At the beginning of the 1970s, the Reichsbahn was looking for a new, powerful diesel locomotive that, however, should have a lower axle load than the class 130 procured from the Soviet Union, so that it could also be used without restrictions on branch lines. As part of the Comecon (Council for Mutual Economic Aid) agreements, Romania was given the task of developing a successor class for the V 180 or BR 118. Contrary to the wishes of the Reichsbahn, however, no engines from GDR production were installed, but licensed engines from the West German manufacturer MTU.

Similar to its German predecessor class, the new locomotive had an axle load of only 16 tonnes thanks to its six axles and was powered by two engines, initially with 900 kW each. The power was transmitted separately to both bogies by hydraulic transmissions. However, there was a heating generator between the engines, which in principle coupled the two with each other and was therefore supposed to lead to problems later in operation. In addition, many quality defects were soon identified, which led to disproportionately high failure rates, especially in the early days. The propulsion units of two defective locomotives were often combined in one locomotive body in order to obtain at least a small number of functional vehicles at short notice. Over the years, these problems have been increasingly eliminated, including the installation of 12KVD engines of indigenous production. Since these proved themselves, all locomotives were re-equipped at the beginning of the 1990s with a more powerful version, each with 1,100 kW.

In the years that followed, the cooperation between the two German railway administrations resulted in a total of 20 examples of the type now known as the class 219 being converted into the class 229. After a further increase in power and an increase in maximum speed to 140 km/h, these were increasingly used again in passenger transport and in some cases even replaced ICEs on non-electrified sections. Nevertheless, the life of the locomotives, also dubbed “submarines”, was coming to an end at the turn of the millennium. A locomotive with two 1,500 kW Caterpillar engines and a modern standard driver's cab thus remained a one-off. In the meantime, most of the 200 locomotives have been scrapped, with a few exceptions for construction trains and preserved locomotives.

The classes 130, 131 and 132 are diesel-electric locomotives from the 1970s that were used to power both passenger and freight trains and are still in operation today. They are popularly known as “Ludmilla”. Since many main routes were still without electrification before the planned retirement of the last steam locomotives at the Reichsbahn, the decision was made to use large diesel locomotives. Due to the regulations of the Comecon, the construction of large diesel locomotives was the responsibility of the Soviet Union, and so the Reichsbahnordered a further development of the M62 in Voroshilowgrad (today Luhansk), which, among other countries, was already used in the GDR as the V 200.

Since the Reichsbahn planned to operate at 140 km/h in the near future, the new design was designed for this speed. Ultimately, the model delivered as the class 130 was provided with a gear ratio for 120 km/h, since the timetables and the route expansion did not allow for more for the time being. Since it was common in the Soviet Union to equip passenger cars with individual heaters due to the climate, no electric train heater was available when the train went into service. Therefore, it could initially only be used in front of freight trains.

From 1973, class 131 was supplied with a modified transmission for 100 km/h and thus higher pulling power. However, in the same year, the 132 was available, which was factory-equipped with electric train heating. This was the most frequently built variant and, after being renamed the class 232, is still used today by DB AG. Some of these were later converted to 140 km/h and designated 234 to continue to achieve contemporary performance in passenger service.

In 1977 and 1978, a total of six locomotives with 2,940 kW (4,000 hp) were built as class 142 for heavy freight service on the not yet electrified routes in the north. With their additional power and a top speed reduced to 100 km/h, they achieved a starting tractive effort of 450 kN and, among other things, pulled oil trains of up to 3,600 tonnes. However, since the decision to electrify these routes was soon made, no more examples were built. Today these are used by private railways.

From 1997, however, similar variants were rebuilt for cross-border freight traffic to Belgium as class 241, which received the same power and also had the top speed reduced to 100 km/h. They were used until the last section of the line was electrified, which was completed in December 2008.

The remaining 232 have been modernized since 1991, for example the original 16-cylinder Kolomna 5D49 engines were replaced with more economical and equally powerful 12-cylinder 12D49M engines. Due to the similarity with its predecessor, this engine was able to assert itself against competing models from Caterpillar and MaK. These models were designated as class 233 and 65 examples were built by 2003.

When a gap between the V 60 shunting locomotive and the V 180 main line locomotive became noticeable in the GDR diesel locomotive range, a V 100 with a power output of around 1,000 hp was proposed. It was originally intended to be used for both shunting and route service. However, since the existing shunting locomotives were finally considered sufficient, the V 100 was only designed as a mainline locomotive.

The engine used was the 12 KVD 18/21 A3, which was also installed twice in the V 180. The first prototype had 900 hp, but the final version with 1,000 hp was already used in the second. The originally planned use as a shunting locomotive was noticeable in the fact that there was only one driver's cab, which was moved towards the middle. The engine and the cooling system were housed in the larger front hood, while the smaller rear hood housed various auxiliary machinery, the electrical equipment and the boiler. The torque converter was below the driver's cab and transmitted the power to the two bogies. 

