The Be 3/5 11201 was one of four test locomotives ordered by the Schweizerischen Bundesbahnen (SBB) in June 1917. Intended to provide experience with electric traction, the locomotive was intended, along with Be 4/6 12301, Be 4/6 12302 and Ce 6/8I14201, to be used on services on the Gotthardbahn. The Be 3/5 was something of a stopgap offered by Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon (MFO) because they felt that the requirements required for the Gotthard Railway could not be fulfilled at the time. As the MFO did not feel that it could produce a freight locomotive with six drive-axles, a smaller version of the BLS Be 5/7 was offered. This meant that the locomotive did not fulfil the SBB specifications for the Gotthard line; it was too weak and, compared with the A 3/5 steam locomotives, too slow. However, due to a lack of available stock, the railway still took delivery of the locomotive, a decision later proved correct by the long operational life and reliability of the Be 3/5.

The Be 4/6 12301 was one of four test locomotives ordered by the Schweizerische Bundesbahnen (SBB) in June 1917. For gaining experience for ordering electrical locomotives this locomotive should – as her three sisters Be 3/5 12201, Be 4/6 12302 and Ce 6/8I14201 – have been used for services on the Gotthardbahn. The Be 4/6 12301 was the alternative design of MFO for a fast train locomotive for the Gotthard railway line. She was designed and built according to the requirement specifications of the SBB. But – except for occasional trips to the maintenance shop of Bellinzona – did not appear on the Gotthard railway line. The design was intrinsically reliable. The locomotive operated for 44 years in very various services. The locomotive drivers liked the locomotive because her driving behaviour was very smooth even at top speed. But technically the locomotive was much more complicated than their sisters Be 4/6 12302 and Be 4/6 12303-12342.