Vossloh G 1700-2 BB

Updated: August 2026 – Between the handy trip loco and the heavy main-line machine lies a class that does a lot of everyday work and yet gets hardly any attention. The Vossloh G 1700-2 BB belongs right there: four axles, hydraulic transmission, centre cab – and considerably more tractive effort than its inconspicuous shape would suggest. This page places it and shows you how to identify it reliably.

What is the Vossloh G 1700-2 BB?

The Vossloh G 1700-2 BB is a four-axle diesel-hydraulic locomotive built in Kiel, a production line that goes back to the long tradition of MaK locomotive building. It sits above the widespread mid-range types in the power range and is designed for freight duties where a smaller machine reaches its limits. Among the better-known German keepers is the Wiebe Unternehmensgruppe.

The name is surprisingly informative. G means Getriebelok: the engine power goes to the axles via a torque converter, not via a generator and traction motors. The number places the model in the power range. The -2 after the number identifies a version of the same basic type. Finally, BB stands for the B’B’ wheel arrangement. If you know these four building blocks, you can read any Kiel type designation like a profile.

The Kiel type logic in practice

German diesel locos have two naming systems running in parallel, and that regularly causes confusion.

For state railway vehicles there were the V designations until 1968 – V 60 for the heavy shunting loco, V 100 for the general-purpose loco, V 200 for the large main-line loco. The 1968 renumbering replaced them with three-digit class numbers, from which the twelve-digit vehicle numbers later emerged via the UIC standard. To this day many people say “V 100” when they mean a Class 212.

At the manufacturers, a second system runs in parallel, assigned not by the railway but by the works. That’s exactly where designations like G 1700-2 BB come from. They describe design and version, not the approval. Only when such a loco is registered in Germany does it also receive a class number in the 200 range and a full NVR number (National Vehicle Register number).

Identification in the field

The systematic version of this approach is in the guide to identifying classes, and the details of the numbering system in the article on the UIC number.

Where the loco works

Area of use	Suitability	Note
Medium-length freight trains without overhead wire	very good	Core task of this power class
Heavy trip workings	very good	Fit for the main line and shunting-friendly at the same time
Port and industrial traffic	good	High train weights over short distances
Engineering and diversionary traffic	good	Can be used independently of the overhead wire
Fast passenger services	rare	Not what the type is designed for

If you want to work your way up and down the power range, you’ll find the more powerful sister on the page on the Vossloh G 2000 BB and the widespread mid-range class under the Vossloh G 1000 BB. By far the most common vehicle in this design family is the MaK G 1206 – once you know it, you’ll recognise the layout everywhere.

Spotting and safety

Freight traffic largely takes place away from the platforms. That makes the choice of location more important than with passenger trains – and trickier.

Reliably good and at the same time permissible locations are public bridges over railway land, paths and roads running parallel to the line, and platforms at stations where freight trains pass through or cross. Everything else – track areas, embankments, private sidings, marshalling yards, depots – is operational railway land or private property and therefore off limits. This boundary is non-negotiable and can’t be justified by a better shot either. The background and the practical consequences are summarised in the article on safe distances from the track.

Reading the data panel: the four important lines

On freight locos of private operators – such as the Osthannoversche Eisenbahnen – the data panel is the most valuable area on the entire vehicle. It is usually located below or next to the cab window and is generally smaller than you’d expect when you first look for it.

The first piece of information is the twelve-digit vehicle number. Its first two digits form the UIC type code: 92 for diesel locomotive, 91 for electric loco, 93 for high-speed multiple units, 94 for electric multiple units, 95 for diesel railcars, 96 for driving trailers and trailer cars, 97 for electric shunting and departmental locos, 98 for diesel shunting and small locos, 99 for departmental vehicles and 90 for other types of traction such as steam, hybrid, battery or hydrogen.

The second piece of information is the country code, 80 for Germany. It says where the vehicle is registered, not where it’s currently running.

The third is the actual vehicle identifier made up of class and serial number, plus a check digit at the end. This is also where the short running number comes from that’s displayed in large characters on the bodyside.

The fourth is the combination of country code and vehicle keeper marking, for example in the form D-XXXX. It names the registered keeper – not necessarily the company currently running the loco.

If you get into the habit of taking a second picture of the data panel for every unknown loco, you’ll save yourself a lot of research later. The picture answers questions that don’t even occur to you at the moment of the sighting – and it stays valid even if the loco is running in different colours a year later.

Common mix-ups

Conclusion

The Vossloh G 1700-2 BB is a good example of manufacturer designations conveying more information than any livery. If you read the scheme of letter, power number, version digit and wheel arrangement code, you’ve roughly placed the loco before you’ve even deciphered the number. The data panel then does the rest.