Between 1899 and 1905, the Bavarian State Railway ordered a total of 83 2-6-0 freight locomotives for lowland lines. They were built by Krauss and Maffei and were designated C VI. They were two-cylinder compounds with cylinder diameters of 500 and 740 mm, respectively. Between 1907 and 1909, 37 more were delivered by Krauss which had only slight changes. According to the new system these were called G 3/4 N, what stood for goods, three out of four axles driven and saturated steam. 

After World War I, a number came to neighboring states. So these became ČSD class 334.6, PKP Ti101 and État Belge Nos. 7372 to 7393 (with gaps). 96 of 120 stayed in Germany and were included in Reichsbahn class 54 in 1925. There the C VI became class 54¹³, while the newer G 3/4 became class 54¹⁴. They were retired by 1935.

From 1899 the D VI or G 3/4 N had been procured, which was a saturated freight locomotive for flat routes. From 1919 the G 3/4 H was built, which had a similar design, but was to be much more efficient through the use of superheated steam. 

In addition to the use of a superheater and adapted cylinders, a feedwater heater and a larger and therefore more powerful boiler were introduced. Since it was only a freight locomotive, it was decided to build the leading axle as an Adams axle instead of the complex Krauss-Helmholtz bogie. Some improvements were implemented during production. For example, the steam dome and sandbox were later separated from each other, initially both were housed under a common cover. In addition, the shell of the boiler was made thicker to increase the adhesion weight.

Shortly after they were delivered, the locomotives were taken over by the Reichsbahn as the class 54^15-17. In contrast to their predecessors, they were not retired in the 1930s, but most examples even survived the Second World War. After the war, most came to the Bundesbahn, where 54 1632 was the last to be retired in 1966. At the end of the war, some engines were also on Austrian territory and were used there by the ÖBB as class 654. These were in service until 1957.

No complete G 3/4 H does exist until today. Remains of an engine destroyed by bombs during the war were found in 2004 during construction work at Treuchtlingen station. Since then, these have been exhibited in the Bavarian Railway Museum in Nördlingen.

The team around Riddles designed the class 2 with the wheel arrangement 2-6-0 as the smallest tender locomotive among the standard classes. It was designed for use with all types of trains on branch lines and therefore had an axle load of less than 14 tons. So it had the route availability 3, i.e. the lowest category, which means it could be used on all lines.

The basis was the LMS Ivatt class 2 2-6-0. Since the LMS had a larger loading gauge than many other British railways, it had to be fitted with a smaller cab. In order to improve the working conditions for the crew when reversing, the type BR3 tender was fitted with weather protection. The fittings on the boiler have been adapted to the standard program.

In the first few months, the LMS locomotive and the standard locomotive were built in Darlington at the same time. The standard locomotive earned the nickname “Mickey Mouse” because it was quite powerful despite its small size. As planned, it was used on branch lines in front of passenger and freight trains and for shunting. Although Riddles had put great effort in the working conditions during development, the cab was apparently drafty and a lot of dirt quickly accumulated. Most machines were retired between 1965 and 1967. Today four units are still preserved, one of which is being converted into a standard class 2 tank variant.

The BR Standard class 3 tender locomotive was a 2-6-0 mixed traffic design that differed somewhat from the other standard designs. They were built at Swindon, and so it's not surprising that their boiler was based on the GWR No. 2 standard boiler used on the Large Prairie and class 5600. But they still had many influences from LMS locomotives, like the chassis and other parts based on the LMS Ivatt class 4. Due to the presence of the Standard classes 2 and 4, only 20 of the class 3 were built. The first one was withdrawn in 1965 and all others followed in 1966 and 1967.

Of the three 2-6-0 BR Standard locomotives, the biggest was the class 4. It was developed by Robert Riddles at Doncaster and based on the LMS Ivatt class 4. Although classified as mixed traffic locomotives, they were primarily intended for use in freight service. But although they had a driver diameter of only 5 ft 3 in, they were nevertheless regularly used in passenger service.

They used the same cylinders as the class 3 tender and tank locomotives, but had a larger boiler and a higher pressure. Like all BR standard locomotives, they had outside cylinders and outside Valve gear. With an axle load as low as 16 tons 15 cwt, they could be operated almost everywhere.

