Key takeaways
- The VT 18.16 was the DR's express multiple unit: built from 1963 to 1968 at VEB Waggonbau Görlitz, designed for 160 km/h.
- Quickest way to identify it: streamlined power cars at both ends plus diesel traction with no pantograph.
- It later ran as Class 175 – if you see that number, you have the identification straight away.
- Its field of work was premium long-distance travel, including cross-border services.
- Today it's a museum piece: there are no longer any scheduled workings, and sightings depend on special trips.
Contents
Fact file
| Vehicle type | Multi-section diesel express multiple unit for long-distance services |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | VEB Waggonbau Görlitz |
| Years of build | 1963 to 1968 |
| Maximum speed | 160 km/h |
| Layout | Power cars at both ends with unpowered intermediate cars |
| Later designation | Class 175 |
| Typical use | Premium express services of the Deutsche Reichsbahn, including cross-border |
| Current status | Preserved as a museum piece, no scheduled service |
Identifying features
Is this really the class in front of you?
- Multi-section multiple unit with power cars at both ends and unpowered intermediate cars
- Streamlined, rounded front end – clearly designed for speed
- No pantograph on the roof: diesel traction despite its long-distance role
- A consistently designed train unit instead of individual cars put together
- Historic Deutsche Reichsbahn lettering or numbers of Class 175
- Today only to be seen on museum trips and special trains
Updated: August 2026 – A streamlined multiple unit clearly designed for speed – and yet with no pantograph on the roof: that’s the VT 18.16, the Deutsche Reichsbahn’s express multiple unit from Waggonbau Görlitz. This page places it in context, shows its identifying features and explains how you can still get a sighting at all today.
Caught a historic multiple unit?
Vehicles like this only run on a few days a year – record the date, place and number while you're standing in front of it.
What is the VT 18.16?
The VT 18.16 is a multi-section diesel express multiple unit for long-distance services, built between 1963 and 1968 at VEB Waggonbau Görlitz, whose works later passed through several changes of ownership to Alstom. It’s approved for 160 km/h, consists of power cars at both ends with unpowered intermediate cars in between, and was later listed as Class 175.
Its task was the premium express service of the Deutsche Reichsbahn (East Germany’s state railway), including cross-border services. That also explains the design: a multiple unit saves the locomotive change, and diesel traction makes it independent of the overhead line. The same argument led, decades later, to the procurement of a diesel multiple unit for fast long-distance services once again – Class 605 (ICE TD).
The features that are enough for identification
The VT 18.16 is one of those vehicles where two observations settle practically everything.
Check the roof
No pantograph, no roof cables. A long-distance multiple unit with no pantograph is rare enough to reduce the choice to a handful of designs straight away.
Look at the formation
Powered end cars with driving cabs, unpowered intermediate cars in between. The train is designed as a unit, not put together from existing coaches.
Compare the front shape and lettering
The rounded, streamlined front is characteristic. Depending on the state of preservation, the lettering reads VT 18.16 or the later Class 175.
If you want to practise this sequence in general, the guide to identifying rolling-stock classes will help. How to read the twelve-digit vehicle number and what its first digits say about the vehicle type is explained in the article on the UIC number and its check digit.
Two names, one vehicle
Don't let the double designation confuse you. VT 18.16 is the original type designation, Class 175 the later number after the switch to computer-compatible schemes. Museum vehicles carry one variant or the other, depending on the chosen state of preservation.
Context: a diesel multiple unit built for long-distance service
This combination is rare in Germany – and that’s exactly what makes the VT 18.16 operationally interesting. The table shows why the design was the obvious solution in its day.
| Criterion | Diesel express multiple unit | Locomotive-hauled express | Electric multiple unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overhead line needed | no | only with an electric locomotive | yes |
| Locomotive change at system boundaries | not needed | often necessary | depending on electrification system |
| Formation | fixed, designed as a unit | flexible | fixed |
| Acceleration | good, traction within the train | depends on the locomotive | very good |
| Typical era in Germany | 1950s to 1970s, isolated cases later | throughout | dominant from electrification onwards |
The West German counterpart from the same era is the VT 11.5 – likewise a diesel express multiple unit for premium services, but with its own styling. At the other end of the spectrum are the DR’s simple branch-line vehicles such as Class 772, which show how wide the field of diesel railcars really is.
Keep an eye on special trips
Reports from the community show you when historic multiple units are actually out and about.
Spotting and photography: dates beat locations
There are no longer any scheduled workings. The VT 18.16 is a museum vehicle that’s shown on special trips, anniversaries and at exhibitions. If you want to photograph it, you therefore work backwards: first the date, then the route, then the location.
Research the date
The event calendars of the clubs looking after it and current community reports together give a realistic picture. Individual sources are often out of date.
Choose your location by train length
A multi-section multiple unit needs room in the frame. A slightly raised viewpoint at the end of the platform or a publicly accessible bridge gives better results than a position halfway along the train.
Don't forget the details
Besides the overall view, shots of the front, the lettering and the destination display pay off. With museum trains, that's the information that proves a sighting later.
Safety on special trips
At popular photo spots, lots of people gather when special trains run. Track areas, operational railway land and the cess paths beside the track are still off-limits – even if others step onto them. Photograph from platforms and publicly accessible locations.
You’ll find dates and routes most reliably via the sources described in the heritage railway guide and in the article on finding special trains and special trips.
The multiple unit as a concept – and what was new about it
To understand why a vehicle like the VT 18.16 was built, it helps to look at the alternative. A classic express train consisted of a locomotive and a series of individual passenger coaches. That’s flexible: you attach or detach coaches, swap the locomotive at a system boundary and re-form the train according to demand.
