The SNCF BB 16500s were a class of SNCF electric locomotives operating at a supply voltage of 25 kV single-phase 50 Hz AC.
Ordered from 1954 as part of the electrification of the radial lines from Paris to the north and east of France, a total of 294 locomotives were delivered between 1958 and 1964, which made them the most numerous class of electric locomotives put into service by the SNCF. These versatile machines operated over all the lines of the north-eastern quarter of France at the head of regional passenger trains or freight trains, descending as far as the Jura, Dole-Vallorbe, or venturing to the Channel coast at Cherbourg or Le Havre. Some locomotives also operated on the northern and eastern suburban lines of Paris. Eventually competition from more modern classes and the discomfort of their driving cabs, led to the locomotives all being withdrawn between 2001 and 2011.
