Commuter Car, 2nd Class

The unpainted exterior skin of stainless steel with the peacock's eye pattern below the windows earned the German Federal Railroad commuter cars, which replaced older rolling stock starting in 1960, the name "Silberlinge" ("Silver Coins"). On the prototype, a large number of 2nd-class cars were equipped with baggage compartments and control cabs at one end, which were subsequently upgraded to complete engineer’s stands with destination signs. Thanks to the control cabs, these cars can be used in push/pull service in combination with locomotives that are suitably equipped for this type of operation. This saves the time required to change locos at the terminal stations. Trains of Silberlinge cars often run on main lines and branch lines with class 111, 140, 141, 212, or 216 locomotives. However, even the modern, three-phase class 120 locomotives have also occasionally operated push/pull trains. Nowadays, Silberlinge cars are operated exclusively on museum railroads or with updated paint schemes on private railroads, such as TRI, SVG, or GfF.