Leisure, Touristic Park and Industrial narrow gauge locomotives

A real railway machine

CFD also offers small locomotives for tourist railways or sub-metric industrial networks (gauge between 500 and 1435 mm with lightweight tracks). For this kind of vehicle, CFD has chosen to offer only electric versions with lithium-ion batteries (diesel and hybrid version on demands).

The electric traction system comprises two traction motors paired with a state-of-the-art battery; the vehicle remains, first and foremost, a railway vehicle featuring axle-mounted gearboxes and a brake linkage system that includes a direct pneumatic brake, a spring-applied/pneumatically released parking brake (which also serves as an emergency brake), and a manual emergency brake wheel. The scroll-type air compressor and the exceptionally quiet traction system ensure operation free from noise or pollution. As standard, the shunter is equipped with a dual-tone horn as well as an AVAS sound generator—similar to those found on electric buses—to produce sound on demand or at low speed.

What about performances and vehicle range ?

We offer a range of electric shunting locomotives with varying tractive power and energy capacities. Battery range is determined in consultation with the client to ensure full-day operation, either with or without intermediate charging. CFD teams analyse your requirements and, if necessary, adjust the embedded energy capacity or charger size.

Benefits for the operator of 100% electric locotractors

For the operator, the all-battery solution reduce or eliminate fuel and maintenance costs, as well as a quiet, eco-friendly rail vehicle capable of safely performing all rail traction operations. The battery's state of health is monitored remotely, and the unit requires no maintenance. Replacing a diesel locomotive with an all-battery equivalent—utilizing a charging point connected to the electrical grid—offers operating cost savings of up to 50%. Added to this are savings on rolling stock maintenance resulting from the absence of a diesel engine. When replacing a steam locomotive, the benefits are even more significant due to the elimination of boiler preheating times and maintenance tasks specific to steam vehicles.

For all track gauges, for all applications

The variety of track gauges found on small railway networks often limits the choices available to associations and operators regarding traction equipment. CFD fully understood this and developed various platforms to cover virtually all track gauges found in Europe and elsewhere. The two-axle "600" platform covers gauges ranging from 500 mm to 760 mm, with an overall width of up to 1,800 mm, an axle load of 3 to 4 tonnes (depending on traction requirements), and a continuous traction power of 40 kW at the rail (equivalent to an approximately 80 hp diesel engine). The two-axle "750" platform, with a width of 2,200 mm, targets the 700 mm to 760 mm gauges historically found in Central Europe and on forestry railways; it is both more powerful and heavier.

600mm gauge, 53 kWh Li-ion shunting locomotives for Chanteraines park (Paris suburb, France).

CFD has delivered two new electric narrow-gauge locomotives that meet the environmental requirements of the park, which has been awarded the EVE® (Espace Vert Ecologique) label. These two machines are powered by Lithium-Ion batteries and asynchronous electric transmission. The challenge was to design a vehicle capable of travelling more than 40 km a day with an heavy towed load, while maintaining a high level of safety. The locomotives have a useful capacity of 44 kWh, providing over 6 hours of autonomy, and an ultra-high-performance braking system enabling the entire load to be braked on the locomotive alone. The traction power and flexibility of electric braking mean you can overcome any difficulties on the line or stop the convoy at a station without applying the mechanical brakes.