Key takeaways
- The 217 is the train-heating trial class of the V 160 family: a second, smaller diesel engine generated the power for electric train heating.
- V 162 and 217 are the same vehicle – the designation changed with Bundesbahn's 1968 renumbering.
- Almost impossible to tell apart visually from the 215, 216 and 218: the vehicle number is practically the only reliable feature.
- It stayed a small series; the production solution later became the 218 with a heating generator instead of an auxiliary engine.
- Today a heritage subject: fleet size, keeper and operational status keep changing, and there are no scheduled workings.
Contents
Fact file
| Vehicle type | Main-line diesel locomotive for passenger and freight trains |
|---|---|
| Designation before 1968 | V 162 |
| Wheel arrangement | B'B' (two two-axle bogies) |
| Power transmission | diesel-hydraulic |
| Special feature | additional diesel engine for electric train heating |
| Maximum speed | 140 km/h |
| Status | withdrawn by DB; only preserved in heritage settings and isolated cases |
Identifying features
Is this really the class in front of you?
- Four axles in two bogies, full-width body of the V 160 family
- Cabs at both ends, continuous engine room with no bonnets
- Vehicle number starts with 217, historic marking V 162
- Roof housings with exhaust and cooling system above the engine room
- Practically never seen in scheduled workings – sightings are special occasions
Updated: August 2026 – The Class 217 is one of those classes you know about but almost never see. Designated V 162 before 1968, it remained a small series and served mainly to answer one question: how does a diesel locomotive heat passenger carriages electrically? This page places the class technically and operationally, and shows how to tell it apart from its numerous sister classes.
Spotted a rare class?
Especially for heritage vehicles, a dated sighting with the number counts – logged in Traintrack in seconds.
What is the Class 217?
The Class 217 is a four-axle diesel-hydraulic main-line locomotive of the V 160 family that differs from its sisters through an additional diesel engine for electric train heating. Its wheel arrangement is B’B’, its maximum speed 140 km/h, and only a small series was built.
It stands, then, at a fork in the road of German diesel traction. The Class 216 still heated passenger trains with steam, the later Class 218 with a heating generator driven by the main engine. The 217 tried the third route: its own, smaller engine just for heating. Technically elegant, operationally demanding – and so an intermediate step.
The system behind the name
Two naming systems meet in this class, and both are worth being able to read.
Before 1968, Deutsche Bundesbahn named its traction vehicles by drive type and power class: V for internal combustion (Verbrennungsmotor), E for electric locomotive, ET/VT for railcars. The V 160 was the base design, V 162 and V 164 the variants with different heating technology.
From 1968, the three-digit, computer-compatible class scheme applied. The number range is no coincidence here:
| Number range | Vehicle type | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 100–199 | Electric locomotives | 110, 143, 189 |
| 200–279 | Diesel locomotives, mostly main-line | 216, 218, 232 |
| 280–299 | Diesel locomotives, special and small series | 280, 293 |
| 300–399 | Small locomotives and shunting vehicles | 360 series |
| from 400 | Multiple units and railcars | 420, 425, 612 |
For identification in the field, that means: the first digit tells you the vehicle type before you can make out any detail on the vehicle at all. How to quickly find the number on a vehicle is explained in the guide to reading train and vehicle numbers.
How to tell the 21x classes apart
Which V 160 family locomotive is that?
V 160 family
Four axles, full-width body, number in the 21x range: you're looking at a 215, 216, 217 or 218. Only the full number tells them apart reliably.
Not a V 160 design
Six axles or numbers in the 23x/24x range point to designs from Deutsche Reichsbahn stock with diesel-electric drive.
Shunting or industrial locomotive
A centre cab and bonnets point to a modern main-line diesel locomotive of a private keeper or a shunting machine, not the 21x family.
If you want a systematic approach rather than just learning this one family, the guide to identifying locomotive classes helps – it explains in what order to work through features.
Hunt down rare classes specifically
Community sightings show you where heritage vehicles were running most recently – before you set off.
Its place in railway operations
A main-line diesel locomotive like the 217 was intended for mixed duty on non-electrified main lines: passenger trains, semi-fast trains, freight trains, plus diversion and substitute workings under overhead wires whenever an electric locomotive wasn’t available. That very versatility explains why train heating mattered so much – without it, passenger service falls away, and with it half the range of duties.
Besides wheel arrangement and body style, it’s worth looking, for these classes, at details that in a photo often reveal more than the silhouette: the shape of the buffer beam and the frame edge, the arrangement of the grab handles at the front, the position of the fan grilles above the engine room, and the data panels on the side of the body. For heritage vehicles, livery comes on top – historic colour schemes are deliberately restored, but don’t always match the condition the locomotive actually carried during a given period of service. A livery is therefore a clue to the owner’s intent, not proof of a build year.
For observation and photography, that has a practical consequence: main-line diesel locomotives are found where overhead wires end. Terminus stations of electrified lines, junctions with a change of traction, and branch-line junctions are the classic observation points for this type of vehicle – even today, when quite different classes run there now.
