Electric locomotive L301

The search for alternatives to steam locomotives led to the use of other energy sources on the railway. Electric power allowed a reduction in personnel costs, as well as increasing trains’ operational speed, frequency, regularity and transport capacity. One of the first electric locomotives to operate in Portugal was L301. A unique example, ordered by the Estoril Society from the General Electric Company of Great Britain in the late 1940s, it reinforced services on the Cascais Line, which, in 1926, was the first electrified line in the country. It was intended for freight and passenger trains and for shunting. It remained in service until the mid-1990s. Due to the loud sound of its horn, which could be heard several kilometres away along the line, it was known as “Amália”, in honour of the fado singer Amália Rodrigues.