BR 216

In 1968 the new numbering scheme was introduced by the UIC (Union International des Chemins de fer). The letters which indicated the rolling stock were replaced by numbers alone. The locomotives V 160 got the indication 216 with the numbers 001-010 for the prototype locomotives the so-called "lollo's" (except the 010) and the serie locomotives got the numbers 011-224. The first locomotive which received the new indication in 1968 was the 216 156, the last locomotive which was renumbered in 1969 was the 216 224.

From 1973 the prototype locomotives were stationed in the Bw Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck, where they had service in cargo trains in the northern Ruhr area. From 1978 the prototype locomotives were taken out of service. Several locomotives were sold to the Italian railways, an other locomotive was going to a private railway in Germany. The 216 003 (former V 160 003), which was the last "lollo" taken out of service in January 1984, is now standing in the original colors in the railway museum of Nürnberg.

At the beginning of epoch IV, the locomotives BR 216 were soon disappearing from the long-distance train services and pulled mainly lower graded passenger trains. Also due to the missing of a electric heating installation the locomotives were more and more used in cargo trains, mainly in the western and northern parts of Germany. In the summer of 2001 there were 16 locomotives left, these were stationed in the Bw Osterfeld. The locomotives were in service in cargo trains in Rheinland, the Ruhr area and in Ostwestfalen. A few times you could see a locomotive pulling a train of Silberlingen, because these coaches can be heated with steam.

In epoch IV an extensive number of locomotives was painted in the new colors of the DB, namely ocean-blue beige. At the end of the eighties a couple of locomotives received the so-called "traffic-red" color of the DB.