Key takeaways
- The 796 comes from the VT 98 family, the second and more powerful generation of the Uerdinger railbus.
- The difference from the 798 lies not in the shape but in the control equipment – the number is what decides it.
- Fastest way to recognise it: two axles, short bodyshell, bus-like front, buffers to standard pattern.
- Family logic: the 98 generation includes a trailer car (996) and a driving trailer (998) – together they form multi-car formations.
- Historic today: services run exclusively in a heritage setting.
Contents
Fact file
| Vehicle type | Two-axle light diesel railcar for branch lines |
|---|---|
| Origin | Uerdinger railbus, second generation (VT 98) |
| Numbering path | VT 98 → Classes 796 and 798 with the 1968 computer numbering changeover |
| Distinguishing feature | Control equipment within the same design |
| Associated vehicles | Trailer car of Class 996, driving trailer of Class 998 |
| UIC type code | 95 – diesel railcars |
| Current status | No scheduled service; surviving vehicles with heritage and museum railways |
Identifying features
Is this really the class in front of you?
- Two axles, no bogies – typical of the whole railbus family
- Short, lightweight bodyshell with a bus-like front and large windscreens
- Buffers and screw couplings to standard pattern at both ends
- A slightly more solid overall appearance than the first railbus generation
- Vehicle number begins with 796; historical data panels show VT 98
- Runs alone, with a trailer car, or with further vehicles of the family, depending on the formation
Updated: August 2026 – Two axles, a short red bodyshell, a front like a bus: Class 796 belongs to the second generation of the Uerdinger railbus. It differs from the better-known 798 not in shape but in the technology behind it. This page shows you what that means, how to reliably identify the family, and where you can still see such vehicles running today.
Spotted a railbus? Get the number.
With the 98 family, only the vehicle number decides the class – note it down as soon as you make the sighting.
What is Class 796?
Class 796 is a two-axle light diesel railcar from the VT 98 family, so from the second generation of the Uerdinger railbus. When the fleet switched to computer-readable numbers in 1968, vehicles of this family were split across the class numbers 796 and 798.
The second generation came about because the first had reached its limits. The very lightly built VT 95, later Class 795, was cheap but severely limited in what it could do. The 98 generation was built more solidly and fitted with buffers and screw couplings to standard pattern – so it could work alongside ordinary vehicles and was far more versatile on branch lines.
Why there is a 796 and a 798
This is where many people stumble: both classes come from the same design and look practically identical.
The split runs within the family and concerns the control equipment – in other words, whether a vehicle could be remote-controlled in a formation with a driving trailer and further railcars. Operationally that mattered a great deal: only with this equipment could longer formations be built that were driven from the driving trailer at the front of the train.
Can't be decided from the outside
If someone shows you a photo and asks "796 or 798?", the honest answer is usually: you can't tell. Only the full vehicle number on the side wall is reliable – and for heritage vehicles, the fleet documentation of the society that runs it.
The background lies in the 1968 renumbering. Until then, the vehicles carried category letters: VT for diesel railcar, VS for driving trailer, VB for trailer car. These letters described the role within the train, not the design. When these became number groups, the opportunity was taken to place technically differently equipped vehicles of the same design into separate number ranges. One design thus became two classes – a case that occurs more often in the German system than many people expect.
Above all this sits today’s twelve-digit UIC number. Its first two digits give the vehicle type: 95 for diesel railcars. How the twelve digits are put together is explained in the guide to the UIC number.
How to identify the railbus family in the field
Count the axles
Two axles, directly in the frame, no bogies. That already narrows down the family almost completely – hardly anything else in Germany is built this way.
Narrow down the generation
The 98 generation looks somewhat more solid overall than the very slight first generation, and carries buffers and screw couplings to standard pattern.
Look at the formation
If a vehicle at the end of the train has a driving cab but no traction, it's a driving trailer of Class 998. A vehicle with neither is a trailer car.
Read the number
Only the full vehicle number decides between 796 and 798. Photograph it, even if you think you're sure.
A general sequence for identifications like this is described in the guide to identifying classes.
Where it fits in rail operations
The railbus was the vehicle of the branch line – where passenger numbers were small and operating costs decisive. Today it’s a heritage vehicle, and that shifts the whole search logic. So the search focuses on lines that societies and small railways have preserved: the Kasbachtalbahn climbs from Linz am Rhein up into the Kasbach valley, mostly with Uerdinger railbuses. The Rennsteigbahn crosses the ridge of the Thuringian Forest, run by its own railway operator.
| Search route | Chance of success | What you’ll get there |
|---|---|---|
| Running days of heritage and museum railways | high | Firm dates, usually with the vehicle named |
| Direct enquiry to the running society | high | Serviceability, planning, often photo tips too |
| Specialist forums with special-service threads | high | Transfer runs and short-notice services |
| Community sightings with photo and date | medium | Current location and actual condition |
| Older fleet lists online | low | Often outdated – owners and locations change |
| Regular timetable | none | No scheduled service any more |
Don't take on trust services you haven't checked
For vehicles from the 1950s, deadlines, spare parts and workshop capacity decide every run. A vehicle listed online as serviceable can have been sitting in the shed for years. Ask before you travel.
Where's a railbus running right now?
For historic vehicles, current sightings from other spotters are often the only up-to-date source.
Spotting and photo tips
With the 98 family, the photo has an extra job to do: it has to prove the class, because the shape doesn’t. So always plan for two shots – one composed image and one factual one with a legible vehicle number.
For the composed shot: the railbus needs the right setting. A small halt, a single-track line, an old station building – that’s where it looks right. A low viewpoint and a shallow three-quarter angle stop the short bodyshell from looking stubby.
