Diesel locomotive Calabro Lucane in southern Italy in 1926, following trials in 1924-5. In 1924, two diesel–electric locomotives were taken in service by the Soviet railways, almost at one time: In 1935, Krauss-Maffei, MAN and Voith built the first diesel–hydraulic locomotive, called V 140, in Germany. The German railways (DRG) being very pleased with the performance of that engine, diesel–hydraulics became the mainstream in diesel locomotives in Germany. Serial production of diesel locomotives in Germany began after World War II. In many railway stations and industrial compounds, steam shunters had to be kept hot during lots of breaks between scattered short tasks.
Diesel locomotive Diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotive have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels. Early internal combusition locomotives and railcars used kerosene and gasoline as their fuel. Dr. Rudolf Diesel patented his first compression ignition engine in 1898, and steady improvements in the design of diesel engines reduced their physical size and improved their power-to-weight ratio to a point where one could be mounted in a locomotive. Internal combustion engines only