Key takeaways
- The 2068 is a diesel shunting locomotive and therefore the norm in shunting duty.
- The leading 2 of the class number clearly marks it as a diesel locomotive in the ÖBB scheme.
- Fastest feature: short build, no pantograph, shunting footsteps at the corners.
- Independent of the overhead line: it can work anywhere, including on non-electrified track.
- Shunting areas are operational railway land – observed and photographed exclusively from outside.
Contents
Fact file
| Vehicle type | Diesel shunting locomotive for shunting, transfer and trip workings |
|---|---|
| Designation system | ÖBB Class 2068 – the leading 2 stands for diesel locomotive |
| Energy source | Fuel carried on board, no overhead line required |
| Axles | Four axles |
| Design intent | High tractive effort at low speed |
| Fittings | Shunting footsteps and continuous handrails for shunting staff |
| Operating environment | Station forecourts, siding tracks, loading points and shunting yards |
Identifying features
Is this really the class in front of you?
- Short, stocky build with a noticeably smaller body than a main-line locomotive
- No pantograph on the roof – but exhaust and radiator equipment instead
- Shunting footsteps and handrails at the corners of the vehicle
- Class marking begins with 2068
- Moves individual wagons or short wagon groups, often with frequent changes of direction
- Also works where no overhead line is present
Updated: August 2026 – Short, stocky, with footsteps at every corner and no wire over the roof: the Class 2068 is a diesel shunting locomotive, and so a vehicle from a world of operations that doesn’t appear in the timetable. This page shows you how to recognise it, what shunting duty actually means, and exactly where the line is drawn when observing it.
Spotted a shunting locomotive? Secure the number and situation.
Shunting vehicles appear in no timetable – every documented encounter is therefore a genuine find.
What is the ÖBB Class 2068?
The Class 2068 is a diesel shunting locomotive of the Austrian Federal Railways, in other words a shunting locomotive with its own drive. It runs on four axles, is designed for high tractive effort at low speed, and handles train formation, transfers and trip workings to siding tracks and loading points.
The class designation gives you the first piece of information for free. The ÖBB lists traction vehicles under “Class” plus a four-digit number, where the leading digit encodes the vehicle type: 1 for electric locomotives, 2 for diesel locomotives, 4 for electric railcars, 5 for diesel railcars. A 2068 is therefore identified as a diesel locomotive before any further check. That it’s a shunting rather than a main-line machine is revealed by its build.
Shunting duty: the operational world behind the vehicle
Shunting duty is the invisible half of railway operations. While passenger trains run to a published timetable, shunting work arises from operational needs: wagons have to be delivered, collected, sorted and made up into trains.
Several peculiarities follow from this that set shunting locomotives apart from every other vehicle:
- Short distances, many changes of direction. A shunting locomotive covers little distance in a day but constantly changes direction of travel.
- Low speed, high tractive effort. The point is to get heavy wagon groups moving, not to be fast.
- Staff on the vehicle. Shunting footsteps and handrails aren’t decoration but a workplace.
- No timetable. There’s no publicly viewable departure time for a shunting movement.
Anyone wanting to systematically follow freight traffic as a whole will find the right data sources and their limits in the guide Tracking freight trains live.
Operationally, the work of a shunting locomotive can be roughly divided into three tasks that you can also distinguish from outside in advance. Train formation means putting together a train ready for departure from individual wagons and wagon groups – here the locomotive moves a lot, but always only over short distances. Delivery and collection means bringing wagons to a siding track or loading point and setting them down there; in doing so, the locomotive leaves the actual station area. Marshalling for departure, finally, means setting down completed wagon groups at a platform or transfer track, where they’re later taken over by a main-line locomotive.
Anyone who knows these three patterns can place an observed movement considerably better – and also knows whether it’s worth staying at a location. A locomotive in the middle of train formation will keep working for a while yet. A locomotive setting down a completed group, on the other hand, is usually about to finish.
How to recognise the class in the field
Step 1: check the build length
Noticeably shorter than a main-line locomotive, stockily proportioned – that's the first signal of a shunting vehicle.
Step 2: scan the roof
No pantograph, but exhaust and radiator equipment instead: that rules out any electric relative.
Step 3: look for shunting fittings
Footsteps at the corners of the vehicle and continuous handrails clearly confirm shunting duty.
Step 4: read the class
2068 on the side wall provides the final confirmation – and the number that belongs in your sighting.
Diesel or electric? The comparison
| Criterion | Class 2068 (diesel) | Electric shunting locomotive | Main-line diesel locomotive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy source | fuel on board | overhead line | fuel on board |
| Usable without overhead wire | yes | no | yes |
| Build | short, with shunting footsteps | short, with shunting footsteps | long |
| Typical speed | low | low | medium to high |
| Leading digit of the class | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Predictability for spotters | low | low | medium |
The table also shows the limit of the numbering scheme: the leading digit tells you the type of drive, not the purpose. Whether a 2-series class shunts or runs main-line service is decided by the build. The electric counterpart in shunting duty is the Class 1063; a typical main-line diesel locomotive is the Class 2016 (Hercules).
What's moving in freight traffic right now?
Community sightings are often the best information available for vehicles with no timetable.
Observing: clear limits
Shunting areas are operational railway land
You may not enter marshalling yards, stabling groups, siding tracks, loading points or operating depots – regardless of fences, time of day or apparent stillness. Shunting movements are quiet, change direction without warning, and sometimes run under radio remote control with no visibly occupied driver's cab. Observing and photographing is done exclusively from publicly accessible locations outside.
