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
ČKD T-669 diesel locomotive ČKD T-669 diesel locomotive T-669.0 (770) class diesel locomotives, built by ČKD are six-axle, with two bogies. The wheel pairs are set in radius arms and have a simple coil spring suspension. The body is mounted on the frame with eight anchors. The locomotive is a hood unit type with an internal, eccentrically-positioned operator's cab. Located underneath the front hood is the traction assembly – a K 6 S 310 DR diesel engine and a TD 802 traction generator – and auxiliary machinery powered by the diesel engine via a hydrodynamic transmission. Chillers and ventilators are located here as well.