NSB El 12 was an electric locomotive

Electric locomotive

An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...

 used by Norges Statsbaner (the Norwegian State Railways, NSB) to haul iron ore trains on Ofotbanen between 1957 and 1990. The locomotives were based on the Swedish Dm

SJ Dm3

Dm and Dm3 is a series of locomotives used by Statens Järnvägar and later Malmtafik i Kiruna for pulling iron ore trains on Malmbanan in Sweden and Ofotbanen in Norway. A total of 39 double-locomotives were delivered between 1953 and 1971, built by ASEA. A further 19 center locomotives were...

 that was used with success on the connecting Malmbanan

Malmbanan

The Iron Ore Line is a long railway line between Riksgränsen and Boden in Norrbotten County, Sweden. The line contains two branches, from Kiruna to Svappavaara and from Gällivare to Koskullskulle. The term is often colloquially used to also include the Ofoten Line, from Riksgränsen to Narvik in...

. The eight units were always operated in pairs or in triples and were numbered 12 2113 - 12 2120. Four double sets remain as heritage locomotives.

History

After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 the production resumed at the mines operated by LKAB

LKAB

LKAB is a Swedish mining company. The company mines iron ore at Kiruna and at Malmberget in northern Sweden. The company was established in 1890, and has been 100% state-owned since the 1950s...

 at Kiruna

Kiruna

Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is the seat of Kiruna Municipality Kiruna (Northern Sami: Giron, Finnish: Kiiruna) is the northernmost city in Sweden, situated in Lapland province, with 18,154 inhabitants in 2005. It is...

 and Malmberget

Malmberget

Malmberget is a locality and mining town situated in Gällivare Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden with 6,017 inhabitants in 2005. It is situated 5 kilometres from the municipal seat Gällivare....

 with estimates of a 50% production increase within few years. To solve the problems with increased traffic, the railway companies had the choice of either building double track

Double track

A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.- Overview :...

 or hauling longer trains. The latter solution was chosen, and on the Norwegian side the ten El 3

NSB El 3

NSB El 3 was an electric locomotive used by Norges Statsbaner to transport iron ore on Ofotbanen. Five twin-locomotive sets were in service from 1925 to 1967.-History:...

 locomotives were converted from five double sets to three triple sets with one reserve and the two El 4

NSB El 4

NSB El 4 was an electric locomotive used by Norges Statsbaner to transport iron ore on Ofotbanen. NSB had a total of five triple-locomotive sets.-History:...

 converted to a double set. But this solution would require more locomotives.

The Swedish Statens Järnvägar

Statens Järnvägar

The Swedish State Railways or SJ, originally the Royal Railway Board , is a former government agency responsible for operating the state railways in Sweden....

 (SJ), who operated the trains from the mines to Riksgränsen

Riksgränsen

Riksgränsen, The National Border in Swedish, is a ski-resort in Kiruna Municipality, Lappland, Sweden, 200 km north of the Arctic Circle. The skiing season is from February to June...

, has chosen to buy 12 Dm units in 1952 based on the Da

SJ Da

Da is a series of locomotives used by Statens Järnvägar of Sweden. 93 units were built by ASEA between 1953-60. They remained in service until the 1990s.-History:...

 units from 1950. NSB chose to buy six more or less identical units from Motala Verkstad in 1954 and an additional two in 1957 from NOHAB

NOHAB

NOHAB was a manufacturing company in the city of Trollhättan, Sweden.The company was founded by Antenor Nydqvist, Johan Magnus Lidström and Carl Olof Holm in 1847 as Trollhättans Mekaniska Verkstad as a manufacturer of turbines for hydraulic power plants...

. But the ore production continued to increase, and in 1960 SJ ordered a middle section for their Dm units, creating the Dm+Dm3+Dm unit configuration. NSB chose to rebuild three of their locomotive pairs to triple units, but in 1967 NSB ordered six new technically far more advanced El 15

NSB El 15

NSB El 15 is a class of electric locomotives which are now operated by the Swedish company Hector Rail as Class 161 locomotives. The locomotives were originally built for the Norwegian State Railways in 1967 to replace the NSB El 3 and NSB El 4 engines on Ofotbanen...

 locomotives. The El 12 units were taken out of service between 1989 and 1992.