Key takeaways
- C means three coupled axles in a rigid frame – no bogie, no trailing axle.
- Single letters stand for rigid frames, while double letters such as BB mean two bogies.
- The wheel arrangement is the only element you can actually count in the type designation, which makes it the best place to start.
- Type code 98 places the locomotive among shunting and light locomotives, as opposed to 92 for main-line machines.
- Keeper, livery and location are only a snapshot and should be checked before every trip.
Contents
Fact file
| Vehicle type | Diesel locomotive for shunting duties |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Maschinenbau Kiel (MaK), Kiel |
| Power transmission | diesel-hydraulic – the letter “G” denotes the gearbox design |
| Wheel arrangement per type suffix | C – three coupled axles in a rigid frame |
| UIC type code | 98 – diesel shunting and light locomotive |
Identifying features
Is this really the class in front of you?
- Exactly three axles in a single rigid frame, no bogies
- Evenly spaced axles distributed along the length of the vehicle
- A bonnet with a small cab, a running board with handrails, and shunter's steps
- Builder's plate bearing the name MaK and works number
- Vehicle number starting with the type code 98, if registered
Updated: August 2026 – The most important letter on a MaK shunting locomotive sits right at the end. On the MaK G 500 C it’s the “C” – and it describes exactly the feature you can count from fifty metres away: three axles in a rigid frame. This page explains the wheel-arrangement notation, shows you how to reliably tell B, C, D and BB apart, and places the type in its operational context.
Counted the axles? Log the sighting.
Three axles in a rigid frame are a good start – the number turns it into a solid entry in Traintrack.
What is the MaK G 500 C?
The MaK G 500 C is a three-axle diesel-hydraulic locomotive from the type range of Maschinenbau Kiel built for shunting duties. The designation can be fully unpacked: “G” for the gearbox design with hydraulic power transmission, the number for the power class within the range, and “C” for three coupled axles in a rigid frame. Kiel’s type range was later continued by Vossloh, which is why closely related machines carry different builder’s plates depending on their year of construction.
Within the range it sits between two-axle light locomotives such as the MaK G 320 B and the stronger three-axle types such as the MaK G 700 C. In Kiel’s older numbering scheme, the equivalent design is the MaK 450 C – the same wheel arrangement, a different naming logic.
Wheel-arrangement notation: the short and the long form
The notation looks cryptic, but it follows a simple rule. Letters count powered axles, digits count trailing axles, and the grouping tells you what sits together in one frame.
Letters count axles
A stands for one powered axle, B for two, C for three, D for four. The letter is simply a count through the alphabet.
Groups show the frame
A single letter such as C means all the axles sit in one shared rigid frame. Two letters such as BB mean two separate assemblies.
An apostrophe marks bogies
In the full UIC notation, a superscript mark denotes a bogie and a subscript o denotes individual axle drive – as in Bo'Bo'.
Manufacturer's codes are the shorthand
MaK simply wrote B, C or BB. It means the same thing, just without the finer points of the full notation.
The trick to counting
First count only the wheels on one side, and don't divide by two – each axle shows up as one wheel per side. Then check whether there's a separate bogie frame visible between the wheels. Two observations, and half the identification is done.
How to fit this principle into a complete identification process is shown in the guide to identifying classes.
Where it fits into railway operations
The wheel arrangement isn’t just a formality – it has operational consequences. It determines how a vehicle behaves in curves, how the load is distributed, and what it’s sensibly used for.
| Wheel arrangement | Configuration | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| B | two coupled axles, rigid frame | Light locomotive, light shunting duties |
| C | three coupled axles, rigid frame | Medium shunting and transfer duties |
| D | four coupled axles, rigid frame | Heavy shunting duties, older designs |
| BB | four axles in two bogies | Transfer runs, tighter curves, longer vehicles |
| Bo’Bo’ | four individually powered axles in bogies | Main-line and general-purpose locomotives |
For identification in the field, that means: three axles in a rigid frame immediately rule out all BB types. Combined with type code 98 at the start of the twelve-digit vehicle number, which marks out shunting and light locomotives, that’s already a solid first sort. How the number is built up in detail is explained in the guide to the UIC number and its check digit.
From feature to entry
Wheel arrangement, works number, vehicle number: Traintrack keeps it all together instead of scattered across notes.
Spotting and photography
With three-axle shunting locomotives, the information sits in the running gear. That’s exactly what makes photography tricky: the lower part of the vehicle easily disappears behind vegetation, platform edges or other wagons.
- Find a spot with a clear view of the running gear. A shot where the axles are hidden loses the most important feature.
- Side-on, not head-on. Only the side view clearly shows the axle count and arrangement.
- Use focal length. A longer lens brings the builder’s plate and data panel closer without you having to get nearer to the track – tips on this in the guide to the best telephoto lens for railway photography.
- Wait for movement. When the locomotive pulls out from a group, the running gear is fully visible for a few seconds.
Shunting areas are especially dangerous
Vehicles there are moved without warning and without a signal, uncoupled wagons roll without a locomotive, and radio-controlled locomotives run with no occupied cab. Works, port and siding railways are also private property and must not be entered without express permission. Observe only from publicly accessible paths, bridges and platforms.
What three rigid axles mean in operation
The wheel arrangement isn’t just a matter of letters. It has real consequences for where a locomotive can be used – and explains why Kiel’s range distinguished between C and BB types in the first place.
