The system chosen was single phase alternating current at 12 kV and 16+2⁄3 Hz.

Six prototype locomotives were ordered for the Perpignan - Villefranche-de-Conflent line.

[2] The E 3201 worked throughout its career on the Perpignan - Villefranche-de-Conflent line for the haulage of freight trains, helped by the railcars.

Thanks to its good reliability, it was kept by the SNCF when it was founded in 1938 and it remained in service until 1959.

E 3201 / 1C1 3901 was to be preserved but, owing to an act of vandalism, only one motor from the locomotive could be saved.