Class 628.2 Diesel-Powered Rail Car with a Class 928.2 Cab Control Car

Welcome to the 1970s, when the quaint but rather antiquated red rail buses dominated railroad commuter services in West Germany. To avoid losing all their passengers to automobiles, the German Federal Railroad had to think about a successor. And the result was impressive. In 1974, the first of the new class 628.0 double powered rail cars entered operational service. This pre-production series, along with the three single-engined prototypes of the class 628.1 built in 1981, performed extremely well. However, it would be some years before orders were placed for the production version. This came in 1988/89, when 150 units joined the DB fleet as the class 628.2 and ushered in a new era of local and regional transport. Together with several Federal States, which contributed subsidies, the company developed modern commuter concepts that were considered groundbreaking at the time and served as a model for the regular-interval services that were subsequently introduced in the regions. Compared to the rail buses, the comfortable class 628.2 units, which even offered a 1st-class compartment, represented a quantum leap forward. Since the rail cars were correspondingly popular with passengers, the DB went to great lengths to make the elegant class 628.2 even more appealing. After several years, most of the vehicles gained improved interior fittings, including wheelchair ramps, as well as the new traffic-red “Regio” paint scheme. For over a quarter of a century, the class 628.2 provided reliable service, sometimes in multiple units, and relegated more than just the old rail buses to the sidings. They marked a genuine milestone in development and, even on a model railroad, symbolize the dawn of a new era of commuter transport.

Prototype: German Federal Railroad (DB) class 628.2 diesel-powered rail car with a class 928.2 cab control car in a mint turquoise and light gray paint scheme from era IV.