The SNCF Class BB 300 was a class of 24 electric locomotives built between 1938 and 1939. Originally ordered by the Paris–Orleans/Midi railway as a development of the Midi Class E4700 for fast services from Paris to Bordeaux and Toulouse. As delivered they were numbered E 241–E 264. Under the 1950 renumbering scheme they became BB 301–BB 324. E 258 was destroyed in 1944 so never became BB 318.[1] In 1949, 11 locomotives were leased to Nederlandse Spoorwegen, returning to SNCF in 1951.[2]
Between 1977 and 1987, the class was rebuilt as shunters with the top speed reduced to 75 km/h (47 mph). The class was withdrawn in 1997 after nearly 60 years in service.[2]