The production solution to this problem later became the Class 215 as a transitional design with selectable heating. For the 217 itself: on the Deutsche Bahn AG network, there are no scheduled workings left. The fleet size, keeper and operational status of the surviving locomotives change with deadlines and ownership changes. Treat any older fleet information as a snapshot in time and check the current status.
Spotting and photography
Dates rather than timetables
Heritage vehicles run to an event calendar, not a timetable book. Society websites and special-train announcements are the real data source here.
Choose a public location
Platforms, paths and bridges. Track areas, depots and sidings are off-limits – you have no business being there, no matter how interesting the vehicle is.
Photograph the number and markings too
For nearly identical classes, the number is the actual proof. An extra close-up of the side of the body saves you every argument later.
Document the sighting properly
Date, place, number, keeper, livery. That exact combination turns an observation into solid information.
Why consistent documentation is especially worthwhile for rare vehicles is shown in the guide to keeping a sighting log.
Common mix-ups
It points to a 217 if …
- the vehicle number starts with 217 or the locomotive is marked V 162
- the body matches the box shape of the V 160 family
- you count four axles in two bogies
Look more closely if …
- you can't read the number – then 215, 216 and 218 are equally possible
- the locomotive is running in a historic or private livery
- you only see the vehicle from a great distance or in backlight
It isn't a 217 if …
- you count six axles
- the locomotive has a centre cab with bonnets
- the number starts with 218, 225, 232 or 293
Verdict
The Class 217 is less interesting for its operational performance than for what it tells you about the history of technology: the transition from steam to electric train heating decided which diesel locomotives got to survive. Visually it’s almost impossible to tell apart from its sisters – anyone identifying it reads the number. And anyone wanting to see it plans by special-train dates, not by timetable.
Quick verdict
V 160 family with an auxiliary diesel unit for train heating, a small series, preserved today in heritage settings: you'll identify the 217 in practice almost only by the number. Fleet size and keeper keep changing – always check the current status before planning a trip.
Preserve rare sightings for good
Number, date, place and photo all in one place – that's how your own archive of older-generation diesel locomotives builds up over time.
Summary
- The Class 217 arose from the question of how a diesel locomotive could electrically heat passenger carriages without losing traction power.
- The answer – a separate heating diesel engine – remained an intermediate step; the heating generator of the 218 later won out.
- For identification in the field, almost only the number counts across all the 21x classes, because body style and wheel arrangement match.
- Anyone wanting to see a 217 depends on heritage vehicles and special events; the current status keeps changing.
Frequently asked questions
What was special about the Class 217?
Besides its main engine, it had an additional diesel engine that supplied electric train heating exclusively. That allowed a passenger train to be heated without drawing power from the traction engine. It was one of several approaches Bundesbahn tried during the transition from steam to electric train heating.
What does V 162 mean?
V stood for internal combustion (Verbrennungsmotor), the number roughly for the power class; the third digit distinguished variants within a family. V 160, V 162 and V 164 were therefore close relatives with different technical equipment. With the 1968 renumbering, these became the three-digit Classes 216, 217 and 218.
How do I tell the 217 and 218 apart?
Almost not by appearance – both belong to the V 160 family with the wheel arrangement B'B' and a full-width body. The difference lies in the train heating: the 217 used a separate heating diesel engine, the 218 a heating generator driven by the main engine. In the field, the vehicle number settles it.
Does the Class 217 still run?
Not in regular service. The class has been withdrawn by DB; surviving locomotives are individual heritage examples. Whether one of them is currently operational depends on deadlines, spare parts and the society involved – that keeps changing and should always be checked against current information.
Why was the 217 only built in small numbers?
It was a trial design. The second engine meant extra weight, extra maintenance and extra points of failure. For full-scale production, Bundesbahn therefore opted for the simpler solution with a heating generator, which was implemented in the Class 218.
How do I even recognise a locomotive of the V 160 family?
By four axles in two bogies, a continuous closed locomotive body with a cab at each end, and an exhaust and cooling system on the roof. Shunting and industrial locomotives, by contrast, typically have a centre cab with a long and a short bonnet – that's the quickest distinction.
Where can I find information on the current whereabouts of individual 217s?
Via the full vehicle number and up-to-date sighting reports. Heritage vehicles change keeper, location and livery more often than older overviews suggest. Don't rely on lists of unknown age; rely on dated observations with a photo.
What does electric train heating mean as opposed to steam heating?
With steam heating, a boiler in the locomotive generated steam that was fed into the carriages through a heating line. Electric train heating, by contrast, feeds power into a train bus line. The switch between the two systems decided which diesel locomotive could still be used ahead of passenger trains – and ended the passenger-service career of older classes.
Log your sighting of the DB Class 217 (V162)
Date, location and vehicle number logged in seconds – and visible to the community.
Related classes
DB Class 216 (V160)
The Class 216 is the original version of the V 160 family: a four-axle main-line diesel locomotive with hydraulic power transmission. Here's how to identify it and tell it apart from the 215 and 218.
Diesel locoDB Class 218
The Class 218 is Germany's best-known main-line diesel locomotive: four axles, diesel-hydraulic, 140 km/h. Here's how to identify it and find it in service today.
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Diesel locoClass 275
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