Prussia State / Prussian State 0-6-0 Locomotives in Germany

Class G 3 /BR 53.70-53.71 (Locobase 2678)

Data from Albert Gieseler's Dampfmaschinen und Lokomotiven at [], last accessed 12 November 2013 adn Reder (1974, p 182 and table). (Thanks to Wes Barris of steamlocomotive.com for his 13 June 2018 email noting mistakes in the cylinder counts, diameters, and strokes.)

Reder explains that after the success of the little 2-2-0 tank locomotives, von Borries followed up with these freight compounds. They had cutoffs on the LP side set for 40-50% longer stroke, which equalized the effort of the two cylinders. Savings of 9-20% in coal consumption resulted when tested against 2-cylinder simple locomotives of the same size.

The Hanover section of the KPEV adopted the design wholeheartedly and procured 768 by 1899.

Class G 4.2/BR 53.1 (Locobase 15596)

Data from Albert Gieseler's Dampfmaschinen und Lokomotiven at [], last access 12 November 2013; and GGustav Reder (Michael Reynolds, trans), The world of steam locomotives (New York: Putnam, 1974), p. 182 See also "Prussian G 4.2" in Wikipedia at [], last accessed 15 October 2023; "G 4.2" "in J Vandenberghen, XII: La guerre 1914 - 1918 et les locomotives "Armistice", 2. Description des locomotives K.P.E.V. (PDF) (in French), Department Materiel (Brussels: SNCB. 1989), pp. 147-152

A list of builders includes: Henschel & Sohn, Berliner Maschinenbau, Borsig, Grafenstaden, Hanomag, Hohenzollern, Schichau-Werke, Union Giesserei K"nigsberg, and AG Vulcan Stettin from 1885 to 1903. (Henschel built two prototypes in 1882)

Gustav Reder stated that these were a von Borries compound design that followed the widely used simple-expansion G3 (Locobase 2628), but were more powerful and had a higher-pitched boiler. Proponents compared compound to single-expansion and claimed the compounds could pull more while consuming less fuel and throwing fewer sparks. Vanderberghen noted the initially impressive ability to take an 800 ton train up a 0.3% grade at 30 kph (19 mph) and 580 tons up 0.6% at 25 kph (15.5 mph). Maximum allowable speed was set at 55 kph (34 mph).

Wikipedia reports that 780 G 4.2s worked on Prussian railways, but adds that this total includes several variations on the basic design. For example, during the long production run, some locomotives appeared with steam domes on the first boiler course (just behind the smokebox), second boiler course, or third. Tube counts in the boiler varied by batch or builder. Some batches used the von Borries starting valve, others used Dultz.

NB: German data give evaporative heating surface using tube heating surface calculated from the inside (fire side) diameter. Thus, tube heating surface in this G 4.2 measured 1,211 sq ft; with direct heating surface area added in, EHS came to 124.25 sq m (1,294 sq ft). Locobase uses the external tube diameter provided in the same stats for its areas to permit easier comparison with contemporaries operated in North America and British Empire.

Like other goods locomotives of their size, the G 4.2s worked long freights for only a while before being supplanted by eight-coupled all-adhesion or Consolidation-type engines. By the 1923 nationalization, only 296 received DRG numbers 53 001-295, f3 451. Twelve years later, only 24 remained on the roster.

(A G 4.3 1903 superheated variant appears in Locobase 6362.)

Class G 4.3/BR 53.3 (Locobase 6362)

Christian Lindecke, in [] (21 November 2004), supplemented by Albert Gieseler at [], last accessed on 10 May 2011. See also " in G 4.3" "in J Vandenberghen, XII: La guerre 1914 - 1918 et les locomotives "Armistice", 2. Description des locomotives K.P.E.V. (PDF) (in French), Department Materiel (Brussels: SNCB. 1989), pp. 153-157; and Prussian G 4.3" in Wikipedia at [], last accessed 15 October 2023. Works numbers were 1290-1293 in 1903, 1360-1369 in 1904; 1370-1379, 1418-1433, 1480-1490; 1536-1547 in 1907.

Based in the Eastern Prussia city of Konigsberg, the Union Foundry supplied all of the locomotives in this six-coupled class. According to Wikipedia, the PSR sought to improve the" running characteristics" of the earlier G 4.2 class 0-6-0s and succeeded to the extent that G 4.3 maximum allowable speed rose to 60 kph (37 mph). An obvious difference between the two classes was the substitution of outside constant-lead Heusinger valve gear in place of inside Stephenson link motion. Three-legged compensation used longitudinal compensation between the second and third axles and transverse compensation just to the rear of the leading axle.

