To replace steam locomotives, the ÖBB had the diesel-hydraulic classes 2043 and 2143 developed. They were mainly intended for use on branch lines, as all main lines were to be electrified. The 2043 was created at Jenbacher with their own twelve-cylinder two-stroke diesel with 1,500 hp. To supply passenger cars, this was supported by an additional eight-cylinder two-stroke diesel, while a small two-cylinder was used for starting.

As long as not all main lines were electrified, the class 2043 was also used in heavy service there. Four locomotives were equipped with a magnetic rail brake for use on steep lines and were designated as class 2043.5. With the introduction of the class 2016 from 2002, they were at first pushed out of passenger service and increasingly used in shunting services. At ÖBB, the last one disappeared from active service in 2020 and some were handed over to new owners for further preservation.

While the class 2043 diesel locomotives were built by Jenbacher, the class 2143 was built by SGP. Like the sister locomotives, they had a 1,500 hp engine and hydraulic power transmission from Voith. All locomotives were given electric train heating, from number 34 onwards there were also multiple controls and an increased top speed. The first retirements took place when the class 2016 “Hercules” (Siemens ER20) was delivered. The last 2143 was retired from ÖBB in March 2022. Some locomotives were sold to private customers and some were modernized or fitted with new Caterpillar engines.

The class 22, also called North British Type 2, was a diesel-hydraulic locomotive built for BR's Western Region between 1958 and 1962. It was technically closely related with the class 41 “Warship”, but had only one engine and gearbox and was thus called “Baby Warship”. The MAN V12 engine delivered 1,000 hp in the first six locomotives and 1,100 in the following 52. On the outside, these locomotives looked similar to the diesel-electric class 21.

They were introduced into service in 1959 and in the first years, North British had to remedy some teething problems. After this, they had an availability of around 85 percent. But while production was still running, new diesel-hydraulics with much more power were built and displaced the class 22 into secondary duties. They were withdrawn between 1967 and 1972.

The class 35 was a single-engine, medium diesel-hydraulic locomotive designed for mixed traffic in the Western Region. While the locomotive itself was a British design and not derived from a German one like the classes 42 and 43 “Warship”, it used a German power train. The engine was a 1,700 hp Maybach MD870 built under license by Bristol-Siddeley. The hydro-mechanical Mekydro gearbox was built by Stone-Platt Industries. Assembly of the locomotives took place at Beyer, Peacock, which founded the Beyer Peacock (Hymek) Ltd. for this purpose.

101 locomotives were built between 1961 and 1964 and numbered D7000 to D7100. They quickly got the nickname “Hymeks”. They were used in all kinds of services and often had to haul heavier trains than they were designed for, what led to increased wear. Sometimes they even had to take over express services from the King class. Their withdrawals already took place between 1971 and 1975 after all diesel-hydraulic classes had been classified as non-standard. Additionally, they had only steam train heating, while newer passenger carriages had to be heated and air-conditioned electrically. Of four class 35 locomotives which have been preserved, two are currently operational.

The Sv12 is a diesel-hydraulic road locomotive built by Valmet and Lokomo between 1964 and 1984. It has bogies from the German V160, which can be switched between a top speed of 85 and 125 km/h. A version with an additional steam generator for passenger trains was called Sr12. After the steam generator was removed due to lack of demand, both variants were referred to as Dv12.

Since the installed power of 1,000 kW became too low over time, the locomotives are now mostly used double or triple headed. From 1978, No. 2501 was converted into an electric locomotive with 1,100 kW and tested in this form for four years. Since most of the main lines in Finland are now electrified, retirements began in 2009 and the remaining locomotives are now mainly used on branch lines and in shunting services. The diesel-electric, twin-engine Dr19 is currently being introduced as a successor on non-electrified lines.

Since the class 218 was not yet ready for series production in 1968, 150 class 215 locomotives were built. These already had many features of the class 218, but basically the same engine as the V 160 with 1,900 hp. Only a few locomotives had a MAN engine with 2,500 hp. They should later be able to be converted to the class 218, but this did not happen. The locomotives pulled passenger and freight trains until 2003 and the car train to Sylt until 2008. Some were previously converted to the class 225, with the steam boilers being removed, among other things.

In order to be able to replace steam locomotives on branch lines, MaK developed the V 100 on behalf of the Bundsbahn. In order to save development costs, the drive train of the locomotive corresponded to half a V 200. In the basic design, the V 80 was taken as the basis, but its weaknesses were eliminated. In view of the more powerful V 100²⁰, the locomotives were soon designated as V 100¹⁰ and became class 211 from 1968. By 1963, 381 units had been built for the Bundesbahn. Ten more MaK V 100 PA were built for private railways with a slow-running MaK marine diesel with 1,300 hp. 

Most of the locomotives used the two models from Maybach and Mercedes that were also installed in the V 200 as engine. Only a few received an engine from MAN, which was later replaced. Since the cardan shafts of the outer axles on the V 80 could be bent under load due to their length, only the inner axles on the V 100 were driven by the central cardan shafts. Inside the bogies, another cardan shaft ran from the inner to the outer axle. Since the electric engine control of the previous diesel locomotives was not sensitive enough, a new, electro-pneumatic control was developed.

