In the aftermath of the
Spanish Civil War,
Ferrocarriles Vascongados experienced a surge in passenger and freight traffic. As a result, the company ordered three locomotives to
ASEA, which had manufactured
four electric locomotives for Ferrocarriles Vascongados in the early 1930s. The three new locomotives were mechanically very similar to the older ones, but featured a more modern exterior design. Unlike the previous locomotives, whose mechanical parts were built by
CAF in
Beasain,
Spain; the new ones were built entirely by ASEA in
Västerås,
Sweden.[3] As of 2005, they were the last narrow-gauge electric locomotives to have been imported into Spain.[4]
After the original operator was absorbed into
FEVE in 1972, the locomotives were renumbered as 4201 to 4203. This period saw a decline in freight traffic which coupled with the retirement of some[which?] multiple unit types meant the 4200 series (as well as the
4000 and
4100 series) was increasingly used to haul
local train services. After the establishment of
Euskotren in 1982 (known at the time as ET/FV), they were transferred to the new company. After 1988 they were retired from passenger service, and were used exclusively as
shunters. Between 1994 and 1995, the three locomotives were refurbished in
Gernika. As part of the refurbishment, their exterior was reformed, they were fitted with
Alliance couplers and their cabins were made similar to the ones used by
200 series trains.[3] They were retired from service in 2010.[citation needed]
Numbering and naming
The locomotives were named after mountains of the
Basque Country. Their individual details are as follows.[3]
^Salmerón i Bosch, Carles;
Olaizola Elordi, Juanjo (1990). Eusko Trenbideak - Ferrocarriles Vascos: Historia eta teknika - Historia y técnica (in Spanish and Basque). Barcelona: Terminus. p. 118.
ISBN84-404-8322-8.
Since 2012, FEVE has been integrated into Renfe and its rolling stock has been officially renumbered. However, the old numbering scheme remains the most commonly used.