Poster BB 17000 Ile-de-France

BB 17000s are SNCF 25,000-volt single-current electric locomotives, put into service between 1965 and 1968. They operated fast, express, commuter and freight trains until they were written off in December 2020.

These locomotives, nicknamed "danseuses", belong to the "BB Alsthom" family. Initially in green livery, some were repainted in concrete livery as early as 1976, and in Île-de-France or En Voyage livery in the 1990s and 2000s.

Based on the BB 25500, but without DC equipment, 105 were built. Their driver's cab was improved over the BB 16500, with increased power and a maximum speed of 140 km/h.

Their nickname "dancers" comes from their poor stability, due to the short wheelbase of the bogies, causing oscillations and high noise levels on curves.

BB 17000s use a diode-bridge current rectifier system, different from the BB 12000, BB 16000 and BB 16500 systems. Their circular scale is more compact and efficient.

They entered service in 1966 at the La Chapelle depot, before moving to the Achères depot. Used mainly on the Transilien network since the 1990s, their delisting was accelerated by the arrival of the BB 27300 and Z 50000.

Some locomotives have special features, such as BB 17005, rebuilt after an accident, or BB 17011, which covered the longest distance. BB 17029 retained its concrete livery until it burned down in 2010.

They served several lines, including Achères - Pontoise, Paris-Nord - Aulnoye - Jeumont, and various missions on Transilien lines until they were written off.

A few locomotives have been preserved, such as BB 17013 at the cité du train in Mohon and BB 17016 by the Amicale des agents de Paris-Saint-Lazare. Several were resold to Romanian Railways.