Diesel locomotive Therefore, diesel traction became economical for shunting before it became economical for hauling trains. The construction of diesel shunters began in 1920 in France, in 1925 in Denmark, in 1926 in the Netherlands, and in 1927 in Germany. After few years of testing, hundreds of units were produced within a decade. Diesel-powered or "oil-engined" railcars, generally diesel–mechanical, were developed by various European manufacturers in the 1930s, e.g. by William Beardmore and Company for the Canadian National Railways (the Beardmore Tornado engine was subsequently used in the R101 airship). Some of those series for regional traffic were begun with gasoline motors
TU2 diesel locomotive the Ways and Communications. The tests were successful, so the TU2 was taken into production. The only factory that produced the TU2 was Kaluga machine factory. The first three locomotives were tested again, in Panevėžys, (Lithuania) and Pärnu, (Estonia). During the tests, the locomotive could run as fast as . But due to the poor tracks on most of the country's narrow gauge railways, the highest allowed speed during normal operation was . TU2 diesel locomotives were produced till 1959; 281 locomotives were built. The locomotives were used on many narrow gauge railways to haul cargo as well as passenger