DB Class V200 “Warships” – survivors and where to find them

V200 007 (220 007) at Dagebüll Mole, 05/08/12 (JW)

As the forerunners to our own D800 “Warship” class diesel-hydraulics, the famous Deutsche Bundesbahn V200 class have always commanded a great deal of interest among British enthusiasts. Most are aware of the esteemed V200 033, which frequently hauls railtours in Germany, but this article will be a concise round-up of where all of the V200 survivors are now to be found.

Of the 86 Maybach-engined V200.0s (class 220), 26 are thought to remain in existence – although most of these have since been re-engined.  In common with many retired German diesel-hydraulics, 10 of them are now working in Italy – all for the private freight operator Ferrovie Emilia-Romagna.

Here is a link to a list of forthcoming haulage opportunities, which is at present limited to Maybach-engined V200 033 and Mercedes-engined V200 007.

A similar percentage of the 50 Mercedes-engined V200.1s (class 221) have fared better – with 16 still extant.  However, this is largely thanks to a fleet of 20 of them being exported to Greece in 1989/90 to plug a traction shortage with OSE.  Their withdrawal by OSE in the late 1990s coincided with interesting developments on the railways back in Germany and, to cut a long story short, the Prignitzer Eisenbahn GmbH ended up purchasing and repatriating the entire fleet, to strip them back to the frames and effectively use them as the basis of brand new machines.  Some were scrapped (as recently as 2012) but many continue to work on the main line today – admittedly with little original details inside, but ensuring that the classic shape of a V200 can still be seen on the main line over 60 years on.

221145 at Kempten (Allgäu) Hbf, 02/11/14 (JW)

If you’re enjoying the content of this website, please could I invite you to have a look at how you could support it?  Thanks!