skip to content
stan runge

#6138· HLD 54

Belgian Railways Class 54

🇧🇪 Belgium ·built by Société Franco-Belge· class of 8 Belgian diesel locomotives

🛤️ diesel locomotive diesel retired
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. NMBS Loc 5404: Michiel Dumon ( Michieldumon )· CC BY-SA 3.0
  2. 2. 5404 - panoramio: Jan Uyttebroeck· CC BY-SA 3.0
  3. 3. 19.08.95 Houyet 5407 (14618295597): Phil Richards from London, UK· CC BY-SA 2.0
  4. 4. 2009-08-30 Stockem atelier 5311: Noben k· CC BY-SA 3.0
  5. 5. 1987-09-11 Ciney 5401 waiting for next service: Phil Richards from London, UK· CC BY-SA 2.0
  6. 6. 12.03.88 Virton 5217 & 5404 (6121459103): Phil Richards from London, UK· CC BY-SA 2.0
  7. 7. 5404 Marbehan 150 ans L162: Karl Noben· CC BY-SA 3.0
  8. 8. Belgian Loctype 54: Smiley.toerist· CC BY-SA 3.0
  9. 9. Diesellok SNCB,NMBS Class 54 HLD 5404: Alf van Beem· CC0
  10. 10. Stoomtrein Oostende 2010: Smiley.toerist· CC BY-SA 4.0
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
Belgian Railways Class 54, photo 1 of 10
1/10 Michiel Dumon ( Michieldumon )· CC BY-SA 3.0

what is it?

Series 54, (originally Type 204) were diesel locomotives used by the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB). Along with Series 52, 53 and 59, they were the first generation of Belgian diesel locomotives, built in the 1950s. All three types were ultimately derived from the earlier Series 52 locos, representing a faster version of the design, allowing for 140 km/h usage instead of 120 km/h.

who runs it

SNCB/NMBS

base stats

  • speed 140 km/htop speed
  • power 1.3 MWpower output
  • weight 108 tin working order
  • built 8made in total

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

  • Top speed is 1.1× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • 1.3 MW is about 15 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
  • Weighs about as much as 18 African elephants (~6 t each).
  • 18.9 m long: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.

diesel locomotive: A diesel engine on board drives the wheels, usually through a generator (diesel-electric).

spec sheet

built
—
retired
2016
status
retired
number built
8
kind
Diesel-electric
traction
diesel
origin
🇧🇪 Belgium
builders
Société Franco-Belge
designer
General Motors EMD
operators
SNCB/NMBS
top speed
140 km/h
power
1.3 MW
wheel arrangement
Co′Co′
length
18.9 m
weight
108 t
nicknames
Gros Nez (Big Nose)
Dutch name
HLD 54

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q2439150, Wikipedia: Belgian Railways Class 54 (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.

stan runge e33afe5 source