The first 70 were built at Doncaster and 45 more at Horwich. At both of these works, the last class 4 was also the last steam locomotive built there. They were allocated to all BR regions except the Western Region. With a total of 37 and 35, the Scottish and Southern Regions got the most. They were withdrawn between 1964 and 1967 and four are preserved. Three of these have been operational again, with only 76017 being operational today. 76077 is now being restored to be operational again.

The class 24 was one of the few German tender locomotives which were developed directly for use on branch lines. In order to make the best possible use of the advantages of the standard program, it was developed together with the tank locomotive of the class 64. Both locomotives were almost identical except for the water tank on the 64 up to the cab.

In West and East Prussia, the Reichsbahn had an extensive network of branch lines that lay in the flat land and had long distances between stops. However, most tender locomotives could not be used on many of these routes because the axle loads were too high. This is how the 24 was created as a passenger locomotive with a 2-6-0 wheel arrangement, whose maximum axle load was 15 tonnes and which was designed for 90 km/h. With its long range, it quickly gained a reputation as a flat land racer, and it was also nicknamed the “steppe horse”. In comparison to other standard locomotives, the 24 stood out because the boiler was mounted relatively far forward, meaning that the cylinders and chimney were not at the same level. The construction of the chassis could be kept quite simple due to the small number of axles. The mounting of the leading axle in a Bissel frame and weakened flanges on the central coupled axle were sufficient to achieve good running characteristics.

A total of 95 pieces were made, which were delivered between 1928 and 1940. The 24 069 and 070 were designed as medium-pressure machines with a boiler pressure of 25 bar. The former got a two-cylinder compound engine and the latter uniflow cylinders. While the 070 was not convincing at all and was later reverted to the status of the production engines, the 069 achieved the lowest specific steam consumption of all standard locomotives. Due to problems with the higher pressure, both were later only operated at 20 bar.

Compound medium-pressure test engine 24 069

Die Lokomotive, January 1936

Since the engines were purchased for the eastern areas of the Reich, 34 units came to the Polish State Railways after the end of the Second World War, which used them until 1976 under the designation Oi2. A larger part of 47 pieces came to the Bundesbahn, where they were all retired between 1960 and 1966. The Reichsbahn received only four engines, three of which had been retired before 1970. The only remaining 24 009 finally got the number 37 1009 and was sold two years later.

Between 1900 and 1907, the Reichseisenbahnen Alsace-Lorraine procured a total of 215 tender locomotives based on the Prussian G 5². They also had a two-cylinder compound engine. In contrast, they were not only confined to freight trains, but also passenger trains if necessary, for which they received a continuous Westinghouse brake.

A total of four slightly different variants were built by a variety of manufacturers, the first three of which were designated the C29, C31 and C32. On the C32, the boiler was placed higher to make room for a deeper firebox. The last 71 locomotives received no special designation.

The low axle load ensured that the locomotives could be used freely. On branch lines in particular, they replaced old freight locomotives with a 0-6-0 wheel arrangement. Despite the low top speed, they were also actually used to pull passenger trains.

After the First World War, some locomotives were treated exactly like Prussian G 5², partly distributed to Germany and also taken to Poland and Lithuania. Those that remained in France were used by the SNCF from 1938 as 1-130 C until the 1950s. Seven were rescued to Luxembourg during World War II and became part of the CFL.

These locomotives were built from 1884 by the Swiss SLM for the Finnish State Railways. They were intended for mixed service and were called “Pikku-Rusko”, which means “Little Brown”. Since only low axle loads and a maximum speed of 40 km/h were permitted in Finland, the locomotives could be developed cheaply and with a simple chassis based on the American model.

No. 124 in the Hyvinkaa Railway Museum

Harveyqs

The chassis with the 2-6-0 wheel arrangement could therefore be designed with a simple Bissel axle and a relatively large wheel base. They burned the wood available in abundance in Finland and had a boiler with an inner lining of asbestos and wood. The grate was provided with only a few air gaps so as not to suck in too much cold air.