Key takeaways
- The 998 is the driving trailer: cab yes, engine no – the vehicle steers the train but doesn't power it.
- Quickest way to identify it: a front like a railcar, but no engine noise and no exhaust system.
- Operational purpose: nothing needs running round at the terminus – the train simply heads off in the other direction.
- VT/VS/VB system: VT is the railcar, VS the driving trailer, VB the trailer car without a cab.
- Purely historic today: driving trailers of this family only run in preserved museum formations.
Contents
Fact file
| Vehicle type | Two-axle driving trailer of the Uerdinger railbus family |
|---|---|
| Original designation | VS 98 – internal-combustion driving trailer of the Deutsche Bundesbahn |
| Equipment | Cab fitted, no engine of its own |
| Numbering history | VS 98 → Class 998 with the switch to computer-based (EDV) numbers in 1968 |
| Operational function | Allows the train to be driven from the end furthest from the railcar |
| Current status | No scheduled service; preserved vehicles run on heritage and museum railways |
Identifying features
Is this really the class in front of you?
- Cab with front windows, but no engine noise and no exhaust system
- Two axles without bogies, body shape matching the family's railcar
- Usually marshalled at the end of a railbus formation furthest from the railcar
- Stays acoustically silent when setting off – the power comes from further back in the formation
- Vehicle number begins with 998; historic markings show VS 98
- Roof without the cooling and exhaust fittings of the railcar
Updated: August 2026 – A vehicle with a cab that looks like a railbus but stays completely silent when it sets off: that’s Class 998, the driving trailer of the Uerdinger railbus family. This page explains what a driving trailer is actually good for, how to reliably tell it apart from the railcar, and what that means for documenting historic formations.
Record driving trailers with their own number
In a railbus formation every vehicle counts individually – log the driving trailer and trailer car too.
What is Class 998?
Class 998 is the driving trailer of the Uerdinger railbus family, originally listed by the Deutsche Bundesbahn as VS 98. It has a full cab but no engine of its own. The train is driven from here, while the power comes from the railcar further back in the formation.
With the switch to computer-based (EDV) numbers in 1968, the VS 98 became Class 998. There are sub-groups within this number range; which exact variant is in front of you is revealed by the full vehicle number and, for museum vehicles, the documentation kept by the society that looks after it.
What a driving trailer was good for on the branch line
The operational benefit is quickly explained, and it was crucial for cost-effectiveness.
At the terminus of a branch line there was often no run-round loop, and certainly no staff for elaborate shunting moves. Without a driving trailer, the train would either have had to run the locomotive round, or the railcar would have had to push its trailing coach with nobody sitting at the front – both impractical.
With a driving trailer, on the other hand, the driver simply switches ends. They take their seat in the driving trailer’s cab, and the train heads off in the opposite direction. No shunting move, no extra track, minimal turnaround time. This is exactly the concept that sets the 98 generation apart from the older Class 795, whose family included only a trailer car with no cab.
The VT/VS/VB system at a glance
The old class letters don’t describe the type of vehicle but its role in the train – and that’s exactly what the number blocks are based on.
| Code | Meaning | Engine | Cab | Class after 1968 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VT | Internal-combustion railcar | yes | yes | 796 / 798 |
| VS | Driving trailer | no | yes | 998 |
| VB | Trailer car | no | no | 996 |
This also makes clear why three almost identical-looking vehicles carry three different class numbers: what matters isn’t the appearance but the equipment. Anyone who wants to understand the differences between the railcars themselves will find them on the pages for Class 796 and Class 798.
Sitting above the German system today is the twelve-digit UIC number. Its first two digits state the vehicle type – 95 for diesel railcars. How the number is put together is explained in the guide to the UIC number.
How to identify the driving trailer in the field
Check the cab
Front windows and cab fittings are present. That already rules out the trailer car.
Look for signs of an engine
No exhaust system, no cooling air vents, no engine noise. That's the difference from the railcar with an identical front.
