Key takeaways
- Vossloh no longer builds locomotives today. Both vehicle sites have been sold off, but the name stays on the vehicles.
- The Kiel line was called MaK, then Vossloh, then something else. Same works, three names – hence the many wrong attributions.
- G means diesel-hydraulic, DE diesel-electric. The prefix tells you the drive type before you look anything up.
- Vossloh's most common product isn't a loco, but the W-shaped tension clamp on almost every German concrete sleeper.
- End cab instead of centre cab is the fastest way to tell them apart from the Gravita types.
Contents
- 1.Fact file
- 2.Business areas
- 3.Structure & brands
- 4.History at a glance
- 5.How to recognise the company
- 6.Strengths and weaknesses
- 7.There are two Vosslohs, and you need both
- 8.The Kiel line: MaK, Vossloh and after
- 9.Reading the type scheme
- 10.How to place a G-loco trackside
- 11.Where you’ll meet Vossloh day to day
- 12.MaK, Vossloh or successor – what do you log?
- 13.Verdict
- 14.Frequently asked questions
Fact file
| Role in the system | Railway infrastructure supplier – rail fastening, points, rail machining |
|---|---|
| Origin | 1888 in Werdohl in the Sauerland |
| Former division | Locomotive building in Kiel, descended from MaK |
| Type prefixes on the locos | G for diesel-hydraulic, DE for diesel-electric |
| Second locomotive site | Valencia – today part of Stadler Rail |
| Most visible product | The W-shaped tension clamp on concrete sleepers |
| Not a railway operator | Only the service company holds its own licence for works movements |
| Official website | www.vossloh.com |
Business areas
Structure & brands
History at a glance
How to recognise Vossloh
Does the train really belong to Vossloh?
- W-shaped tension clamp on concrete sleepers – by far the most common Vossloh product, right under your feet
- End cab with a long bonnet – the classic body shape of the G-locos from Kiel
- Type designation with G or DE – G stands for diesel-hydraulic, DE for diesel-electric
- Angular fronts on the new generation – the G 6, G 12 and G 18 look noticeably more angular than the older G-1000 types
- Yellow works vehicles with grinding or milling equipment – the visible side of the Rail Services division
- Builder's plate naming Kiel – on all G and DE types, regardless of the current owner
- Colourful keeper liveries – G-locos mostly run with private companies, so there is no house colour
Strengths and weaknesses
What the company stands for
- G-locos are ubiquitous in private freight traffic and easy to find
- The type scheme is logically built and readable after a little practice
- The end-cab body shape sets them clearly apart from the Voith types
- Vossloh components in the track can be studied from the platform without needing access rights
- Rail-grinding trains are rare but very rewarding photo subjects
Where it falls short
- The name on the loco tells you nothing about the works' current owner
- The MaK–Vossloh–successor transitions regularly lead to incorrect manufacturer entries
- Without a builder's plate, neighbouring types such as the G 1206 and G 1700 are hard to tell apart
- There is no reliable public overview of the current distribution of G-locos among keepers
- Works vehicles run almost only at night or during possessions and are hard to plan around
Updated: August 2026 – In spotting logs, Vossloh stands for diesel locomotives: G 1206, G 1700, G 6, DE 18. Within the company itself, vehicle building no longer plays any role. Both locomotive sites have been sold off, and the business today sits in track superstructure. The vehicles keep running regardless – carrying the name of a firm that no longer builds them.
Keep G-locos cleanly apart
Log type, number and place in one step – instead of guessing between MaK and Vossloh later.
There are two Vosslohs, and you need both
The first Vossloh is a supplier for railway infrastructure with roots in the Sauerland, founded in 1888 in Werdohl. Its most important product is so unremarkable that hardly anyone notices it consciously: the tension clamp that holds the rail down onto concrete sleepers. It sits in a large part of the German network, and in many networks worldwide.
The second Vossloh is a locomotive factory that no longer exists under this name. It’s located in Kiel, was previously called MaK and later something else again. For you at the trackside, this is the more relevant half, because its products stand in front of you every day.
The Kiel line: MaK, Vossloh and after
Maschinenbau Kiel was one of the great German diesel locomotive builders. Vossloh took over this business and continued the type series under its own name, without fundamentally changing the designs. That’s exactly where the most common misunderstanding arises: the MaK G 1206 and the Vossloh G 1206 are not different vehicles, but the same type from two different company eras. At DB Cargo Deutschland it runs as class 273.
