Let’s face it: SBB Cargo International’s Vectrons are one of Europe’s most celebrated loco fleets. And that’s no coincidence as these locomotives keep growing not only in terms of numbers but also in terms of colors. In this article, we’ll take a flash overview of almost all the variations seen through Martin Gobeli’s lens. There’s also a bonus at the end.
No texts, just pure locomotive pixel perfection and color variations, that’s what this post is all about. Just sit back and enjoy Martin Gobeli’s photo impressions. And once you’re done, make sure to follow him on Flickr too.
Let’s start with a classic “Alppiercer” red that grabs the attention. 193 477 “Fulda” – part of the original LokRoll Vectron fleet opens this gallery with a Winner-KLV intermodal from June 2022:
The “Alppiercer 2” in Südleasing blue comes second with 193 517 “Adda” and 193 529 “Neckar” in Hornussen AG (CH) from roughly a month ago:
Up next we have a second blue duo materialized by 193 532 “Rhein” and 193 533 “Rhone”. Notice that the loco on the front is different; it’s the second edition of the “Nightpiercer” (here is the first one). The image was taken in 2020::
Two years later, that same 193 532 is seen leading another train, but there’s something different behind it…
Did you guess it? It’s one of several “Shadowpiercer” locos that SBB CI is leasing from MRCE, seen below near Schinznach-Dorf on the Bözberg
More black? No problem, but let’s add a splash of orange to the side. Here comes 193 701, also known as the “Ruhrpiercer”:
Let’s keep the specials rolling. Here we have the 193 525 “Rotterdam” a.k.a. the “Hollandpiercer”, on one of its very first missions back in 2020:
Bonus: The Alppiercer TRAXX
Vectrons are in focus here, but SBB CI also uses Akiem-leased TRAXX-es that were an Alppiercer 2 variation motif on their sides. Here’s one of them leading another Winner intermodal train, fresh from this summer:
Did we miss something? Yes sure, there are even more specials in the fleet of SBB CI. For example:
- The Ceneri2020-branded 193 518:
[CH] In the picture: SBB Cargo International’s new Ceneri2020 locomotive
- Die Güterbahnen” 193 659:
[DE / Expert] Launch of “Die Güterbahnen” – special locomotives arriving [updatedx2]
- And finally, the freshly released “Five years after Rastatt” 193 518:
[CH] “Five years after Rastatt” – Extra slogan for SBBCI Vectron 193 518
Want more? Get a subscription and enjoy our curated overview of all 38 locos delivered to date, refer to the [Data] pages below: