Locomotive

A locomotive (also known as a train engine) is a type of railroad vehicle, examples of which can be found throughout the Mojave Wasteland, the Commonwealth and Appalachia.

Overview
Very little is known about railroad operations in the Fallout universe prior to the Great War. The mass presence of freight cars in rail yards throughout the wasteland suggests that railroads were used for transporting freight in the pre-War United States.

Fallout: New Vegas
The locomotives appear to belong to the same railroad company, Barstow Strong Express, as they are all decorated in the same paint scheme. While an operational example cannot be found in the game, Chomps Lewis at Sloan will tell the Courier that what they dig from their quarry is shipped off by train to the New Vegas Strip and other parts of the Mojave Wasteland.

Fallout 4
These locomotives were used by NH&M to haul trains, having a highly advanced design with an elevated driver's cab and the nuclear engine suspended high above the track. It was effective and in widespread use across the Commonwealth.

Fallout 76
Trains found in Appalachia are the same model as those found in the Commonwealth, however, they are operated by the New Appalachian Railroad company. Some, if not all models, were even automated.

Fallout: New Vegas
Train engines can be found on the rail lines around New Vegas. Two examples include a lone engine sitting on the tracks at the Boulder City train station and one is attached to several boxcars in the gypsum train yard.

Fallout 4
A well-preserved example, along with several boxcars and flatbeds, can be found at Bedford Station. Another one is just due east along the tracks near Starlight Drive In. Another one is on a red bridge, northeast of Egret Tours Marina.

Fallout 76
One can be found at Watoga Station pulling several boxcars. Several more can be found in the New Appalachian central trainyard.

Appearances
Locomotives appear in Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4 and Fallout 76.

Behind the scenes

 * Locomotives in the Fallout series are based, at least in part, on real-world locomotive design. The locomotives in the Mojave Wasteland are very similar in appearance to the iconic F-Unit series of locomotives manufactured between 1939 and 1960 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors. The locomotives in the Commonwealth appear to be inspired by the T1 Class and S2 Class locomotives of the Pennsylvania Railroad, manufactured between 1942 and 1946.
 * The locomotive at the entrance to Boulder City is adorned with the logo for the fictional "Barstow Strong Express." This may be a reference to William Barstow Strong (1837–1914), former president of the real world Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway.
 * It is unknown as to how these vehicles were powered. While the real-world F-series and T1 class locomotives were diesel-electric and steam-powered, respectively, the pre-War oil crisis and lack of a coal tender on Fallout 4 locomotive suggest that they may be powered via alternative means.