DB Class 109 (E11)

Updated: August 2026 – Three designations for one vehicle: E 11, Class 211 and finally Class 109. Hardly any other locomotive shows so clearly how German class numbers were reorganised over the decades. This page explains the numbering history, the recognition features and where you can realistically encounter the vehicle today.

What is the Class 109 (E11)?

The Class 109 is a four-axle electric locomotive for passenger services, built at the Hennigsdorf locomotive works for Deutsche Reichsbahn. It originally carried the designation E 11 and was rated for 120 km/h – a figure that suited the network and timetable of its era.

It belongs to a family: the technically closely related E 42 was the freight variant with a different gear ratio and lower maximum speed; it is now listed as Class 142 (E42). Both designs shaped Reichsbahn’s electric operations until the more modern Class 243 machines followed in the 1980s – known today as Class 143.

The numbering history: E 11 → 211 → 109

This is the most interesting part of this vehicle, and it explains a great deal about the German numbering system as a whole.

Period	Designation	Reason for the change
from the early 1960s	E 11	Letter plus number, the scheme of the early Reichsbahn era
from 1970	Class 211	Reichsbahn switched to three-digit, computer-friendly class numbers
from 1992	Class 109	Merging of both German railways’ numbering plans – 211 was already taken in the west

The last step is the most revealing. After reunification, two complete numbering plans had to be merged into one. Where the same number occurred twice, one side had to give way. The West German 211 was a diesel locomotive of the V 100 family – so the Reichsbahn electric locomotive was given a new number from the passenger-locomotive range: 109.

You’ll find the same pattern everywhere: 242 became 142, 243 became 143, 212 became 112. Once you understand this logic, you can work out the origin of almost any East German heritage locomotive from its number. The basics are covered in the guide to identifying classes; the full international system is explained in the article on reading the UIC number on a vehicle.

Recognition in the field

Where it fits in: a historic vehicle

The key point for planning: there are no scheduled services left. The class has been withdrawn from regular service; individual machines are preserved by societies, museums and private operators.

Opportunity	Realistic chance	How you’ll find out
Special trains and society events	good on specific dates	Event calendars, society websites, specialist forums
Heritage railways and depots	good, partly on static display	The venue’s opening hours and announcements
Transfer and workshop runs	down to luck	Short-notice community reports
Engineering and works-train duties for individual operators	rare and variable	Current sightings, not older lists
Regular timetable	none	There are no scheduled services

The guide to heritage railways and special trains describes where to find such dates and which channels are actually kept up to date in the enthusiast community.

The works tradition behind the class

Anyone wanting to understand the East German electric locomotives can’t avoid one place: the works in Hennigsdorf near Berlin, which later became part of Bombardier Transportation. Practically all of Deutsche Reichsbahn’s electric locomotive production came from there over the decades – from the E 11 and E 42 of the 1960s, through the successful Class 243, to the fast machines of the early 1990s.

That explains something many newcomers notice: the Reichsbahn electric locomotives look more alike to each other than the Bundesbahn classes of the same era. There was simply one manufacturer, one design school and a consistent design principle – plain, boxy, with no aerodynamic ambitions.

That has two consequences for identifying them in the field. First: shape features help you narrow down the vehicle family, but not the exact class. Second: the vehicle number matters more for these locomotives than for any West German design, because the visual differences within the family are small.

Anyone getting to grips with this vehicle group is therefore best served by learning it through the numbers and their history – the design language is the same across almost every member.

Spotting and photography

• Dates, not timetables. For historic vehicles, the event calendar replaces the timetable enquiry. Plan backwards from the date.
• One attempt, one spot. Special trains pass by once. Check light direction and background beforehand, not on site.
• Document historic markings. Especially with society vehicles, the markings are part of the information – photograph them too.
• Be considerate of other photographers. At announced special trains, many people often gather at the same spot. Arriving early is the only reliable strategy.

Tracks, operational railway land and depots are off limits – private property, entry prohibited and dangerous. That also applies on heritage railway premises: the operators are in charge there, not the visitors.

Common mix-ups

To tell it apart from Reichsbahn’s fastest electric locomotive, it’s worth checking the Class 112.1, which comes from the same works tradition but is a generation younger.

Verdict

The Class 109 is a vehicle you understand less through its looks than through its numbering history: E 11, then 211, then 109 – each step a response to a new order. Visually it remains a plain four-axle locomotive with no flourishes. If you want to encounter one, plan through societies, museums and special trains rather than the regular timetable.