Later, Vossloh gave up locomotive building entirely – first the Spanish site to Stadler Rail, then the Kiel works. The electrical equipment division also went, and continues today as Kiepe Electric.
The company name on the vehicle is a timestamp
A builder's plate tells you when a locomotive was built, not who owns the works today. Anyone who enters the current owner instead of the original manufacturer in a spotting log makes the entry worthless the moment the next takeover happens. Note what's on the vehicle – attribution comes later.
Reading the type scheme
| Type | Drive | Field of use | Recognisable by |
|---|---|---|---|
| G 1206 | diesel-hydraulic | shunting and transfer duty | end cab, long bonnet, very widespread |
| G 2000 BB | diesel-hydraulic | medium main-line service | larger body, often an asymmetric front |
| G 6 | diesel-hydraulic | light shunting duty | short, angular machine |
| G 18 | diesel-hydraulic | heavy shunting and main-line service | new generation, angular front |
| DE 18 | diesel-electric | main-line service, including passenger trains | same family, different power transmission |
The pattern behind it is simple: the prefix before the number describes the drive type, the number places the machine in the power scale. The new generation with the G 6, G 12 and G 18 replaced the old four-digit designations. The DE 18 is the diesel-electric variant of the same family, the Eurolight the export variant for main-line service.
In practice that means: the letters help you straight away, the numbers only with practice. Between a G 1206 and a G 1700 there are few visible differences, while between a G-loco and a DE-loco lies a completely different drive philosophy. Anyone attempting the Kiel types for the first time should therefore not start with the number, but with the prefix and the silhouette. Everything else can be read off the builder’s plate once you get close enough.
How to place a G-loco trackside
Check the silhouette
An end cab with one long and one short bonnet points to the Kiel line. A centre cab points away from it.
Estimate the generation
Rounded, organically grown shapes point to the older G-1000 types, angular fronts to the new generation from the G 6 onwards.
Read the builder's plate
It names MaK or Vossloh and the year built. That gives you the company era, not just the type.
Note the keeper marking
G-locos mostly run with private companies. The marking in the data panel is the only reliable information on the keeper.
Capture the number in full
Only that makes the sighting unambiguous. How it's structured is in the guide to the UIC number.
G 1206, or something else after all?
The builder's plate weighs the most, because it delivers both type and era at once.
Where you’ll meet Vossloh day to day
You’ll find G-locos wherever private freight railways work: at ports, private sidings and transfer points. In Duisburg-Hochfeld Süd, traffic from several private railways converges, while at Maschen marshalling yard works traffic mixes with the long-distance traffic of the big freight railways. Both locations share the same advantage: the vehicles often stand there for minutes at a time, waiting for a signal or a handover. That standing time is exactly what you need to actually read the builder’s plate and the data panel.
The other half of the company you’ll see everywhere once you start paying attention: rail fastening in the track, points components at the throat of a station, occasionally a yellow works vehicle. Vehicles like this run almost exclusively during possessions and can’t be planned around. If you still want to catch one, take your cue from announced engineering works – and accept that most attempts come to nothing.
Document private railway locos completely
Keeper marking and number instead of colour – captured in seconds with the Traintrack app.
MaK, Vossloh or successor – what do you log?
Log MaK, if …
- the builder's plate names MaK
- the year built falls before the takeover of the works
- a source clearly attributes the vehicle to MaK production
Note both, if …
- you couldn't read the builder's plate
- the type was built in both eras, for instance the G 1206
- the loco was rebuilt or reregistered
Don't log Vossloh, if …
- you only mean today's group structure, not the original manufacturer
- the vehicle came from the Spanish works and was built there later
- only Vossloh components are fitted
How to work through unclear cases systematically is described in the guide to identifying classes. The basic rule stays the same: read first, attribute afterwards.
Private sidings are private land
A large share of G-loco operation happens on works and port railways. These areas are not public, even where no fence is visible. Photograph from the road or from publicly accessible paths and keep to the distance described in safety distance at the track.