For the factual shot, the side wall with the number panel and data markings is enough. If you also note the date, place and occasion, you’ll have solid documentation later. How to keep such records in good order over time is covered in the guide to special trains and special services, which also shows the research routes to find dates.
On museum grounds, the owner’s house rules apply. Keep to marked paths, respect barriers, avoid track areas – even if a track looks unused. Shunting movements happen on society sites, often without the safety technology of major stations.
Common mix-ups
It points to the 796 if …
- you're looking at a two-axle railbus of the more solid second generation
- buffers and screw couplings to standard pattern are fitted
- the full vehicle number begins with 796
Look more closely if …
- you only know the design – 796 and 798 look identical
- the vehicle has been restored to a historic condition
- several vehicles of the family are running in the same formation
It's not a 796 if …
- the vehicle runs on bogies
- it has no traction of its own – then it's a trailer car or driving trailer
- the number begins with 795, 798, 996 or 998
The direct point of comparison is Class 798 from the same design; the family’s non-powered partners are the trailer car of Class 996 and the driving trailer of Class 998.
Verdict
Class 796 is a good example of class numbers not always describing a visible difference. Two vehicles of the same design, the same shape, the same job – separated only by their equipment. For identification that means: you can recognise the family in seconds by its two axles and bus-like front, but only the full vehicle number tells you the class. And because scheduled service is a thing of the past, research decides whether you get to see one at all.
In brief
Two axles, short bodyshell, buffers to standard pattern: that's the second railbus generation. Only the vehicle number tells you whether it's a 796 or a 798 – and runs only happen at heritage and museum railways.
Collect numbers, not guesses
Log every sighting with the full vehicle number – especially for classes you can't tell apart from the outside.
Summary
- The 796 is a subgroup of the second railbus generation and is barely distinguishable from the 798 on the outside.
- The design is unmistakable: two axles, short bodyshell, bus-like look.
- Anyone who wants to know the exact class has to read the full vehicle number.
- Runs only take place at heritage and museum railways; always check dates with the organiser.
Frequently asked questions
What is Class 796?
Class 796 is a two-axle railbus from the VT 98 family, so from the second generation of the Uerdinger railbus. With the computer numbering changeover in 1968, VT 98 vehicles were split across the class numbers 796 and 798. The UIC type code 95 places them among the diesel railcars.
What's the difference between the 796 and the 798?
Not the external shape, but the control equipment – in other words, whether a vehicle could be remote-controlled in a formation with a driving trailer and further railcars. From the outside the two classes are therefore barely distinguishable. Only the full vehicle number on the side wall is reliable.
How do I recognise a railbus of this generation?
By two axles with no bogies, a very short bodyshell and the bus-like front with large windows. Unlike the first generation, the 98 family carries buffers and screw couplings to standard pattern, so it could work alongside ordinary vehicles.
What does the VT/VS/VB system mean?
It describes the role within the formation. VT is the diesel railcar with traction and a driving cab, VS the driving trailer with a cab but no traction, VB the trailer car with neither. These abbreviations became number blocks in 1968: railcars in the 7xx range, trailer and driving trailers in the 9xx range.
Is Class 796 still in scheduled service?
No. No vehicle of the railbus family is still running in regular service. Surviving railcars belong to heritage and museum railways and private owners, and run on running days, anniversaries and special services. Serviceability and location change – always ask the society first.
Can a railbus haul goods wagons?
Unlike the first generation, the second was designed to work with standard vehicles. On branch lines that was a practical advantage, because a single vehicle could handle passenger and light freight traffic in one diagram. In today's heritage operation that no longer matters.
How do I find dates for railbus services?
Via the events pages of heritage and museum railways, specialist forums with special-service threads, and current community sightings. Don't rely on older location lists: vehicles change owner, storage location and operating condition, often more than once.
Why are the axles so important for identification?
Because two-axle railcars without bogies are extremely rare in Germany. Anyone who sees this design has already narrowed the field down to a handful of families. Everything else – generation, class, individual vehicle – then follows from detail features and the vehicle number.
Log your sighting of the Class 796
Date, location and vehicle number logged in seconds – and visible to the community.
Related classes
Class 798
Class 798 is the best-known Uerdinger railbus: two axles, short, often running as a formation with trailer car 996 and driving trailer 998.
DMUClass 795
The Class 795 is the VT 95, the Bundesbahn's first-generation Uerdingen railbus: two-axle, extremely light, and today running almost only at heritage railways.
DMUClass 996
The Class 996 is the unpowered trailer car of the railbus family – no cab, no engine, but its own class number.
DMUDB Class 612
The RegioSwinger, Class 612, is the most successful German tilting-technology diesel railcar: two cars, 160 km/h and for years the backbone of winding routes.
DMUDB Class 614
The Class 614 was the three-car local-service railcar of the 1970s: two motor cars, one intermediate car and a look you recognise instantly.
DMUClass 615 (Bombardier Itino)
The Itino is one of the rarest diesel railcars in German regional services. As Class 615 it falls between the big families LINT, Talent and Desiro.
Who is behind it
Groups, brands, manufacturers and operators – who owns whom and how to recognise them out in the field.
Kasbachtalbahn
The Kasbachtalbahn climbs from Linz am Rhein in tight curves up into the Kasbach valley – so steeply that vehicles and crews need special certification. Services are mostly run with Uerdinger railbuses, built for exactly this kind of branch line.
Heritage railwayRennsteigbahn
The Rennsteigbahn runs over the ridge of the Thuringian Forest – a standard-gauge line with steep-gradient sections and one of Germany's highest stations. Unlike a park railway, a proper railway operator stands behind it, with everything that entails.
Related guides from the blog