Usable locations lie without exception outside: road bridges over station forecourts, platform ends overlooking adjoining track groups, public paths alongside the facility. From there, shunting operations can be followed for hours, and with a bit of patience you even get the more interesting shots – because you see the process as a whole rather than just a slice of it.
This limit isn’t negotiable, not even for an especially good picture. How the legal position around railway observation and photography is generally to be assessed, and why each individual case still needs to be judged separately, is explained in the article Is trainspotting allowed?.
Photo tips for shunting locomotives
Look for elevated public locations
Road bridges and crossings give you an overview of forecourts without approaching the operational premises.
Work rather than portrait
A shunting locomotive with wagons attached tells more of a story than an isolated shot of the vehicle.
Expect long waits
Shunting consists of standing still and short movements. Whoever stays gets the shot – whoever rushes doesn't.
Don't distract staff
Shunting staff work at a dangerous workplace. No calling out, no waving, no interaction.
How to read the vehicle number unambiguously and what the individual blocks mean is explained in the guide to the ÖBB number and UIC wagon number.
Common mix-ups
It points to the 2068 if …
- a short, stocky locomotive with no pantograph is in front of you
- shunting footsteps and handrails are present
- a diesel engine is audible
- the marking begins with 2068
Look more closely if …
- the locomotive is stabled and no activity is visible
- you only see it from a great distance or against the light
- another diesel shunting locomotive of similar size is standing next to it
It's not a 2068 if …
- a pantograph sits on the roof
- the locomotive looks long and sleek like a main-line machine
- the class marking begins with 2070 or 2016
The most obvious candidate for confusion is the equally diesel-powered Class 2070. Both work in the same duty and look similar at first glance – here only the marking helps.
Conclusion
The Class 2068 stands for the work that makes railway operations possible in the first place: sorting wagons, forming trains, serving connections. It’s identified in three steps – short build, no pantograph, shunting footsteps. And because it appears in no timetable, every sighting is a small find.
In short
Short, diesel-powered, with footsteps at every corner: that's the 2068. It works independently of the overhead wire and according to operational needs – observed exclusively from outside the operational premises.
Collect shunting and freight vehicles
Number, location, date and activity in one place – turning chance encounters into a genuine overview.
Summary
- The Class 2068 stands for the ÖBB's diesel-powered shunting and trip-working duty.
- Its design is geared towards tractive effort, good visibility and staff frequently getting on and off.
- For identification, the build length, the absence of roof equipment and the class marking are enough.
- Because shunting workings don't appear in the timetable, sightings are hard to plan for and therefore especially worth documenting.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ÖBB Class 2068?
A diesel shunting locomotive of the ÖBB, in other words a shunting locomotive with its own drive on board. It's designed for train formation, wagon movements and short trip workings, and works regardless of whether an overhead line hangs over the track.
What does the 2 in the class number mean?
It encodes the vehicle type. The ÖBB designates traction vehicles with "Class" plus a four-digit number: 1 for electric locomotives, 2 for diesel locomotives, 4 for electric railcars, 5 for diesel railcars. A class beginning with 2 is therefore guaranteed to have a combustion engine on board.
Why are most shunting locomotives diesel locomotives?
Because shunting areas are frequently not continuously covered by overhead line. Overhead wire over shunting tracks is expensive and gets in the way of the work. A diesel locomotive brings its own energy along and can therefore be used anywhere – on siding tracks, at loading points and in facilities without electrification.
How do I tell the 2068 apart from a main-line diesel locomotive?
By build and fittings. Shunting locomotives are shorter, have shunting footsteps and continuous handrails, and are designed for low speeds with high tractive effort. Main-line diesel locomotives look considerably longer and don't carry pronounced footstep fittings at the corners.
What's the difference from the electric Class 1063?
The energy source. The 1063 draws its power from the overhead line via a pantograph and can only work under overhead wire. The 2068 carries its fuel on board and is therefore location-independent. In the ÖBB scheme you can already see this from the leading digit: 1 versus 2.
Are shunting locomotives remote-controlled?
In modern shunting duty, radio remote control is widespread. Shunting staff control the locomotive from outside via a portable control unit and can move freely alongside the wagon group. For onlookers this explains why a shunting locomotive sometimes runs with no visibly occupied driver's cab.
Where am I allowed to observe shunting vehicles?
Only from publicly accessible locations – platforms, bridges, roads and paths outside the railway premises. Marshalling yards, siding tracks, stabling groups and operational railway land are off limits. Shunting movements are quiet, change direction frequently, and are unpredictable to outsiders.
When do shunting locomotives work?
According to operational needs, not according to a timetable. Train formation and trip workings follow wagon volumes and connections. Anyone searching specifically should look to times of day with heavy freight volumes and current community reports rather than a departure board.
Log your sighting of the ÖBB Class 2068
Date, location and vehicle number logged in seconds – and visible to the community.
Related classes
ÖBB Class 2070
The Class 2070 belongs to the modern generation of ÖBB diesel shunting locomotives. Here's how to recognise it and tell it apart from other shunting vehicles.
Electric shunterÖBB Class 1063
The Class 1063 is an electric shunting locomotive of the ÖBB. Why a shunter with a pantograph is the exception, and how to recognise it.
Diesel locoÖBB Class 2016 (Hercules)
The Class 2016 "Hercules" is the ÖBB's modern diesel locomotive based on the Siemens ER 20. Here's how to recognise it and understand what it's used for.
Who is behind it
Groups, brands, manufacturers and operators – who owns whom and how to recognise them out in the field.
Where to see the ÖBB Class 2068
Specific viewpoints with lighting times, coordinates and an honest verdict on whether the trip is worth it.
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