Diesel locomotive set, and went into series production with other streamlined car sets in Germany starting in 1935. In the USA, diesel-electric propulsion was brought to high speed mainline passenger service in late 1934, largely through the research and development efforts of General Motors from 1930–34 and advances in lightweight carbody design by the Budd Company. The economic recovery from the Second World War saw the widespread adoption of diesel locomotives in many countries. They offered greater flexibility and performance than steam locomotives, as well as substantially lower operating and maintenance costs. Diesel–hydraulic transmissions were intrdouced in the 1950s, but from the
Diesel-Zarlatti locomotive alone, but when running they were powered by a mixture of steam and compressed air. The steam was needed to prevent the cylinders icing up, because compressed air cools when it expands. Diesel-Zarlatti locomotive The Diesel-Zarlatti locomotive was a prototype railway locomotive, built in Italy in 1929, which adopted a hybrid diesel-steam transmission system. In the 1920s, there was a search for alternatives to the steam locomotive for railway traction, to reduce cost and improve efficiency. The main alternatives were railway electrification or the use of an internal combustion engine, such as the diesel engine. A disadvantage of the internal