Diesel locomotive 118 616 of the Deutsche Reichsbahn.

■ “Sparlack” design
■ 6-axle version
■ Based in Rbd Magdeburg/Bw Brandenburg
■ Driver's cab lighting

The locomotive class V 180 of the Deutsche Reichsbahn was the largest diesel series ever built in the GDR. It was initially built in a four-axle version with two 2-axle bogies - later there were also 6-axle variants. The six-axle version with a low axle load of 15.6 t is even today still considered to be a masterpiece of the engineers involved. The low axle load allows for an universal use so the locomotive can also operate on branch lines. The resulting range of possible applications is unique for large German diesel locomotives.

The V 180 accelerated the traction change at the Deutsche Reichsbahn, replacing various steam locomotive series in the performance classes above the V 100. In 1995, the last locomotives were withdrawn from service at the DB AG. After that, the DB AG sold many locomotives to private railways.