NS Class 1000

The Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) Class 1000 was a set of ten electric locomotives (numbered 1001-1010) used in the Netherlands during the latter half of the 20th century. The electrical systems and three completed units were ordered from the Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works in 1942, but the war blocked delivery until 1948. Despite high failure rates the locomotives remained in service until 1982, and locomotive 1010—built by Werkspoor—is now preserved in the Dutch National Railway Museum. In 1908 the first electric train in the Netherlands ran from Rotterdam to The Hague (Den Haag) and Scheveningen. It was electrified with a 10,000 volt 25 Hz AC power supply. After World War I the Dutch government decided to install a committee to investigate electrification of the Dutch State Railways, Nederlandse Spoorwegen, formed in 1917 but officially only established in 1937. For that, the committee members traveled the world to visit existing electrified railways. In the early 1920s they came to the conclusion that a 1500 volt DC system would be the best choice. Most Dutch electrified rolling stock were EMU's. During World War II, the German occupiers used these EMU sets to haul heavy freight trains for their war effort.