DB Class 218

Updated: August 2026 – Whenever a regional train is running in Germany without overhead wires, with a four-axle diesel locomotive with a closed body at the front, it is very often a Class 218. It is the main series of the V 160 family and for decades has been the backbone of loco-hauled diesel services. This page shows you how to identify it, how to tell it apart from its sisters, and where you can realistically find it today.

What is the Class 218?

The Class 218 is a four-axle main-line diesel locomotive with hydraulic transmission, built from 1968 as a pre-series and up to 1979 in full production. It has the wheel arrangement B’B’, reaches 140 km/h and has electric train heating supplied by a heating generator driven by the main engine. Most production locomotives produce around 2,500 hp.

That makes it the logical end point of a line of development that began with the Class 216. Its drawback – passenger trains could only be heated with steam – was solved by the 218 in the way that ultimately prevailed technically. That is exactly why it stayed in service while older types disappeared early.

The three features that are enough to identify it

How the 218 differs from its sisters

The Bundesbahn built several variants on the basic V 160 design. The difference almost never lies in the silhouette, but in heating, top speed and purpose.

Class	Maximum speed	Train heating	Role
216	120 km/h	steam heating	base type, pushed out of passenger service early
217	140 km/h	electric via auxiliary diesel	small trial series
215	140 km/h	steam or electric, switchable	transitional type
218	140 km/h	electric via heating generator	main series, widest use
225	140 km/h	no train heating	pure freight variant built from older stock

Once you’ve understood the system behind this, you’ll also place other German diesel classes more quickly. The transitional type with switchable heating is the Class 215, the heating-less freight variant the Class 225.

Where you’ll find the Class 218

The locomotive follows loco-hauled diesel services, long shaped in the south by DB ZugBus Regionalverkehr Alb-Bodensee (RAB). That gives a simple rule: the further you get from the overhead wire, the higher your hit rate – as long as the line is still worked with a locomotive and coaches rather than diesel multiple units.

Location	Chance of a sighting	Why
Diesel lines with loco-hauled push-pull trains	high	Classic operating ground for the class
End points of electrification	high	Traction changes, longer standing times, good view from the platform
Car-carrying and seasonal services	medium	Extra workings, but only at certain times of year
Engineering sites with works trains	medium	Private keepers use the 218 in front of engineering trains, irregularly
Lines worked purely by multiple units	low	Where diesel multiple units have taken over, loco-hauled workings are missing

For choosing a specific spot at larger hubs, the overview of the best stations for trainspotting in Germany helps. One thing stays important: track areas, operational installations, depots and stabling sidings are operational or private land and are off limits. Photography happens from the platform, from public paths and bridges – not in between.

Photo tips specifically for the 218

The 218 is a rewarding subject because it offers plenty of structure: grilles, bogies, roof fittings, plus frequently changing liveries of private keepers such as BahnTouristikExpress (BTE).

Three-quarter view instead of a head-on shot. About 30 to 45 degrees to the vehicle’s axis shows the front and side wall at once and gives the long body a three-dimensional feel.

Watch the exhaust plume and the weather. Visible exhaust smoke appears when pulling away under load – a feature that sets the diesel locomotive apart from any electric one. The effect is strongest in cold weather.

Short shutter speed for passing trains. For a sharp still image, 1/1000 s is a workable starting point, to be adjusted for speed and distance.

Think of the livery as a timestamp. Hardly any German diesel class has worn as many colour schemes as the 218: from the classic Bundesbahn-era liveries through the later DB schemes to today’s paint jobs of private keepers and museum societies; preserved locomotives stand, among other places, at the Lokwelt Freilassing. For your archive that’s both an opportunity and a trap – the livery narrows down the period of the shot but says nothing about the class itself. Special and anniversary liveries also keep appearing and disappear again after a few years. Anyone collecting the 218, then, isn’t just collecting numbers, but states.

Take the markings too. For private keepers, the side wall is the real information. Which focal length makes sense for that is covered in the guide to the best telephoto lens for railway photography; the basics of exposure, focus plane and panning are in the guide to taking good photos of trains.

Common mix-ups

Conclusion

The Class 218 belongs to the vehicles you learn properly once and then recognise everywhere. Four axles, closed body, roof-mounted radiator, number starting with 218 – that’s all it takes. What stays interesting about it has less to do with its technology than with its situation: its operating areas are shrinking, the split towards private keepers is growing, and both change faster than overview lists can keep up. That’s exactly why it’s worth logging sightings with number, date and keeper.