Verdict
Vossloh is today an infrastructure supplier whose best-known product is a tension clamp. In spotting logs, the name lives on as a locomotive manufacturer, even though that business was sold off long ago.
For practice that means: log what’s on the vehicle. The Kiel works has carried three names, and these probably won’t be the last. A sighting built on the builder’s plate and the vehicle number survives every further rebranding.
In short
Vossloh builds track superstructure now, not locomotives any more. On the vehicle, the body shape and the builder's plate count – not the works' current owner.
Sightings that survive company takeovers
Log type, year built and number – then the entry stays correct even after the next sale.
Summary
- Anyone who only knows Vossloh as a locomotive builder is working from a picture more than a decade out of date – today's company sits in track superstructure, not vehicle building.
- The G types are the backbone of private shunting and transfer traffic in Germany and will stay that way for a long time yet.
- The prefix before the number carries more information than the number itself: it tells you how the power gets to the wheels.
- On the platform you'll meet Vossloh more often in the track than on it – the fastening hardware is its own, rewarding field to watch.
Frequently asked questions
Does Vossloh still build locomotives?
No. The Spanish site went to Stadler Rail, the Kiel works later to a different owner. Vossloh itself is now focused on rail fastening, points and rail machining. The existing G and DE locos keep running and continue to be known under their Vossloh type designations.
What does G 1206 mean?
G stands for diesel-hydraulic power transmission, the number is a power index within the class family. The MaK G 1206 is one of the most-built representatives and runs at DB Cargo as class 273. Older examples still carry MaK builder's plates, later ones the Vossloh name – the same vehicle, two company names.
What's the difference between G and DE?
The prefix describes the drive type. G means diesel-hydraulic: the power runs through a fluid transmission to the axles. DE means diesel-electric: a generator feeds traction motors. The Vossloh DE 18 is an example of the second design. The difference becomes audible when starting off.
How do I tell a Vossloh loco apart from a Voith loco?
By the cab. The Kiel-built G types have an end cab with one long and one short bonnet. Voith, by contrast, consistently built with a centre cab. This silhouette works even on poor photos and from a great distance.
What is MaK, and how does it connect to Vossloh?
MaK stood for Maschinenbau Kiel and was one of the most important German diesel locomotive factories. Vossloh took over the locomotive building business and continued the type series under its own name. That's why you'll find the same vehicle listed, depending on the source, as a MaK G 1206 or a Vossloh G 1206. Misentries in spotting logs almost always arise at exactly this point.
What is the new G generation?
From the 2010s, types with short designations replaced the older four-digit ones. The Vossloh G 6 covers light shunting duty, the G 12 and the G 18 the medium and heavy range. Visually, the more angular fronts stand out.
Is Vossloh a railway undertaking?
At its core, no. The service division, however, holds its own licence for works and transfer movements and is run as Vossloh Rail Services Deutschland. It runs no passenger or freight trains, but brings grinding and measuring vehicles to the worksite. How to place such special movements is explained in the guide Who's actually running this train?.
Where can I see Vossloh products without waiting for a locomotive?
In the track right in front of you. Almost every German concrete sleeper carries a W-shaped tension clamp that presses the rail down onto the sleeper. It's easy to examine from the end of a platform. Points components and crossings are the second big field – both belong to the unspectacular but very visible part of the company.
Why are G-locos painted so many different colours?
Because they mostly run with private keepers and leasing companies. There is no works livery that ties all the vehicles together. For you, that means colour is not a means of identification. Rely on the body shape and the vehicle number instead, whose structure the guide to the UIC number explains.
What is the Vossloh Eurolight?
A diesel-electric main-line locomotive developed for export and rarely seen in Germany. The Eurolight shows that the Kiel range wasn't only shunting locos. There is, however, hardly any reliable public information on the current distribution of these machines.
Log vehicles from Vossloh
Company, vehicle, location and date logged in seconds – and visible to the community.
The operational level in the railway operator database
Who actually runs the trains, with keeper markings and identifying features on the vehicle.
Vossloh Rail Services Deutschland GmbH
Vossloh Rail Services Deutschland GmbH stands for services around the rail. This page explains the core subject behind it: rail welding and long-rail logistics.
FreightDB Cargo Deutschland AG
DB Cargo is Deutsche Bahn's freight division and Germany's largest freight railway. You can spot it straight away by the keeper marking D-DB and its traffic-red livery.