The price of that flexibility is time. Every locomotive change costs minutes, every running-round ties up staff, and acceleration depends solely on the locomotive at the head of the train. A multiple unit turns that around: the traction sits within the train, the unit has a fixed formation, and each end has a driving cab. That eliminates running round completely, turnaround time drops, and tractive effort is better distributed.
For premium, near-regular-interval long-distance services, that was a clear advantage – and that’s exactly where the VT 18.16 was used. The fact that it ran on diesel engines wasn’t a technical preference but a consequence of the network: where the overhead line ends, the electric locomotive’s usefulness ends too.
For observers, this concept is still visible today. If you see a train whose end cars have driving cabs and whose formation never changes, you’re looking at a multiple unit. If, on the other hand, the number of coaches changes from day to day and there’s an interchangeable locomotive at the front, it’s a locomotive-hauled train. This distinction is one of the most useful of all, because it works regardless of class, era and country.
Common mix-ups and how to rule them out
It points to the VT 18.16 if …
- the train has powered end cars and unpowered intermediate cars
- there's no pantograph on the roof
- the front is streamlined and rounded
- the lettering reads VT 18.16 or Class 175
Take a closer look if …
- you only have a front view without the formation
- the train is running shortened and intermediate cars are missing
- the livery doesn't match the condition you know from pictures
It's not a VT 18.16 if …
- there's a pantograph on the roof
- the train consists of individually coupled passenger coaches hauled by a locomotive
- the front is flat and modern in design
Conclusion
The VT 18.16 is one of the few German vehicles where role and type of traction don’t seem to match at first glance: long-distance travel in streamlined form, but with a diesel engine. That’s exactly what makes it so unmistakable – and explains why, in its day, it was the right answer to a network that wasn’t electrified throughout. Today it’s a museum vehicle, and every sighting depends on a date.
In short
Streamlined power cars, intermediate cars without traction, no pantograph, 160 km/h: that's the VT 18.16, later Class 175. Recognisable in seconds, only to be found with some date planning.
Your special train sightings in one place
Date, route, number and photo stored together – so every rare trip stays traceably documented.
Summary
- The VT 18.16 shows how the Deutsche Reichsbahn (East Germany's state railway) organised fast long-distance services on lines that weren't electrified throughout.
- Its design and type of traction make it unmistakable in the field – a diesel multiple unit built for long-distance service is a rarity.
- If you want to see it, plan around the dates of heritage railways and special trips rather than the regular timetable.
- It's worth recording every sighting with date, place and number, because outings are rare and announced at short notice.
Frequently asked questions
What is the VT 18.16?
The VT 18.16 is a multi-section diesel express multiple unit, built between 1963 and 1968 at VEB Waggonbau Görlitz for the Deutsche Reichsbahn. It was approved for 160 km/h and took on premium express services, including across national borders. It was later listed as Class 175.
How do I recognise the VT 18.16?
By the combination of streamlined power cars at both ends, unpowered intermediate cars and diesel traction. A long-distance multiple unit with no pantograph is a big exception in Germany – that alone narrows the possibilities down considerably.
Why build a diesel multiple unit for long-distance services?
Because the network wasn't electrified throughout. A diesel multiple unit could serve long routes without a locomotive change and could be used without restriction on non-electrified sections. Exactly this advantage also explains why, later on, a diesel multiple unit for fast long-distance services was procured once again in the shape of Class 605.
How fast did the VT 18.16 go?
Its maximum speed was 160 km/h. Whether it was reached depended, as always, on the line – the line speed and timetable determine the actual pace, not the vehicle's design.
What's the difference between the VT 18.16 and the VT 11.5?
Both are diesel express multiple units of the same era, but they come from different railway administrations: the VT 11.5 was procured for long-distance services in the West, the VT 18.16 in Görlitz for the Deutsche Reichsbahn. They differ considerably in front shape, formation and detailing.
Does the VT 18.16 still run today?
Not in scheduled service. Preserved vehicles are museum pieces and are shown on special trips and at exhibitions. Whether and when a train is moved depends on inspection deadlines, workshop work and the planning of those looking after it – always check current dates directly.
What does the later designation Class 175 mean?
With the switch to computer-compatible numbering schemes, many vehicles received new designations. In the process, the VT 18.16 became Class 175. For spotters that's handy: depending on the state of preservation, a museum vehicle carries one lettering or the other – both refer to the same vehicle.
How do I photograph a long multiple unit sensibly?
With distance and at a slight angle, so the front and the length of the train stay visible at the same time. A pure front shot shows the striking streamlined form but wastes the formation of power cars and intermediate cars – and with this vehicle, that's an essential part of the story.
Log your sighting of the VT 18.16
Date, location and vehicle number logged in seconds – and visible to the community.
Related classes
DB Class VT 11.5
From 1957, the VT 11.5 was the flagship of the Trans Europ Express: a diesel-hydraulic multiple unit with two power cars, later run as Class 601.
DMUClass 605 (ICE TD)
The ICE TD was the only ICE with a diesel engine: four-part tilting trains that looked like an ICE T but carried radiators instead of a pantograph on the roof.
DMUClass 772
The Class 772 is the Deutsche Reichsbahn's two-axle light railcar – known as the Ferkeltaxe and today found almost only at heritage railways.
DMUClass 670
The Class 670 is a single-unit double-deck diesel railcar from the 1990s – a tiny series that never found a successor in Germany.
DMUClass 672.9 (Bombardier LVT/S)
The Class 672.9 is a light single railcar from Bautzen that continues the branch-line tradition of the East German lightweight railcars.
DMUClass 689 / 690
The designation Class 689 / 690 groups two neighbouring number ranges in the railcar block. Here's how to read the number and place it correctly.
Who is behind it
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