The DBAG Class 225 are a set of related 4 axle diesel hydraulic locomotives from the

DB V 160 family The ''DB V 160 locomotive family'' comprises several classes of closely related 4-axle diesel-hydraulic locomotives built in the 1960s and 1970s for the Deutsche Bundesbahn which take the family name from the earliest built model: the 'DB Class V ...

. The series does not represent a new build, but a reclassification and/or rebuilding of 1960s and 1970s locomotives of Class 215 and

218 Year 218 ( CCXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Adventus (or, less frequently, year 971 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 218 for th ...

units. The class were transferred to

DB Cargo DB Cargo (; previously known as Railion and DB Schenker Rail) is an international transport and logistics company. It is responsible for all of the rail freight transport activities of the German railway company Deutsche Bahn (the DB Group) bo ...

for freight only operations. The individual details of the members are as the locomotive classes they were derived from, excluding any modifications undertaking for the conversion to non-passenger work.

Background, history and design modifications

After passenger work for many of the DB Class 215 disappeared,

DB Regio DB Regio AG () is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates regional and commuter train services in Germany. It is a 100% subsidiary of the Deutsche Bahn Group and therefore part of the DB Regio business segment, which also includes DB Regionn ...

transferred 68 locomotives to

(later

Railion DB Cargo (; previously known as Railion and DB Schenker Rail) is an international transport and logistics company. It is responsible for all of the rail freight transport activities of the German railway company Deutsche Bahn (the DB Group) bo ...

) for freight work. From 2001 onwards the units underwent conversion to Class 225. Later, between 2003 and 2005, another six engines, prototypes of the

DB Class 218 The DB Class 218 (before 1968 the DB Class V 164) are a class of 4-axle, diesel-hydraulic locomotives acquired by the Deutsche Bundesbahn for use on main and secondary lines for both passenger and freight trains. The class represents the final ...

, were transferred and converted to Class 225.8. The steam heating was removed since it was no longer needed; instead, a heater for pre-heating the engine machinery was installed. A large part of them went into service still unmodified, the removal of the steam boiler taking place later concurrently with scheduled overhauls. All of the class have multiple working control, allowing pairings to be formed with both

DB Class 217 The DB Class V 162 (after 1968 named DB Class 217) is a class of four-axle diesel hydraulic locomotive built as a development of the DB Class V 160 for the Deutsche Bundesbahn from 1965 to 1968. This variant has a separate diesel engine providi ...

and

(for example, a pair consisting of a 217 and 225 class were often in use around

Mühldorf Mühldorf am Inn (, ; Central Bavarian: ''Muihdorf am Inn'') is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Mühldorf (district), district Mühldorf on the river Inn (river), Inn. It is located at , and had a population of ab ...

). There are differences between the individual class members; locomotives ''225 001-004'' and ''225 802-811'' lack a hydrodynamic brake. The locomotives ''215 030'' to ''215 032'' also were transferred to this class. The auxiliary generator in these special examples was not removed. The top speed for this class is limited to 130 km/h. Their central depot is in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, locomotives in use work from the depots of

Giessen Giessen, spelled in German (), is a town in the Germany, German States of Germany, state () of Hesse, capital of both the Giessen (district), district of Giessen and the Giessen (region), administrative region of Giessen. The population is appro ...

, Gremberg,

Kornwestheim Kornwestheim (; ) is a town in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated about north of Stuttgart, and south of Ludwigsburg. History Origins and Development Kornwestheim's history spans over 1200 years, first ...

Mainz-Bischofsheim Bischofsheim () is a municipality in Groß-Gerau district in Hesse, Germany with a population of more than 13,000. Geography Location Bischofsheim lies south of the Main and east of the Rhine in the so-called ''Mainspitze'' triangle, a narr ...

and

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

Osterfeld Osterfeld is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated southeast of Naumburg. It is part of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Wethautal. On 1 January 2010 it absorbed the former municipal ...

. As of June 2008 the locomotives have been partially phased out, but there are still about 50 machines operating in active service. A complete phasing out of the locomotives is not currently (2015) planned since the remainders are still in use.

References

External links

{{German diesel locomotives Diesel locomotives of Germany

225 __NOTOC__ Year 225 ( CCXXV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Fuscus and Domitius (or, less frequently, year 978 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 225 ...

B-B locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 2001 Diesel–hydraulic locomotives of Germany