Since the wide hoods of the V 80 impaired visibility, they were made narrower on the V 100 and were not accessible. Maintenance was now carried out from the outside via hoods that could be opened. The option to temporarily overload the engine to 1,250 hp was installed ex works. To reduce wear and tear, this feature was later blocked. Many locomotives received multiple and push-pull train controls, which were compatible with all subsequent diesel locomotives up to the class 218.

The top speed of initially 90 km/h was increased to 100 km/h in 1965 after the installation of an Indusi. In the seventies, some of the engines without piston cooling had to be replaced. The 1,350 hp engine of the V 100²⁰ was sometimes used here, but it had to be de-rated to 1,100 hp when using the original transmission. By 2001, all locomotives were retired from Deutsche Bahn.

In the early 1990s, 36 units had already been sold to ÖBB, where they received a new Caterpillar 3512 engine. They were used until 2003 as class 2048. Other locomotives were sold to private companies, mainly track construction companies. Some of these had been refurbished by Alstom. The new operators came from several European countries, from Asia and Africa. Some of the locomotives that remained in Germany were preserved in museums.

Although the V 100 quickly proved to be a successful replacement for many tank locomotives, with its 1,100 hp it was only sufficiently motorized for use on branch lines. Although the locomotives initially had an additional acceleration notch for a short-term increase in performance, this was soon removed due to excessive wear. The torque converter in particular had already reached the limits of its performance.

Thus, Voith developed a new variant of this transmission that could also withstand more power and thus the V 100²⁰ with a 1,350 hp engine was created. Due to the higher power output of the engine, the hood was lengthened by 20 cm and a stronger cooling system was installed. The resulting locomotives could now also be used on main lines or on steep ramps. Locomotives for the latter area of application were also equipped with a hydrodynamic brake and assigned differently to class 213 from 1968.

Since in the meantime some V 100¹⁰ engines without piston oil cooling had become damaged, these locomotives were also equipped with the engine from the more powerful series. If they kept their old gearbox, the engines had to be derated to 1,100 hp. However, if the gearbox was also exchanged for a new one, they could use the full power of the engine, but there was no re-classification to 212.

The last 212s were initially phased out in 2004, but some were reactivated in the years that followed and fitted with modern MTU 8V 4000 R41 engines. However, these 1,360 hp machines did not stay with Deutsche Bahn, but were sold to private railways.

The steadily increasing power of diesel engines in the 1950s gave the Bundesbahn the reason to order a series of large single-engine diesel locomotives instead of the previous two-engine series. A locomotive with 1,400 kW was planned, which had to be able to run at 120 km/h and to have steam heating for passenger trains.

The pre-production locomotives were delivered in 1960 and received a locomotive body with rounded fronts, which earned them the nickname “Lollo”. In the production series, this was replaced by one with a more angular front end, which not only had better aerodynamics, but was also much cheaper to produce and shaped the image of all other models in the V-160 family. A 16-cylinder from Maybach was used as the engine, which later became part of the MTU program and delivered exactly the required 1,400 kW. As with all Bundesbahn diesel locomotives, power was transmitted hydrodynamically. In order to be able to make better use of the engine power, the gear ratio could be switched while stationary in order to achieve a top speed of 80 or 120 km/h as required. Many locomotives were also equipped with the then current technology for multiple working and push-pull trains.

224 units were manufactured between 1964 and 1968, the last of which received the new class designation 216 ex works. They were used with all types of trains on non-electrified lines, but were soon overtaken by the more powerful diesel locomotives that were based on them. From about 1990, they were no longer used for passenger trains, since from that point on there were no longer any steam-heated passenger cars available and, unlike their successors, they did not yet have an electric heater. In the years from 2000 to 2004 they were decommissioned by Deutsche Bahn, with some pieces being sold abroad or to private railways. The rest fared like all post-war classes at the end of their lives, they were almost all scrapped. Today there is only one running example and two museum locomotives.

The V 80 was the first mainline diesel locomotive that the Bundesbahn had developed after the Second World War. Only ten were built, half of which were built by Krauss-Maffei and half by MaK. Nevertheless, the V 80 anticipated many design features that were later adopted by other West German diesel locomotives.

The visual appearance was characterized by a central cab, in which there were controls which could be used in both directions. The hoods were lower than the cab and took up the full width of the locomotive. The machine rooms within the hoods were thus walkable.

From a technical point of view, the V 80 used a medium-speed turbo diesel, which delivered its power to all four axles via a hydraulic transmission and cardan shafts. This arrangement was also adopted for later diesel locomotives of the Bundesbahn up to the class 218. The V 80 initially featured V12 diesels with 800 to 1,000 hp, which were later replaced by an MTU engine with 1,100 hp. Silencers were not retrofitted until 1958.

The area of operation was concentrated on Franconia and the Frankfurt/Main area. With their low axle loads, they were used in front of passenger and freight trains on branch lines, but also often in suburban traffic. Due to their small number and the availability of the former V 100, the locomotives now known as class 280 were retired between 1976 and 1978. They were all sold to private railways and track construction companies in Italy between 1977 and 1981. Some of these came back to Germany since 2005 and were refurbished as museum locomotives.