Renfe 341 (10100): Spanish switcher locomotive

RENFE Serie 341 (previously 10100) «Pegasines» / «Mé-Mé»

RENFE Serie 301-012-1 (10112)

The Renfe 301 series is a range of diesel-hydraulic shunting locomotives built between 1960 and 1963 by Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima, Pegaso and MACOSA. Because these locomotives are powered by a Pegaso engine, they are also called “Pegasines”, although they also have the nickname “Mé-Mé”. They were previously registered as the 10100 series.

These locomotives, the smallest and most powerful in the RENFE fleet, were built in the early 1960s to perform shunting in stations and depots. Their design and construction are entirely Spanish, and the Pegaso engine and mechanical transmission with hydraulic clutch provide high performance.

Initially, the shunting locomotives were distributed among the main depots and workshops in Spain: Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Ourense, Oviedo and Valencia. From there they were transferred to the various institutions under their control.

They performed internal shunting in the depot and, in rare cases, hauled small trains weighing less than 100 tons over short distances.

The restructuring of Renfe in the early 1980s marked the beginning of the decommissioning of this series. The first two trains, decommissioned in 1986, 10116 and 10140, were sold to Transfesa, which used them at the Irun and Portbou marshalling yards. Mass scrapping began in 1987. However, most of the locomotives are still running today.