Three coupled axles in a rigid frame are mechanically simple and robust. The drive only has to serve one axle group, there are no movable bogies with their own bearings, and the weight is spread evenly over a short vehicle length. For short transfer runs with a few wagons, that’s a very fitting design.
The price for that is behaviour in curves. A rigid axle group has to force its way through a bend, whereas two bogies can each align themselves to the track individually. The longer the rigid wheelbase, the larger the curve radius a locomotive needs. That’s exactly why the larger types in the range switch to BB – not only because of the higher power, but because a four-axle vehicle in a rigid frame would barely be manageable on works and port tracks.
For observation, this is a useful sanity check. If you see a three-axle locomotive on a site with very tight curves and short tracks, the picture fits. If you see the same design in front of a long train out on the open line, you should be suspicious – these vehicles aren’t meant for that, and the type code 98 in the vehicle number confirms it.
In short: the wheel arrangement tells you not just what the running gear looks like, but also where the vehicle belongs.
Common mix-ups
It matches the G 500 C when …
- you count exactly three axles in a rigid frame
- the builder's plate names MaK as the manufacturer
- the type designation starts with "G"
- the vehicle number starts with 98 80
Look more closely when …
- you count three axles, but the power class is unclear
- the running gear is partly hidden
- rebuilds have changed the appearance
It's not a G 500 C when …
- the axles run in two bogies – then it's a BB type
- you count only two axles
- the builder's plate names a different manufacturer
Conclusion
The MaK G 500 C is a good excuse to properly learn the wheel-arrangement notation once and for all. It takes five minutes and pays off with every shunting locomotive you meet afterwards: one letter tells you the axle count and frame type, and you can check both on the vehicle instead of guessing.
In brief
C means three coupled axles in a rigid frame. Counting is the fastest route to half the identification – the builder's plate provides the other half.
Collect shunting locomotives properly
With Traintrack you can see which wheel arrangements and types you're still missing in your area.
Summary
- The MaK G 500 C belongs to the three-axle line of Kiel's type range for shunting duties.
- The letter C describes the running gear and lets you quickly rule out BB types.
- A clear identification also needs the builder's plate and the vehicle number.
- Shunting areas are especially dangerous and mostly private land – observe only from public vantage points.
Frequently asked questions
What does wheel arrangement C mean?
C stands for three powered axles coupled together in a rigid frame. The letter is the third in the alphabet and therefore denotes three axles; B correspondingly means two, D four. What matters is that the axles don't run in a movable bogie but sit fixed in the vehicle frame.
What's the difference between C and BB?
With C, three axles sit fixed in the frame. With BB, four axles run in two movable two-axle bogies. The difference is easy to spot from the side: bogies form recognisable assemblies with their own frame, whereas on a C-type vehicle the axles are evenly spaced along the vehicle's length.
How do I count the axles correctly?
From the side, with as clear a view of the running gear as possible. Count all the wheelsets and then check whether they run in shared assemblies. Number first, then arrangement – following this order gets you a usable result even in poor light and from a distance.
Why do some locomotives have apostrophes like Bo'Bo'?
The full UIC notation additionally distinguishes whether axles are individually driven and whether they run in bogies. A superscript mark denotes a bogie, and a subscript o denotes individual axle drive. Manufacturer's codes such as C or BB are the simplified shorthand for the same idea.
What does the number 500 tell you?
It places the type in a power class within Kiel's programme; MaK based these figures on engine output. It's a class marker – not a quantity, not a year of construction, not a speed. Together with the G before it and the C after it, it produces a compact profile of the vehicle.
Is the MaK G 500 C a DB class?
No, it's a manufacturer's type designation. Vehicles of this kind mostly run for private keepers, works railways and port railways. The official identifier is the twelve-digit vehicle number, which for registered German shunting locomotives begins with 98 80 and ends with the keeper's marking.
Where can I see three-axle shunting locomotives?
At industrial sidings, in ports, on works premises and at heritage railways. Their working profile is short transfer trips with a manageable number of wagons. You'll practically never find them on main-line duties – that's what vehicles with type code 92 are for.
How reliable is identification based on axle count alone?
It narrows things down considerably, but isn't enough on its own. Three axles in a rigid frame rule out all BB types, but leave several manufacturers and power classes open. The builder's plate provides the definitive match, and the twelve-digit vehicle number the official identity.
Log your sighting of the MaK G 500 C
Date, location and vehicle number logged in seconds – and visible to the community.
Related classes
MaK G 700 C
The MaK G 700 C is a three-axle shunting locomotive from Kiel. With manufacturer types, it always pays to ask about the gauge – it's never a given.
ShunterMaK G 320 B
The MaK G 320 B is a two-axle light locomotive from Kiel. It sits at the lower end of the type programme – and illustrates the German light-locomotive system particularly well.
ShunterMaK 450 C
The MaK 450 C is a three-axle shunting locomotive in a rigid frame. Its coupling gear and shunting equipment reveal a lot about its work.
ShunterMaK 240 B / MaK 240 C
MaK 240 B and 240 C share the same power class but differ in their running gear. The letter in the type name tells you how many axles are at work.
ShunterMaK 600 D
The MaK 600 D is a four-axle shunting locomotive in a rigid frame. Its brake equipment explains why shunting service needs its own rules.
ShunterMaK 650 C
The MaK 650 C is a three-axle shunting locomotive with a rigid frame. Many machines in this group have been retrofitted for radio remote control – and it shows.
Who is behind it
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