A Railway Time Capsule: The Dawn of Electric Railcars
Long before the era of the Bundesbahn (Federal Railway), the age of electric rail mobility had already begun in Germany. It was an era of visionary engineering, defined by the proud state railways and the Deutsche Reichsbahn—spanning from the world’s first AC pioneers at the turn of the century and the legendary Silesian “Rübezahl” to the birth of the modern Hamburg S-Bahn. Many of these vehicles were destroyed in the turmoil of World War II or scattered far and wide as spoils of war.
Our photo database preserves the visual heritage of this irreplaceable era. Discover rare historical shots, exclusive factory photographs, and documentary treasures covering all pre-war classes, private railway vehicles, and unique models dating up to the pivotal year of 1945.
Clicking on a class designation takes you directly to the corresponding images in our photo database.
In April 1935, Hermann Maey captured a portrait of modern local rail transport in the form of the ET 65 04 at Ludwigsburg station.
| new / old model series | Numbers | built | Decommissioning / Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| ET 11 | ET 11 01 – 11 03 (High-speed railcar) | 1938 | 1961 at the DB |
| ET 25 / 425 | ET 25 001 – 028, 101 – 111 (High-speed railcar) | 1935–1938 | 1972 at the DR and 1985 at the DB |
| ET 31 / ET 32 / 432 | ET 31 001 – 013 (Express railcar) | 1936 | Conversion after 1945 to ET 32 |
| ET 41 | ET 41 01 – 06 | 1928 | 1946 at the DR |
| ET 51 | ET 51 01 – 04 (Local transport) | 1934 | Conversion after 1945 to ET 65 031 |
| ET 51.1 | ET 51 11 – 14 | 1934 | 1945 |
| ET 55 / 455 | ET 55 01 – 04; 05 – 06 (Silesia four cars) | 1939–1940 | 1984 at the DB |
| ET 65 / 465 | ET 65 01 – 25 (Stuttgarter Suburban trains) | 1933–1935 | 1980 at the DB |
| ET 82 | ET 82 01 – 02 | 1926–1927 | 1945 |
| ET 85 / 485 | ET 85 01 – 36 | 1924–1933 | 1977 |
| ET 87 | ET 87 01 – 05 (KPEV 501–506) | 1914 | 1959 |
| ET 88 | ET 88 01 – 04 (KPEV 507–510) | 1921–1923 | 1951 |
| ET 89 | ET 89 01 – 11 („Rübezahl“, Silesia) | 1926 | 1959 |
| ET 90 / 490 | ET 90 01 – 03 | 1920 | 1972 |
| ET 91 / 491 | ET 91 01 – 02 (Observation railcar „Gläserner Zug“) | 1935 | ET 91 02 destroyed in 1945 / ET 91 01 until 1995 |
| ET 99 | 001 – 012; 014 – 049; 051 – 052 (S-Bahn Hamburg, A.C.) | 1924–1933 | 1955 |
| ET 125 / 279 | 001 – 018; S-Bahn Berlin | 1934-1938 | 2003 |
| ET 165 / 275 | 001 – 638; S-Bahn Berlin | 1928 -1932 | 1997 |
| ET 166 / 276 | 001 – 052; S-Bahn Berlin | 1936 | 2003 |
| ET 167 / 277 | 001 – 292; S-Bahn Berlin | 1938-1944 | 2003 |
| ET 168 / 278 | 001 – 050; S-Bahn Berlin | 1926 | 1962 |
| ET 169 | 001 – 017; S-Bahn Berlin | 1925 | 1962 |
| ET 171 / 471 | elT 1646a/b/c – 1692a/b/c (S-Bahn Hamburg, D.C.) | 1939–1944; 1954; 1958 | 2001 |
| ET 183 (LAG) | 01-05 | 1899 | 1962 |
| ET 184.0 (Bayern) | 01-09 | 1908 | 1942 |
| ET 184.4 (LAG) | 41 and 42 | 1895 | 1959 |
| ET 185 (LAG) | 01 | 1908 | c. 1962 |
| ET 186.0 (LAG) | 01 and 02 | 1896 | c. 1960 |
| ET 186.1 (LAG) | 11 und 12 | 1891 | Early 1950s |
| ET 194.0 (Bayern) | 01 (Baggage motor car) | 1908 | 1942 |
| ET 194.1 (LAG) | 11 (Baggage motor car) | 1892 | 1947 |
| ET 194.2 (LAG) | 21 (Baggage motor car) | 1896 | 1947 |
| ET 196 (LAG) | 01-05 | 1908/1910 | 1954 |
| ET 197.0 (LAG) | 01 | 1914 | 1940s? |
| ET 197.2 (Sachsen) | 21 und 22 | 1917 | 1957 |