FS E491 013San Giuseppe Liguria San Giuseppe

The FS locomotive of the series E491/E492 was a 25-unit batch built for the new Electrification System of Sardinia in the second half of the 1980's. The Remarkable thing was that those locomotives were one of the first locomotives projected to run under 25kV/50Hz one-phase Current system, which was planned for the overhead line of Sardinian's railway lines. Those locomotives were built between 1986 and 1990 by a joint venture called TEAM (Trazione Elettrica Alternata Monofase), made by Fiat Ferroviaria in Savigliano and Ansaldo Breda in Pistoia. Two versions has been built: E491 for freight or heavy passenger services (19 units) and E492 for passenger services (6 units) with different gear transmission ratio. For the tests of this new current system a branch of the Civitavecchia-Orte line (near Rome) was extra electrified with 25kV/50Hz. The locomotives were tested but the project of the Electrification in Sardinia, who was already taking place, was rejected due to political reason and the whole project was set aside. The locomotives were parked in the depots of Foligno, Napoli, Rimini, and later on in Livorno. In the 2000's the FS failed in the attempt to sale this locomotives to countries who electrified succesfully their railways with 25kV/50Hz (France, Turkey, Hungary, and Bulgaria). A few years later, in 2003, After the failed attempt to use them on the Italian High Speed lines because they were damaged due to the long inactivity, the Italian Railways decided to repark them again with the hope to sell them to other countries. In 2008 the FS made a deal with a Serbian railway workshop company for the sale and refurbishment of all 25 units. The deal was perfect, but in fact, nothing happened. in 2011 the FS ordered the demolition of the first 9 units (the ones parked in Livorno). At least in September/October 2016, all other units were sent to the Demolition company in San Giuseppe di Cairo to make an end of a sad chapter of italian locomotive history of new-built units who never run on regular service. Fortunately, The Italian Railways Fundation, preserved E491.011 from scrapping, mantaining it as a heritage unit. Here you can see 4 locomotives (E491.013/E491.012/E492.006/E491.016) on their last kilometers. Today, this units never exists anymore.