On the roof are found scissor (double-arm) pantographs of the type DBS 54a, standardized for all "Einheits" classes, mounted on the obligatory roof insulators, as well as the compressed air main switch and the current-to-voltage converter for the monitoring of the overhead wire voltage. The 3-core transformers are oil-cooled, to which the control unit with its 28 running steps is connected. The acceleration is designed to function in delayed mode, where the engineer chooses the running step, and the control unit will initiate the chosen setting independently. For emergency operation manual control by hand crank is possible. Many locomotives feature thyristor load diverters.