FreightRheinCargo
A company name built from region and business area – and behind it, the pattern of a jointly held company. What that means for the fleet, markings and your sightings.
FreightCaptrain Deutschland GmbH
Captrain Deutschland is a freight operator that trades as part of a brand family. That's exactly what makes identification in the field interesting: brand, keeper and operator often don't match up.
Typical vehicles
Vossloh G 6
The Vossloh G 6 is a modern three-axle diesel shunting loco from Kiel. Three axles in a rigid frame are the feature you'll identify it by first.
ClassVossloh G 12
The Vossloh G 12 belongs to the modern Kiel locomotive family: four axles, hydraulic transmission and a type designation that gives away the power class directly.
ClassVossloh G 18
The Vossloh G 18 is the most powerful hydraulic locomotive in the modern Kiel family: four axles, a centre cab and a designation that states its power class directly.
ClassVossloh DE 18
The Vossloh DE 18 is the most powerful diesel-electric locomotive in the modern Kiel family: four axles, a centre cab, traction motors instead of a hydraulic transmission.
ClassMaK G 1206
The MaK G 1206 is a four-axle centre-cab locomotive for freight and heavy shunting duties – and turns up almost everywhere on private railways.
ClassClass 273 (G 1206)
The Class 273 covers locomotives of the MaK/Vossloh G 1206 type: four-axle diesel locomotives with a centre cab, widely used by private freight operators.
Where you will find Vossloh
Spotting locations where you will regularly come across vehicles from this organisation – with viewpoints, the best light and coordinates.
Duisburg-Hochfeld Süd
Duisburg is the freight hub of the Ruhr region, and Hochfeld Süd is the point where the trains cross the Rhine. If you're after heavy freight trains, port traffic and locomotives from private operators rather than ICE units, you'll find one of Germany's busiest freight lines here.
Freight hubRangierbahnhof Maschen
The Maschen marshalling yard south of Hamburg is the largest facility of its kind in Europe: two complete hump yards, two humps, around seven kilometres in length. It can only be observed from public road bridges – the operational site itself is off limits and stays that way.
Junction stationHamm (Westf) Hauptbahnhof
At Hamm, the Ruhr region's great routes go their separate ways: towards Hanover, towards Münster and towards Kassel. Add to that a freight share that hardly any other German main station of this size reaches – and a platform hall that ties the whole operation together.
Freight hubHagen-Vorhalle Marshalling Yard
Hagen-Vorhalle is one of Germany's large marshalling yards, sitting at the northern end of the Ruhr-Sieg line. Observation is strictly from public roads and bridges – accept that, and you get to see operations that modern freight hubs no longer show.
More companies
Voith Turbo
Voith Turbo is first and foremost drive technology: turbo transmissions, couplings, components. For a good decade, though, the company was also a locomotive builder – and that's exactly where the Gravita and Maxima come from, which you still encounter in shunting and freight service today.
ManufacturerStadler Rail
Stadler Rail grew from a small workshop in Thurgau into one of Europe's defining vehicle builders. The product names FLIRT, KISS and GTW appear nowhere on the vehicle – yet you can still identify the matching designs from a great distance once you know what to look for.
ManufacturerKiepe Electric
Kiepe Electric of Düsseldorf doesn't build complete vehicles, but what moves them: traction equipment, inverters and control systems. The company belongs to the Knorr-Bremse group and is as present in trolleybuses as it is in trams.
ManufacturerGmeinder Lokomotiven
Gmeinder of Mosbach never built an ICE, but for decades it built the vehicles that shunt at every works site and every port. Once you understand its type scheme of drive, power class and wheel arrangement, a small locomotive tells you more than many a main-line locomotive.
Related guides from the blog
- Identifying Train Classes: How to Recognise Any Locomotive or Multiple Unit
- Reading the UIC number: what the 12 digits on a vehicle reveal
- Marshalling yard spotting: how to tackle Maschen, Hamm and co.
- Who's Actually Running That Train? How to Identify Railway Operators
- Tracking Freight Trains Live Made Easy: Apps, Maps, Webcams, Hotspots, Law & Safety
- Keeping a Sighting Logbook: From Scraps of Paper to a Real Database
