Diesel locomotive Diesel–hydraulic locomotives have a smaller market share than those with diesel electric transmission - the main worldwide user of main-line hydraulic transmissions was the Federal Republic of Germany, with designs including the 1950s DB class V 200, and the 1960 and 1970s DB Class V 160 family. British Rail introduced a number of diesel hydraulic designs during it 1955 Modernisation Plan, initially license built versions of German designs (see ). In Spain RENFE used high power to weight ratio twin engined German designs to haul high speed trains from the 1960s to 1990s. (see RENFE Classes 340, 350, 352, 353,
Diesel locomotive 1970s onwards diesel–electric transmission has dominated. The earliest recorded example of the use of an internal combustion engine in a railway locomotive is the prototype designed by William Dent Priestman, which was examined by Sir William Thomson in 1888 who described it as a ""[Priestman oil engine] mounted upon a truck which is worked on a temporary line of rails to show the adaptation of a petroleum engine for locomotive purposes."". In 1894, a two axle machine built by Priestman Brothers was used on the Hull Docks. In 1896 an oil-engined railway locomotive was built for the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich,