A class of two examples: in 1961 the 2 locomotives were delivered as BB 26001 and BB 26002, tri-current versions of the BB 9400 "Vespa" class, from Fives-Lille, CEM and MTE. They closely resembled the BB 9400, but had some differences: they had double lights (one couple for white, one couple for red) instead of a single couple on the BB 9400/BB 16000 series and their pantographs were inverted.
With electrification of major European lines pending in the late-1950s, SNCF engineers wanted a locomotive type which could operate on all 4 major European currents - 1.5 kV DC, 3 kV DC, 15 kV 16⅔ Hz AC and 25 kV 50 Hz AC - but the technology wasn't advanced enough at that time. Therefore the engineers sought to realize a reliable series of dual-voltage locomotive first. With the electrification of the Paris-Brussels line pending they worked on a type that could also operate on the Belgian 3 kV DC, which could be done by connecting the DC traction motors together in series or series-parallel.
After the arrival of the more powerful CC 40100 class, they pulled lighter trains between Paris and Belgium. They were renumbered as BB 30001 and BB 30002 in 1963; the latter was retired in 1970 after it was damaged by a fire and BB 30001 in 1974.
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