Listen when it sets off
If the train moves off without an engine revving up beneath this vehicle, the power is coming from somewhere else.
Read the number
The vehicle number begins with 998. On museum vehicles, historic markings often also show VS 98.
For a general sequence for identifying unfamiliar vehicles, see the guide to identifying classes.
Where it fits in railway operations today
Vehicles of this family have vanished entirely from scheduled service. Anyone wanting to see one should look not at the timetable but at event calendars. Such dates lead, for instance, to the Darmstadt-Kranichstein Railway Museum, housed in a preserved locomotive depot with a turntable and roundhouse. In the Rhön, the Fränkisches Freilandmuseum Fladungen runs its own standard-gauge heritage railway, the Rhön-Zügle, through the Streu valley.
The concept itself, though, is very much alive. Push-pull operation – a train that can run in both directions without needing to run the locomotive round – is the rule rather than the exception in local transport today. Modern multiple units solve it internally, because they have a cab at each end; loco-hauled local trains solve it with driving trailers that do exactly the same job as the VS 98, just on a completely different scale. The driving trailer of the railbus family is therefore, historically, an early example of an idea that still shapes local transport today.
| Feature | Railcar 796 / 798 | Driving trailer 998 | Trailer car 996 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Own engine | yes | no | no |
| Cab | yes | yes | no |
| Can drive the train | yes | yes | no |
| Runs alone | yes | no | no |
Formation and operational status can change
Whether a driving trailer runs on a given day depends on inspection deadlines, condition and expected demand. Older information about formations and locations is therefore unreliable – ask the society directly or rely on up-to-date sightings.
Current reports, not old lists
Community sightings show which vehicles are actually out and about – including the train formation.
Spotting and photo tips
Photographically, the driving trailer has the least rewarding role in the formation: it looks like the railcar but is less often photographed deliberately. That’s exactly why it’s worth capturing on purpose.
Photograph both ends of the train
A shot of each end of the formation later answers the question of whether a driving trailer or a trailer car ran at the end furthest from the railcar. A single photo almost never reveals that.
A proven approach: first the full side-on shot of the formation, then three-quarter views of both ends, and finally a close-up of the side wall with the number panel for each vehicle. Anyone looking for dates and research routes for such trips will find them in the heritage railway guide.
On safety: the operator’s house rules apply on museum and society premises. Keep to designated paths, respect barriers, and avoid track areas. Shunting happens on such sites, often without the safety technology of large stations – so a track that looks empty is not a viewpoint.
Common mix-ups
It points to the 998 if …
- the vehicle has a cab but no audible engine
- the exhaust system and cooling air vents are missing
- it runs at the end of the formation furthest from the railcar
- the vehicle number begins with 998
Take a closer look if …
- the train is standing and you can't hear the sound of it setting off
- you only have a front-on shot
- the historic markings and the current number differ from each other
It's not a 998 if …
- an engine is working underneath the vehicle – then it's a railcar
- the end wall has no cab – then it's a trailer car of Class 996
- the vehicle runs on bogies
The direct counterpart within the family is the engineless trailer car of Class 996 – the same body shape, but without a cab.
Conclusion
Class 998 is the vehicle that turns a railbus formation into a practical branch-line train in the first place. Without an engine but with a cab, it allows the train to turn around without any shunting move at all – on lines where every minute of turnaround time cost money. For identification in the field it’s the trickiest role in the family, because from the front it looks exactly like the railcar. Anyone who checks for the exhaust, cooling vents and sound will still get it right in seconds.
In short
Cab yes, engine no: that's the driving trailer of Class 998. It only runs as part of a formation, and only in museum operation these days – and it belongs, with its own number, in every complete record of a railbus formation.
Document every formation completely
Railcar, trailer car and driving trailer, each with their own number, date and location – that's how a day out becomes a solid sighting.
Summary
- The driving trailer is the piece that turns a railcar with a trailing coach into a proper push-pull train.
