets at

435-454: The company further losses. In 1924 Brown Boveri devalued its capital by 30 percent to cover the losses it had incurred. In 1927 the agreement with Vickers ran out and was not renewed. Besides the arrangement Brown Boveri had had with this British firm, it also had a similar relationship with Netherlands-based Heemaf  [ nl ] which lasted well into the early 1960s when the Heemaf led

464-413: The creation of Holec (Holland Electric). During the same time, Brown Boveri's various subsidiaries grew rapidly. Industrialization throughout Europe created strong demand for the company's heavy electrical equipment. Italy's burgeoning railroad industry provided a particularly strong boost to Brown Boveri's Italian subsidiary, and the company's German facility actually did considerably more business than

493-483: The early 1980s Brown Boveri's sales flattened out and the company's earnings declined. In 1983 Brown Boveri's German subsidiary in Mannheim , West Germany, which accounted for nearly half of the entire parent company's sales, rebounded. In spite of an increase in orders, the company's cost structure kept earnings down. In 1985 the subsidiary's performance improved as a result of cost-cutting measures but price decreases in

522-399: The electrical equipment. They consist of a central part in the form of a shorter locomotive body with the two cabs and the two scissor pantographs and two front bodies. The superstructures, on which the third headlight is also placed, use the whole width of the vehicle. In the central part, between the two cabs, is the apparatus room with a central aisle. On one side are the high-voltage cell,

551-590: The encouragement of George Kent's rank-and-file employees, who feared the alternative of being bought by General Electric Company . The newly acquired company was renamed Brown Boveri Kent. In the mid-1970s growing demand in the Middle East for large power-generating facilities distracted the company from its push into North America. Oil-rich African nations, like Nigeria , attempting to diversify their manufacturing capabilities also created new markets for Brown Boveri's heavy electrical engineering expertise. In

580-540: The establishment of Euskotren in 1982 (known at the time as ET/FV ), they were transferred to the new company. They were gradually retired from service starting in 1988, with some locomotives being used to haul tourist trains up to 1999. The locomotive has a undercarriage that consists of two two-axle carriages with a cross-bearing drive, which are connected to each other with a close coupling. The axle bearings are designed as Isothermos bearings. The superstructures do not transmit tractive force and serve only to protect

609-478: The exception of the Elorrio branch which was electrified in 1946. Together with the electrification, the company acquired its first non-inherited rolling stock, composed of electric Brown Boveri and ASEA locomotives and Ganz railcars. During the 1920s the company tried to acquire the Amorebieta-Pedernales railway , but ultimately failed due to its long-running liquidity problems. An extension of

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638-415: The fan with two fan wheels located in the engine room, which sucked in the cooling air in the lower area of the side wall and directed it through floor ducts to the traction motors in the undercarriage. The locomotives were named after mountains of the Basque Country . Their individual details are as follows. Brown, Boveri %26 Cie Brown, Boveri & Cie. ( Brown, Boveri & Company ; BBC )

667-478: The international market and unfavorable shifts in currency exchanges rates largely offset these gains. In 1986 the parent company acquired a significant block of shares in the Mannheim subsidiary, bringing its total stake to 75 percent. In the later 1980s Brown Boveri took steps to reduce duplication of research and development among its various groups. While each subsidiary continued to do some product-development research for its individual market, theoretical research

696-463: The pantograph to be lifted without compressed air. The starting resistors are located in the front ends. The two CMTD-type traction motors of a bogie form a group permanently connected in series. When starting up, both groups are connected in series on the first nine speed steps, and on the next five speed steps they are connected in parallel, followed by two field weakening stages. The locomotives have no electric brake. The traction motors were cooled by

725-639: The parent company. Because of the limitations of the Swiss domestic market, Brown Boveri established subsidiaries throughout Europe relatively early in its history, and at times had difficulty maintaining managerial control over some of its larger operating units. The merger with ASEA, a company which was praised for its strong management, was expected to help Brown Boveri reorganize and reassert control over its vast international network. Brown Boveri's early activities included manufacturing electrical components such as electric motors for locomotives and power-generating equipment for Europe's railway systems. In 1919

754-660: Was a Swiss group of electrical engineering companies. It was founded in Baden bei Zürich , in 1891 by Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown and Walter Boveri who worked at the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon . In 1970 BBC took over the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon and in 1988 it merged with ASEA to form ABB . BBC Brown Boveri was established in 1891. The company was one of only a few multinational corporations to operate subsidiaries that were larger than

783-530: Was in a very difficult position, and on 25 June 1972, the government-owned company FEVE took over its operations. The Elorrio branch and the Deba railway were closed in 1975, and in 1979 the operations were transferred to the Basque General Council  [ es ] . In 1982, the former Ferrocarriles Vascongados network became the backbone of the new Basque Railways (now Euskotren), owned by

812-451: Was later operated by Euskotren . Due to an increase in traffic, Ferrocarriles Vascongados decided in the 1920s to electrify its main line between Bilbao and San Sebastián . Correspondingly, the company ordered nine (later 10) electric locomotives in May 1927 for hauling freight trains and heavy passenger trains. They were numbered 1 to 10. The electrical components were manufactured by

841-707: Was low considering the company's international standing ( North American sales accounted for only 3.5% of total sales in 1974 and 1975), and the company continued to seek entry into U.S. markets. During the electrification of the British West Coast Main Line in the early 1970s, Brown Boveri traction insulators were used. In 1974 Brown Boveri acquired the British controls and instrument manufacturer, George Kent Group . The deal at first raised concern in Britain over foreign ownership of such highly sensitive technology, but Brown Boveri prevailed with

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