#5426
Railpower RP20BD
🇺🇸 United States ·built by Railpower Technologies· from 2006· diesel electric switcher
1 photo from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
what is it?
The RP20BD is a diesel-electric switcher locomotive built by Railpower Technologies. It is a "genset" locomotive, having three engine-generator sets. The engines are computer controlled, with the computer stopping and starting engines on a rotating basis, as required to produce the horsepower needed at any given moment.
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 20 years ago, in 2006.
- 1.5 MW is about 18 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
- Weighs about as much as 21 African elephants (~6 t each).
- Served for 7 years (2006–2013).
diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).
spec sheet
- built
- 2006
- in service from
- 2006
- retired
- 2013
- status
- retired
- number built
- 107
- kind
- Diesel-electric
- traction
- diesel
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- builders
- Railpower Technologies
- designer
- RailPower Technologies
- operators
- Union Pacific Railroad, Norfolk Southern Railway, CSX Transportation, R.J. Corman Railroad Group, Sierra Northern Railway, Modesto and Empire Traction Company, Genesee & Wyoming, Northwestern Pacific Railroad
- top speed
- 113 km/h
- power
- 1.5 MW
- gauge
- 1,435 mm standard gauge
- wheel arrangement
- Bo'Bo'
- weight
- 125 t
- nicknames
- Genset
From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q7284040, Wikipedia: Railpower RP20BD (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.