DB Class V 65

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DB V 65 / 265
Type and origin Power type Diesel-hydraulic Builder Maschinenbau Kiel Serial number 600004–600018 Model MaK 600D Build date 1956 Total produced 15
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 0-8-0DH  • UIC D Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) Wheel diameter 1,250 mm (4 ft 1+1⁄4 in) Wheelbase 5,800 mm (19 ft 3⁄8 in) Length: ​  • Over buffers 10,740 mm (35 ft 2+7⁄8 in) Axle load 13.5 t (13.3 long tons; 14.9 short tons) Service weight 54.0 t (53.1 long tons; 59.5 short tons) Prime mover MaK MS 301 C RPM: ​  • Maximum RPM 750 rpm Engine type 6-cylinder diesel engine
Performance figures Maximum speed 80 km/h (50 mph) Power output 552 kW (751 PS; 740 hp)
Career Operators Deutsche Bundesbahn Class V 65, 265 from 1968 Numbers DB V 65 001–015 Retired 1980

The DB Class V 65 locomotives (from 1968: Class 265) were German, eight-wheeled, rod-coupled diesel locomotives operated by Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB) intended for light railway services and medium-heavy shunting duties. The 15 locomotives were delivered in 1956 by MaK (Kiel) to the DB.

Class V 65/Class 265 engines were delivered to the DB shortly after the arrival in service of the first V 60s. Amongst their special features were the MaK motor with only 750 rpm and the Beugniot lever between the individual axles, that improved curve running. For train heating the engine had a boiler that was heated by the engine's exhaust gases. The engine itself had to be pre-heated with a Dofa coke oven. For this purpose up to 100 kg of coke could be carried.

Although, with only 15 units, the Class V 65 was built in relatively small numbers, it was really only a slight modification of the 600 D built by MaK for private railways. These belonged to the so-called MaK rod-coupled locomotives [de], that were operated in large numbers by private railways. Their power ranged between 240 and 1,200 PS (180 and 880 kW).

The locomotives were initially deployed in the area of Marburg/Lahn ahead of light passenger trains, but in 1964 they were replaced by the more powerful V 100. After that, five examples were used for shunting duties at Puttgarden ferryboat station until 1980, being stationed at the depot (Bahnbetriebswerk) at Puttgarden. The remainder were employed at Hamburg-Altona where their duties included working on the Hamburg Harbour railway.

Locomotive V 65 001 has been preserved and, after a term with the Meppen-Haselünne Railway is now looked after by the Osnabrück Steam Railway Society (Osnabrücker Dampflokfreunden) and is used as a museum railway engine. Another V65, number V 65 011, has been loaned by the DB Museum to the Bochum-Dahlhausen Railway Museum owned by the DGEG.

In the first scenes of the 1962 film Die Tür mit den sieben Schlössern (The Door with the Seven Locks) a pair of DB V 65 engines (V65 005 and 007) can clearly be seen standing in the station. This reveals that the scenes were filmed in a German station and not - as the film tries to suggest by the use of various English signs - at a station in London.

• List of DB locomotives and railbuses

• V65 bei www.loks-aus-kiel.de

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