railography photo galleries : Germany : 140 Hamburg - Lübeck - Kiel : 84-AE-11 : (4 of 7)

Gas Turbine Rebuild

218 906 accelerated E3229, the 09:11 Flensburg - Kreiensen, out of Lübeck Hbf just after midday on 18 February 1984. E3229 followed a series of secondary routes to reach Kreiensen, south of Hannover in 9 hours, taking almost twice as long as the fastest trains via Hamburg and Hannover.

The loco was one of 8 built around 1970 as Class 210 with a gas-turbine booster in addition to the usual diesel engine, giving a 50% increase in power over a standard Class 218. The gas turbines proved problematic and all 8 locos were rebuilt as conventional class 218s in 1980-81, being renumbered in the 218.9 series.