ÖBB Class 1144

Updated: August 2026 – The ÖBB Class 1144 looks, at first glance, like a Class 1044 – and that’s exactly the point. It emerged from converted machines of that class and therefore carries its own number, even though almost nothing has changed externally. This page explains the pattern behind it and shows you how to tell the two classes apart for sure.

What is the ÖBB Class 1144?

The Class 1144 is a four-axle universal electric locomotive of the ÖBB with a Bo’Bo’ wheel arrangement, thyristor drive and a maximum speed of 160 km/h. It works under the Austrian traction current system with 15 kV at 16.7 Hz.

Its origin is decisive: it came about from converted and retrofitted machines of Class 1044. Because the conversion changed the operational capabilities, the ÖBB logically assigned a new class designation – keeping the system clean, even though the vehicle has remained the same externally.

The 11xx pattern in the ÖBB system

If you take away only one thing from this page, it should be this. The ÖBB designates traction vehicles with the word Class and a four-digit number. Its first digit names the vehicle type. But for several electric locomotives, a second layer is added.

You’ll find the same pattern with the Class 1142, which emerged from the Class 1042. Once you’ve understood this principle, you can correctly place Austrian classes you don’t yet know, too. The general approach to identification is described in the guide to identifying rolling-stock classes.

Placement in railway operations

Universal locomotives are both rewarding and demanding for spotters: you see them often, but you have to look closely to know what you’ve actually seen. At Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof, local and long-distance workings run close together – good conditions to practise exactly that.

Criterion	Class 1044	Class 1144
Basic design	identical	identical
Wheel arrangement	Bo’Bo’	Bo’Bo’
Maximum speed	160 km/h	160 km/h
Origin	new build	converted from 1044
Reliable recognition feature	marking 1044	marking 1144

The machines are dispatched by ÖBB-Produktion GmbH, which provides traction for the whole ÖBB group. Among its largest customers is the ÖBB Rail Cargo Group. Whether you’re more likely to find a locomotive ahead of local or long-distance services depends on the diagram in question. What practically distinguishes the two types of traffic for spotters is explained in the article on comparing local and long-distance services.

Why conversions are so common in European railway operations

The Class 1144 isn’t a special case, but an example of a pattern you’ll meet all across Europe. A locomotive is a long-lived capital asset: it’s costed over decades, not years. Operational requirements, however, change several times within that period.

New requirements arise, for instance, because trains are meant to be operated in a particular mode, because additional safety or braking equipment becomes necessary, or because vehicles are to be used on routes for which they weren’t originally intended. In all these cases, railways face the same choice: buy new or retrofit.

Retrofitting often wins because the basic design is already proven, workshops and staff know it, and spare-parts supply chains are in place. The conversion brings the existing vehicle up to the desired technical standard without the long lead time of new procurement.

The side effect is the variety of numbers that spotters have to grapple with. Instead of one class, two suddenly exist that are hardly distinguishable externally. In Austria, at least, the system is consistent about it: the changed capability is reflected in the changed class number. Anyone who knows the principle doesn’t experience such pairs as an annoyance, but as legible operational history.

Spotting and photography: the marking decides

For this class, photography isn’t purely a matter of aesthetics but part of identification. A technically perfect front-on shot without a readable marking can’t be assigned afterwards. At a photo spot like the Semmering railway near Breitenstein, trains are slow enough for both to succeed.

How to record sightings so they remain usable even years later is shown in the guide to the sighting logbook.

A practical extra tip: markings sit not only on the side wall but often on the front too, below or next to the windows. If you only catch a locomotive head-on, it’s worth looking closely there before filing the sighting as “unidentified”. Against the light, it helps to briefly switch to a darker exposure – the marking then stays readable even if the sky burns out. A second, technically less perfect shot purely to document the number is worth more in such situations than a beautiful picture with no identification.

Common mix-ups

The last point is especially relevant in Austria. On the main routes, vehicles from German, Hungarian, Czech and Slovenian keepers run regularly. A boxy four-axle electric locomotive therefore doesn’t automatically have to be an ÖBB machine. At the border station of Kufstein you see this especially clearly.

Conclusion

The Class 1144 is a textbook example of the fact that class designations in Austria encode capability, not appearance. A 1044 becomes a 1144 through retrofitting – same silhouette, different number. Anyone who understands the principle will in future read the number first and look at the shape second.