Siemens EuroSprinter ES64P - Renfe 252 op and taxi / CP 5600 1.5:1 Scale

252

The Renfe Series 252 is a series of 75 very versatile universal locomotives, derived from the Deutsche Bahn series E120. They were requested by Renfe in 1989 to have locomotives suitable for 220 km/h, in view of the construction of the LAV Madrid-Seville. They are part of the Siemens EuroSprinter project, so the construction of the first 15 units was carried out by the Siemens - Krauss-Maffei consortium, with the remaining ones built under license by CAF and MACOSA.
Renfe placed an order for 75 locomotives from these manufacturers, 15 for international gauge (1,435 mm) and 60 for Iberian gauge (1,668 mm). These locomotives can be seen today throughout the Spanish geography of electrified railway lines.

On 1992: First commercial service of Talgo 200 Madrid - Málaga with a 252, wich later, the locomotives take the traction of other trains towed by the LAV.
The number of locomotives in service as of 2024 is 56. Starting in 1993, they began to pull passenger trains on the conventional network, replacing the veteran 269. Currently they only haul some intercity passenger trains with talgo material, previously they also hauled passenger cars and talgo branches for both daytime services (Arco, Altaria, Intercity and Diurno) and night services (Estrella and Trenhotel). Since the implementation of self-propelled trains, mainly the Alvia S130 and S120 with the progressive opening of high-speed lines, and the progressive elimination of towed trains, their use has decreased. They are currently used in some Intercity services, most of them along the Mediterranean corridor, and the Al Ándalus traction in Season.

Maximum speed: 220 km/h commercial, 250 km/h approved, although they have a record of 302 km/h with the 252-009 carrying out tests on the Madrid - Seville LAV on 5/16/1994.

CP 5600

In the 1980s and 1990s, the operator Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses embarked on a modernization process, focusing mainly on infrastructure and rolling stock. Thus, several electric locomotives were ordered, derived from Series 252 of the Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles, which entered service in 1991. They were originally adapted for universal use, that is, both for passenger trains at high speeds and for heavy freight trains, they were built by a Portuguese-German consortium. The original contract provided for the construction of thirty units, which would be delivered at a rate of one per month, and if necessary, the order could be increased to 48 locomotives.

They were officially presented to the public in 1993, at Estação do Entroncamento. That year, they were already in service, with the first services of these locomotives being the traction of passenger trains between Lisbon and Porto, and of goods, transporting ballast and cement. Some were later deployed for international passenger and freight services, when electrification works on the Beira Alta Line were completed. In 1994, several units were still being manufactured at the facilities of the company Sociedades Reunidas de Fabricações Metálicas, and this series was then expected to enter the coal transport service to the Pego thermoelectric plant, in the municipality of Abrantes , replacing the Series 1900 locomotives.

In 1993, locomotive 5601, pulling three Corail carriages, broke the railway speed record in Portugal, reaching 220 km/h between Espinho and Avanca Stations, on the Northern Line.