When the computer numbers were introduced in 1970, the V 100 became the class 110, with the 10 indicating the power output of 1,000 hp. Between 1981 and 1990, around 500 units became the class 112 with the installation of the new 12 KVD 18/21 AL4 engine with 1,200 hp. A further 65 units were made between 1983 and 1991 with the 12 KVD 18/21 AL5, initially with 1,400 and later 1,500 hp equipped and designated as the class 114. Today the three variants are listed as the classes 201, 202 and 204.

Soon after German reunification, the original series of the V 100 began to be phased out. This was accelerated by the fact that the locomotives, now known as the class 201, tended to sway unacceptably on the renewed tracks and therefore quickly became unpopular. The top speed, which was then reduced to 80 km/h, also considerably restricted the possible uses on main lines. However, many were modernized and equipped with significantly more powerful engines, so that they were bought by a large number of smaller railway companies and are still in use today. In addition, six of the original ten class 199⁸ locomotives are still in use on the Harz Narrow Gauge Railways, which have been converted to meter gauge. 

The Reichsbahn required large diesel locomotives in order to be able to switch traction from steam to diesel on the main routes. Since towards the end of the 1950s there weren't yet Comecon regulations prohibiting the production of large diesel locomotives in the GDR, LOWA developed its own twin-engine diesel locomotive for production at Lokomotivbau Karl Marx Babelsberg. To achieve the required power, two V12 turbodiesels, initially each with 900 hp, were selected, which each delivered their power to a bogie via a hydraulic transmission. The designation V 180 was derived from the total output of 1,800 hp. In the absence of suitable transmissions from their own production, Voith transmissions had to be imported from Austria, which were only replaced with indigenous ones late in the series.

The first series had two two-axle bogies and, with an axle load of 19.5 tonnes, were only suitable for main lines. After two prototypes and 85 series locomotives of this V 180⁰, 82 V 180¹ with two times 1,000 hp were built. All series locomotives of the V 180⁰ were also subsequently equipped with these engines. A steam boiler was provided for train heating, occupying the space between the engines. A total of three locomotives were equipped with fiberglass canopies with forward-sloping windscreens, which were intended to reduce reflections and did not catch on.

After it was determined that a locomotive of this power class would also be suitable for branch lines, production was switched to a six-axle variant with an axle load of 15.5 tonnes from 1966. This became the V 180² and the last engines were assigned to the class 118² right from the factory. From 1981, 179 of the 206 six-axle units were fitted with new engines, each capable of 1,200 hp thanks to intercooling. Seven pieces of the four-axle variant also had this engine. A total of three four- and six-axle prototypes were tested with 1,400 and 1,500 hp engines. Since the 3,000 hp class 130 was already available at that time, no series production took place.

Before the delivery of the class 130 locomotives, the V 180 was also used to pull heavy express trains, although it was nominally less powerful than the class 01 express steam locomotives. Some of the six-axle locomotives were approved for operation on steep stretches and were therefore used in the Thuringian Forest, for example. Operation in front of passenger trains was soon only possible in summer because there was no electric train heating. The locomotives now known as the class 228 did not have a long life on the reunified German railway. Many engines were sold to a large number of private operators, some of whom fitted them with new engines and drove them until they were no longer worth using due to their age.

Since the Comecon agreements prevented further construction of large diesel locomotives in the GDR, a total of 378 units of the Soviet type M62 were ordered. These locomotives from Voroshilowgrad (today Lugansk in Ukraine) were built particularly heavily for pure freight train operation and had a two-stroke diesel engine with 2,000 hp. Since they were initially delivered without a silencer, they were given the nickname “Taigatrommel” (“Taiga drum”) in the GDR. At the beginning of the nineties they were redesignated from class 120 to 220, but were soon phased out. Many locomotives then came to German private railways and others were sold to the former Eastern Bloc.

The one-off with the designation V 30 C was the prototype for a narrow-gauge locomotive that was developed for export in cape gauge (1,067 mm). The locomotive builder Karl Marx Babelsberg had received an order for 20 diesel locomotives from the Indonesian State Railways, the design of which first had to be tested on domestic routes. This resulted in a three-axle locomotive with a gauge of 1,000 mm, which could be used on the Harz routes.