- The main risk of confusion is with the railcar – from the front, both look almost identical.
- The exhaust system, cooling vents and engine noise are the key distinguishing features.
- Anyone documenting historic formations should record the driving trailer and trailer car with their own numbers.
Frequently asked questions
What is Class 998?
Class 998 is the driving trailer of the Uerdinger railbus family, originally designated VS 98. It has a cab but no engine of its own. The train can be driven from here, while the power comes from the railcar in the formation. With the switch to computer-based (EDV) numbers in 1968, the VS 98 became Class 998.
How do I tell the driving trailer and the railcar apart?
From the front they're barely distinguishable, because the driving trailer has the same front with cab windows. What matters is the exhaust system, cooling air vents and sound: the railcar hums when setting off, the driving trailer stays silent. The vehicle number on the side finally settles it.
What's the difference to the trailer car?
Neither has an engine. But the trailer car of Class 996 also has no cab, so it can't drive the train. A train with a driving trailer can run push-pull; a train with a plain trailer car can't – which is why they're two separate classes.
Why did branch lines need a driving trailer?
Because running the locomotive round costs time and staff. At a terminus with no run-round loop, a push-pull train was the only practical way to keep turnaround times short. The driver simply moves to the cab of the driving trailer, and the train heads back – without any shunting move at all.
Did the first railbus generation also have driving trailers?
No. The 95 family had a trailer car, but no driving trailer. Only the later 98 generation gained a vehicle with a cab but no engine, in the shape of the VS 98. That's one of the most telling differences between the two railbus generations.
Is Class 998 still running?
Only on museum and heritage railways. Vehicles of the railbus family no longer run in regular service. Whether a particular driving trailer is operational and runs on a given day is up to the society that looks after it – check that before you travel.
What does the type code 95 mean for a driving trailer?
The code is the first two digits of the twelve-digit UIC vehicle number and stands for diesel railcars. In this database, the driving trailer is therefore filed under the railcar family it belongs to operationally. Always read the exact number of a specific vehicle off the vehicle itself.
What's a sensible way to photograph a railbus formation?
Plan for two shots: a three-quarter view of the leading vehicle and a full side-on shot showing the entire formation. Only the latter will later show which vehicles ran in which order. Add a shot of the side wall with the number panel for every vehicle.
Log your sighting of the Class 998
Date, location and vehicle number logged in seconds – and visible to the community.
Related classes
Class 996
The Class 996 is the unpowered trailer car of the railbus family – no cab, no engine, but its own class number.
DMUClass 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 796
Class 796 belongs to the second generation of the Uerdinger railbus. It differs from the 798 in its control equipment.
DMUClass 650 (Stadler Regio-Shuttle RS1)
The Regio-Shuttle RS1 of Class 650 is Germany's most distinctive single-part diesel railcar. Here's how to recognise it by its front, windows and roof.
DMUClass 654
Class 654 belongs to railcars with their own power generation. This page shows how to place the number and identify the vehicle reliably in the field.
DMUClass 668.2
The Class 668.2 is a battery-electric development of the Coradia LINT 41. It looks like a diesel railcar but carries a pantograph – that's how you recognise it.
Who is behind it
Groups, brands, manufacturers and operators – who owns whom and how to recognise them out in the field.
Eisenbahnmuseum Darmstadt-Kranichstein
Eisenbahnmuseum Darmstadt-Kranichstein doesn't sit in a hall – it occupies a preserved locomotive depot. The turntable, loco shed and water tower stand exactly where they always did, and the vehicles sit inside them rather than on a museum plinth.
Heritage railwayFränkisches Freilandmuseum Fladungen (Rhön-Zügle)
The Fränkisches Freilandmuseum Fladungen runs its own heritage railway, the Rhön-Zügle: standard gauge, a good 17 kilometres through the Streutal, with a locomotive hauling historic coaches on steam days. Museum and railway belong to the same organisation.
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