50 years ago, on 4th August 1964, the German Federal Railway commissioned the first of a total of 511 locomotives from the V90/290 and 291 ranges manufactured by Mak. The locomotives were developed for heavy shunting and transfer work. In order to simplify operation, a number of locomotives were equipped with radio remote control and automatic coupling which was also evident from the outside thanks to the numbers of the new 294, 295 and 296 ranges displayed on the locomotives. The locomotive family continues in reliable service to this very day: Only with the emergence of the new Voith Gravita will DB AG begin to withdraw the first BR 291/295 locomotives from the managed inventory.