Initially, the class hauled a variety of goods trains from local to express and even some passenger services. But they soon lost their goods trains role to more powerful locomotives.

As part of the 1918 Armistice agreement ending World War One, Germany transferred 24 locomotives to Poland, the Free City of Danzig, and Belgium. Poland placed fifteen in their class Th4.. Belgium didn't bother classifying their engines and discarded them in 1923.

Their relative youth led the Deutsches Reich Gessellschaft incorporated 39 G 4.3s-more than half of the original number-into its motive power roster in 1923.

Class T 7 / BR 89 78 (Locobase 6364)

Data from Christian Lindecke data from [] (21 Nov 2004), supplemented by [] . See also supplemented by Nr 93 of the SACM's Locomotive book supplied by Dany Machi up at [] as

Diagrammes des machines SACM construites a GRAFENSTADEN (October 2007).

Lindecke says that these six-coupled tanks were procured in response to increasing traffic in several German regions from the Ruhr and the Saar to Berlin's environs to Upper Silesia. As the program went on, the locomotives were built to a standard specifications sheet (Musterblatt), this one designated III-4c.

65 other locomotives, most of a slightly different design, went into industrial service as well as operating on other Laenderbahn. In all the cylindrical, flat-topped steam dome was located over the front axle and the small regulator dome over the second, driven axle.

By 1925, the stock had been whittled away and the DRG saw fit to incorporate only 67 machines, most of which were retired by 1930.

A website of Dortmund locomotives -- [] (21 Nov 2004) -- describes them as the Ruhr type and praises them for their durability, reliability, and ease of operation.

Class T3/BR 89.70-89.75 (Locobase 1285)

Data from Albert Gieseler's Dampfmaschinen und Lokomotiven website at [] . These potent little tank engines served as switcher, freight and passenger engines. 1,345 were produced over a 30-year period (1881-1910).

[] comments as follows on this homely design:

"To many railfans, the thought of the T-3's silhouette still conjures up romantic visions of lonely branch line operations with the tiny locomotives hauling a string of four wheeled coaches into yesteryear. While it may be difficult to pinpoint exactly what endears the T-3 to railfans, there is no doubt that the locomotive's reliability and operating characteristics endeared it to both its engineers and owners ..."

The site spells out where in its design the little engine shone: "The boiler was exceptionally efficient and generated fairly dry steam in spite of not having a superheater ...The 1100 mm diameter drive wheels were supported at three points making the locomotive quite stable. The ancient Allan valve gear was almost humorous in its operation but did its job well."

Alas, as traffic increased, a 45 km/h (28 mph) maximum speed was simply too low for anything but switching work and that's where most T3s ended their days. A significant minority carried on with work on secondary and narrow-gauge lines.

Class T8 / BR 89.0 / 89.10 (Locobase 5075)

See home.t-online.de/home/kopka.manfred/t8.htm and the Deutsche Bahn museum site [], supplemented by Albert Gieseler at [], last accessed on 10 May 2011.

The museum site says that the T8 was a 60 km/h replacment for less powerful tank engines such as the T3, T7, and T9 classes; as such they were the first superheated tanks on the KPEV.

T8s were intended to run on track with a maximum axle load of 14 metric tons and this led to some weight-saving measures. One of them, placing the coal bunker over the water tanks, proved unpopular because it made the engines harder to fire and the bunker obstructed the crew's view. Even at that, weight was still too high by a good 1 1/2 metric tons per axle.

Christian Lindecke -- [] ... (23 2004) -- adds that counterbalancing of wheel and machinery left much to be desired and the locomotives rode roughly. Its wheelbase was extended to remedy this, but the T8s were still unsatisfactory.

Linke Hoffmann produced 59 from 1906 to 1908, while Orenstein & Koppel added 29 and Hanomag delivered 15. Although 78 of the class received BauReihe numbers, most of the class, therefore, were sold off to private companies. During World War II, the Reichsbahn absorbed 4 of the engines as the 89 1001 class, giving them numbers 89.1001-1004. The last of this quartet was retired in 1964. One other -- 89 6476 -- operated until 1965 in East German service.