Electric locomotive Re 4/4 III 43 of the Swiss South-Eastern Railway (SOB).

Mold variant!

■ New front with large round headlights, typical of the Privatbahn Re 4/4
■ New rear-view mirrors
■ Rectangular buffers for shuttle operation on gradients of up to 50‰
■ With "Rothenthurm" coat of arms
■ Z21 driver's cab available

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of what is now Schweizerische Südostbahn AG (SOB), ROCO is expanding its range of Re 4/4 locomotives. The Schweizerische Südostbahn was established in 2001 through the merger of the former Bodensee-Toggenburg Railway and the original Südostbahn. SOB operates a network of approximately 111 kilometres through the Alpine foothills, from Lake Constance to Arth-Goldau. Südostbahn received its first Re 4/4 III locomotive in 1967, which was assigned the operating number 41. This locomotive was part of the original batch of 50 Re 4/4 II locomotives ordered by the SBB. However, it was delivered with a modified gear ratio, making it particularly suitable for gradients of up to 50‰. Although its maximum speed was limited to 125 km/h, it produced an hourly output of 200 kN. In comparison, the Re 4/4 II has a maximum speed of 140 km/h, but with a lower hourly tractive effort of 170 kN.
Nicknamed the “Golden Chair” at SOB, this locomotive served as the prototype for an order of 20 Re 4/4 III units subsequently placed by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). Between 1983 and 1985, three of these locomotives (11351–11353) were sold to SOB, where they were assigned the consecutive numbers 42 to 44. These units differed from their SBB counterparts not only in their yellow SOB lettering but also through the use of so-called Privatbahn-headlights. In addition, they were equipped with rectangular buffers, allowing them to operate push-pull services. The locomotives were deployed on a wide variety of duties. They operated on direct express train services between Romanshorn and Lucerne, and, from 1992 onwards, on the classic Voralpen Express, together with standard IV coaches (EW IV) from SOB, BT, and SBB. The four locomotives also handled a broad spectrum of additional duties, including freight services, postal trains, pilgrimage traffic, and engineering trains. SOB’s rolling stock was often deployed far beyond the boundaries of its own network, and the Re 4/4 III was no exception. Between 1994 and 1996, the four SOB locomotives were exchanged for the SBB prototype locomotives Re 4/4 IV 10101–10104. This completed the full circle: the locomotives returned to the SBB, with locomotive number 41 re-designated as 11350 under SBB ownership.