Electric locomotive BR 181.2 DB Ep.IV

DB, class 181.2 electric locomotive, in blue livery, epoch four

The electrification of various railway lines between France, Luxembourg and Germany in the 1960s and 1970s resulted in an increased demand for dual-system locomotives for operation with 15 kV, 162/3 Hz and 25 kV, 50 Hz.

Based on the experience with the four locomotives of the 181.0 and 181.1 series, the Deutsche Bundesbahn ordered 25 two-system locomotives, which were put into service as the 181.2 series (181 201 to 181 225) from 1974. The first 10 machines were delivered in steel blue paintwork, with 181 211-225 the new two-tone paint scheme of the DB in ocean blue and beige was already used ex works.

Some of the locomotives were given the names "Lorraine" (181 211), "Luxembourg" (181 212), "Saar" (181 213) and "Mosel" (181 214) to match their area of operation.

The main area of application for the 3,300 kW electric locomotives was initially in cross-border traffic on the Frankfurt a. M. - Metz and Straßbourg - Stuttgart, where they transported express, express and freight trains. They could also be seen in IC and EC traffic in Luxembourg, Basel, Leipzig and other German cities.

The era of this series at Deutsche Bahn AG only ended in 2018. In the meantime, however, some locomotives have been put back on the tracks by other railway companies and enrich the vehicle diversity of modern railways.