DB CLASS 220

In the early 1990's I spent some time visiting printing press manufacturer MAN in Plauen in old East Germany and it was a great opportunity to photograph trams, Trabants and ex Soviet railways stock.  

The enlarged DB (replacing the DDR) were forced to use some of the old DDR motive power and I revelled in seeing the massive ex Russian built diesels - Class 130/131 onwards.  Whilst work colleagues were flying down to Frankfurt one day I chose to travel by train.  They thought I was mad to do a 5 hour trip but the thrill of seeing and hearing these behemoths was irreplaceable.  If my memory is correct the DB Class 220's (above) were replaced and some of the surplus and rebuilt/modified ex DDR Class  130/DB 230's ran on local passenger train services for a short while.  Eventually the class became freight only.  

At that time in 1993/4 I couldn't find a model of the DDR diesel (although they were available by Piko) but I became very interested in German DB diesels and bought several, my first being the one in the Blip.


Five prototypes of the V 200 were built by Krauss-Maffei in 1953/1954. Full production began in 1956, with 61 engines being built by Krauss-Maffei and 20 by MaK.
The five V 200.0 prototypes were put through extensive testing, the aim being to ensure the production locomotives would be as reliable as the technology and maintenance standards of the 1950s allowed. In 1955 one locomotive travelled under its own power through Yugoslavia, Greece and Turkey partly as a test and partly to demonstrate the locomotive's capability to potential customers in those countries.
Initially the V 200 hauled express trains on all main lines, replacing the DRG Class 05, DRG Class 03and DRG Class 01. Following the electrification of many main lines the V 200 was used increasingly for commuter trains and freight trains, but the Hamburg-Westerland, Hamburg-Lübeck-Copenhagen and Munich-Lindau lines still saw the V 200 hauling express trains.
From 1962, the V 200.0 was followed by the more powerful DB Class V 200.1, later Class 221.
From 1977, the V 200.0s were concentrated in northern German engine sheds (Bahnbetriebswerke). These two-engine locomotives were more expensive to operate than single-engine locomotives like DB Class V 160. A further disadvantage was its steam heating system for carriages, since replaced by electric train heating. The last V 200 went out of service with the DB in 1984.


Source: Wikipedia