Arnold HN2492S DB, electric loco class 181.2, blue/beige livery, period IV, with DCC sound decoder

The electrification of various railway lines between France, Luxembourg and Germany in the 1960s and 1970s resulted in an increased need for dual-system locomotives for operation with 15 kV, 162/3 Hz and 25 kV, 50 Hz.

Based on the experience with the four prototypes (classes 181.0 and 181.1) the German Federal Railroad ordered 25 dual-system locomotives which were put into service as class 181.2 (181 201 to 181 225) from 1974. The first ten engines were delivered in steel blue paint, while the new two-tone paint scheme of the DB in ocean blue and beige was already used on the 181 211-225.

Some of the locomotives were baptised. They were given the names "Lorraine" (181 211), "Luxembourg" (181 212), "Saar" (181 213) and "Mosel" (181 214) paying tribute to their area of service.

The main area of service of the 3,300 kW electric locomotives was initially in cross-border traffic on the routes Frankfurt a. M. – Metz and Strasbourg – Stuttgart, where they hauled regional, express as well as freight trains. They could also be seen in IC and EC traffic in Luxembourg, Basel, Leipzig and other German cities.

The era of this series at Deutsche Bahn AG only ended in 2018. In the meantime, however, some locomotives have been put back on the tracks by other railway companies enriching the variety of vehicles in modern railways.