Diesel locomotive were classified as DET 1 and DET 2 (). Due to shortage of petrol products during World War I, they remained unused for regular service in Germany. In 1922, they were sold to Swiss Compagnie du Chemin de fer Régional du Val-de-Travers (), where they were used in regular service up to the electrification of the line in 1944. Afterwards, the company kept them in service as boosters till 1965. Fiat claims a first Italian diesel–electric locomotive built in 1922, but little detail is available. A Fiat-TIBB diesel–locomotive "A", of 440CV, is reported to have entered service on the Ferrovie
Diesel locomotive 1953. One of the first home developed diesel vehicles of China was the DMU Dongfeng (东风), produced in 1958 by CSR Sifang. Series production of China's first diesel locomotive class, the DFH 1, began in 1964 following construction of a prototype in 1959. The Trans-Australian Railway built 1912 to 1917 by Commonwealth Railways (CR) passes through 2000 km of waterless (or salt watered) desert terrain unsuitable for steam locomotives. The original engineer Henry Deane envisaged diesel operation to overcome such problems. Some have suggested that the CR worked with the South Australian Railways to trial diesel traction. However, the technology