An imported Maybach unit was used as engine, which was in the range of 300 hp and therefore led to the designation V 30. The export customer chose the designation C 300. The power transmission was also imported, using a torque converter from Voith. The locomotive showed good performance in the test runs from February 2, 1966, but the cooling systems were actually designed for operation in subtropical areas and had to be provisionally weakened for use in the heights of the Harz Mountains. In 1970, the Reichsbahn took over the engine for scheduled use, but the engine and gearbox were replaced with models from GDR production. The 6VD 18/15-A1 from the Schönebeck plant increased the output to 330 hp and a new gearbox from the Dresden turbine factory was used. The converted locomotive was first assigned to the class 103, but was soon renumbered 199 301 due to the new numbering scheme for narrow-gauge locomotives.

After a defect in the new engine in the 1980s, it received a naturally aspirated engine with only 220 hp, which significantly reduced its performance on mountain routes. Nevertheless, it remained in service and was renamed 399 130 by DB AG. There it was used for another three years until it was finally parked in a locomotive shed in 1997 and can still be found there today.

In the GDR's diesel locomotive program, a 650-hp locomotive was planned for medium shunting services, of which two prototypes were manufactured in 1959 as the V 60. It also had to be able to be used on tight radii and not only be used by the Reichsbahn, but also in industrial combines and, if possible, also be exported. The required axle load of a maximum of 15 tonnes made four axles necessary, which had to be in one frame because of the drive via coupling rods. Two axles were connected to each other with a Beugniot frame in order to enable the axles to be moved sideways.

The prototypes were powered by a turbocharged V8, which, however, did not prove itself with the frequent load changes in shunting. Instead, the larger V12 from the V 100 and V 180 was used in production, which still achieved the required 650 hp after the omission of the turbocharger. The first 163 prodction engines of the V 60¹⁰ weighed 55 tonnes, the others were equipped with five tonnes of ballast and designated as V 60¹². Production was soon relocated from Babelsberg to Hennigsdorf, with a total of 2,256 units built by 1982. The engines were listed as class 106 from 1968. After the completion of more than 1,000 engines, the class numbers 104 and 105 were used to comply with the three-digit serial numbers, since the 107 was already occupied by the V 75.

As planned, the V 60 was also used by a large number of industrial companies, even if the Reichsbahn later bought some of them. For the ferry port of Mukran on the island of Rügen, 14 examples were converted to a gauge of 1,520 mm and central buffer coupling in order to be able to take over the Soviet freight cars arriving there. Exports took place to Egypt, Bulgaria, Algeria and others.

After reunification, the locomotives were assigned to the classes 344 to 347. Many were gradually sold off, since the West German V 60 was more economical to use and some had already been equipped with remote control by the Bundesbahn. Even the fact that at that time some locomotives had already been rebuilt with a de-rated engine and a single-gear transmission to improve efficiency did not change that. The industry bought many more locomotives and in some cases used them for a longer period of time.

The V 75 was a locomotive imported from Czechoslovakia, 20 of which were only procured for the shunting service around Leipzig Central Station. The reason for their procurement was that at the end of the fifties the six-coupled shunting locomotives of the class 80 had to be replaced, but the GDR was not yet able to produce a shunting locomotive in the required power class themself. That is why the choice fell on the locomotives manufactured by CKD in Prague, which were used in Czechoslovakia as the T 435.0 and in the Soviet Union as the ЧМЭ2.

These engines were B-B diesel-electric locomotives with a cab at only one end. The power came from a slow-running in-line six-cylinder, which accordingly had a large displacement of 163 liters. The normal direction of travel, in the style of steam locomotives, was with the engine compartment ahead, severely reducing forward visibility. Since there was only one auxiliary driver's desk in the other direction of travel, it was not possible to take advantage of the better visibility in this direction. The technical deviations from the engines of the CSD were negligible and mainly affected the adapted braking system.

The locomotives, popularly known as “Hector”, were mostly used in shunting service due to their design, but were also used in line service in the vicinity of Leipzig. The engines, which could only travel 60 km/h, not only pulled freight trains, but also commuter trains. Due to the lack of train heating, however, its use in front of passenger trains was limited to the warm season. They were classified as class 107 from 1970 and were retired by 1984. Two pieces now reached the works railway of the Karsdorf cement works, which were later reinforced by four pieces from the former Czechoslovakia by the meanwhile privatized railway company. Today there is still one example that is operational again and bears the colors of the Reichsbahn.

The diesel-mechanical light locomotive of the type V 10 B was manufactured by the LKM Babelsberg for industrial railways and for export. The designation stood for an output of 100 hp and two axles. It was technically based on the N4, which in turn was very similar to the Kleinlokomotiven of power class 2. However, what was new about the V 10 B and the narrow-gauge version V 10 C was that they no longer had a very low driver's cab. The exported locomotives went to several countries in the Eastern Bloc, as well as to friendly countries. The V 15, also built for the Reichsbahn from 1958, was based on the V 10 B, but was more powerful and had hydraulic power transmission.