#2962
FM H-12-44
🇺🇸 United States ·built by Fairbanks-Morse· from 1950· model of American 1200hp diesel switcher
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2 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. SP 1487 FM H-12-44: Nate Beal· CC BY 2.0
- 2. SP 2380 switching Del Monte at SJ 4-71 (17120050020): Drew Jacksich from San Jose, California Republic· CC BY 2.0
what is it?
The FM H-12-44 was a switcher locomotive produced by Fairbanks-Morse from May 1950 until March 1961. The units had a 1,200-horsepower (890 kW), six-cylinder opposed piston engine prime mover, and were configured in a B-B wheel arrangement mounted atop a pair of two-axle AAR Type-A switcher trucks, with all axles powered and geared for a top speed of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). Of the 336 H-12-44 locomotives produced, 303 were for American railroads, 30 were made between August 1951 to June 1956 by the Canadian Locomotive Company for use in Canada, and one was exported to Mexico.
base stats
Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.
fun facts
- First built 76 years ago, in 1950.
- 895 kW is about 11 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 18 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 14.6 m long: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 1950–1961
- status
- preserved
- number built
- 336
- kind
- Diesel-electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- builders
- Fairbanks-Morse
- top speed
- 97 km/h
- power
- 895 kW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- wheel arrangement
- B-B
- length
- 14.6 m
- weight
- 109 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q5426713, Wikipedia: FM H-12-44 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.