This series of high-power locomotives, 4,600 kW, was built by Krauss-Maffei, MTM, and CAF, with Brown Boveri electrical equipment, single-motor bogies, and six axles. They were intended to haul heavy passenger trains at 160 km/h and 1,000-ton freight trains at 100 km/h on 20 per mil gradients without slipping.
The first two were built at the Krauss-Maffei plant, and the rest were built at MTM and CAF. They consisted of forty units, thirty-five with classic electrical equipment, 250.001 to .035, and five with chopper control equipment, which formed the 250.601 to 605 series. Although they were planned to be used on the Pajares line, due to the variety and volume of traffic in Barcelona, they were assigned to the Can Tunis depot. Because of problems achieving 160 km/h, their speed was reduced to 140 km/h, where they continued to be commonly used for hauling passenger trains, sharing duties with the Japanese units, which eventually replaced them, leaving them for freight traffic.
In 1992, with the arrival of the new 252 series for passenger service, all of the 250s were transferred to the Valencia-Font de Sant Lluís depot, where they were used solely for freight transport, although they continued to run regularly in Catalonia.
When the Business Units were created, they became part of the Traction BU, adopting the yellow and dark gray color scheme, which earned them the nickname “taxi” due to their resemblance to the colors of those vehicles in the Catalan capital. Nevertheless, a couple of choppers maintained the "Estrella" scheme they had adopted in the mid-eighties until their discontinuation.
Given the endemic problems with the transmissions, for which there was no interest in resolving despite a simple solution, and for which there was a solution with the Japanese ones, which produced high maintenance and a relative lack of spare parts, this was resolved by using parts from other units that were decommissioned. In 2009, they began to be retired, until in April 2010, the last locomotive in service, the 250.007, ran.
Locomotive 250.029 was ceded to the FPPFI and transferred to Móra la Nova in 2013, where it has since undergone functional restoration, regaining its original blue and yellow livery, and can be seen moving on the museum's tracks.
Technical data sheet
| Any construction | 1982 |
| Constructor | Krauss Maffei/Brown Boveri/MTM/CAF |
| Track width (mm) | 1668 |
| Length | 20,000 meters. |
| Height | 3,820 m. |
| Amplification | 3,130 m. |
| Pes | 124 Tm |
| Axis layout | Brother Brother' |
| Tension | 3.000 Vcc |
| Motors | 2 x 6 EBO 8146 |
| Power | 4.600 kW |
| Maximum speed | 160 km/h |
Client: FPPFI
Restoration Types: Functional
Any: 2024
