1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Boston and Maine Railroad -1: Can't Undo at English Wikipedia· CC BY-SA 3.0
what is it?
The P-12-42, also known as the Speed Merchant, was a streamlined, 1,200 hp (890 kW) locomotive built between 1957–1958 by Fairbanks-Morse, specifically to operate on each end of the Talgo train produced by American Car and Foundry. This model represented F-M's attempted entry into the lightweight locomotive market, but only four of the low-slung units were produced: the first pair was purchased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad for their John Quincy Adams train (New York, New York to Boston, Massachusetts), while the second pair went to the Boston and Maine Railroad for their Speed Merchant train (Boston, Massachusetts to Portland, Maine). The P-12-42's eight-cylinder opposed piston engine was rated at 1,600 horsepower (1,200 kW) after 1950, but train lighting and other ancillary loads ("hotel" power) used about 25% of output, leaving 1,200 horsepower (890 kW) for traction
who runs it
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 69 years ago, in 1957.
- Top speed is 1.4× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 13 minutes.
- 895 kW is about 11 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 15 African elephants (~6 t each).
- 18.3 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
- Served for 7 years (1957–1964).
electric locomotive: Draws power from overhead wires or a third rail and pulls separate carriages.
spec sheet
- built
- 1957–1958
- in service from
- 1957
- retired
- 1964
- status
- retired
- number built
- 4
- kind
- Electro-diesel
- traction
- bi-mode
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- builders
- Fairbanks-Morse
- operators
- Boston and Maine Railroad, New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
- top speed
- 188 km/h
- power
- 895 kW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- electric system
- 660 V DC Third rail (NH only)
- wheel arrangement
- B′2′
- length
- 18.3 m
- weight
- 90.7 t
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q1389293, Wikipedia: FM P-12-42 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.