As everywhere in Central Europe, the amount of goods transported in Bavaria increased sharply at the beginning of the century. Since one also had to contend with many topographically demanding routes, the newly procured mainline freight locomotive had to be very powerful. The first 15 examples were delivered by Maffei in 1911 and were ten-coupled locomotives without a carrying axle. 

Power was provided by a four-cylinder compound engine of the Von Borries design, which was particularly popular in Bavaria, onto the third coupled axle. As with the prestigious Bavarian express train locomotives, a bar frame was also used here. The running characteristics of the five coupled axles was ensured by designing the first and fifth axle to be laterally displaceable by 20 mm each and by weakening the wheel flanges of the third axle by 7 mm.

When, after the First World War, a maximum axle load of 16 tonnes was not longer a limit, the only seven remaining locomotives were supplemented by 80 new ones, which were reinforced. They were the most powerful ten-coupled steam locomotives developed by any Länderbahn and were put into service between 1920 and 1924 by the Reichsbahn, which was still known as the “Deutsche Reichseisenbahnen” at that time.

Sectional drawing with dimensions

Die Lokomotive, October 1911

This reinforced variant was able to tow 1,050 tonnes on a gradient of 0.5 percent at up to 40 km/h. It achieved better performance than the later manufactured classes 50 and 52 with a 2-10-0 wheel arrangement, but only 15 tonnes axle load. The indicated power was about the same for all of them, but the G 5/5, with its smaller wheels and thus a maximum speed of only 60 km/h, was able to develop greater traction.

At the Reichsbahn, the locomotives of the first batch were given the numbers 57 501 to 57 507 and those of the second series became 57 511 to 57 590. Despite their high power, they suffered a fate like that of many four-cylinder locomotives. Since the Head of Design, Wagner, preferred simpler designs such as the Prussian two- and three-cylinder locomotives that existed in large numbers, a large number were decommissioned around 1930 and replaced with newly built machines.

After the Second World War, about 20 machines were still available and most of them were damaged. These were decommissioned before 1947 and the remaining numbers were so small that the Bundesbahn parted with them by 1950.

With the 5.89 percent grade on Madison Hill in Indiana, the Jeffersonville, Madison & Indianapolis operated the steepest line in the United States that has ever been operated in adhesion mode. After the 1.3-mile line was initially horse-powered and briefly operated as a rack railway, Reuben Wells developed a pusher locomotive for adhesion service.

The five-axle tank locomotive was the most powerful locomotive in the world at the time it was put into service. Sufficient adhesive weight was achieved by the fact that all five axles were driven, which made the “Reuben Wells” the first five-coupled locomotive ever. With a driver diameter of only 44 inches, a starting tractive effort of more than 25.000 pounds could be achieved. A special identifying feature were the cylindrical water tanks, which started directly behind the smoke box and went to the rear end of the locomotive.

A year later, a second, identical locomotive with the name “M.G. Bright” was built. The “Reuben Wells” was rebuilt into an 0-8-0T in 1886, shortening it a bit and reducing the supplies. It served in this form until 1898 and was then initially stored. In 1966 it was acquired by the Children's Museum in Indianapolis and transferred to Indianapolis 100 years after she was commissioned.

For the Steinbeis Railway in today's Bosnia-Herzegovina, the JDŽ needed six heavy narrow-gauge locomotives, which were supplied by Škoda in Czechoslovakia. In order to obtain sufficiently strong locomotives for the light construction of this forest railway, they had five coupled axles. They did not require any carrying axles and could generate a high pulling power with a wheel diameter of 800 mm.

When operations on the Steinbeis railway ceased in 1975, two locomotives came to the Banovići coal railway. Two more were erected as a memorial and another was placed in storage for eventual erection as a memorial. The number 1932 was bought by the Austrian club “Club 760” and has been used in the Czech Republic since 2009 as U57.001.

Since the eight-coupled steam locomotives around the turn of the century were no longer sufficient for the coal trains on the 3.7 percent of the Prague-Dux railway and on other north Bohemian routes, the kkStB needed a more powerful engine. Gölsdorf had already developed eight-coupleds with axles which could slide transversely according to his system and now, with the 180, launched the first ten-coupled, which was also practical on routes with tight curves.

180.501

Locomotive Magazine, September 1907

In order to be able to negotiate curves of up to 180 meters without any problems, the first, third and fifth axles were designed to be slidable. The lateral play was 26, 20 and 26 millimeters on each side. In order to create enough space for the wheels of the first axle, the cylinders were moved as far forward as possible. The drive had to be on the fourth axle, since the third was mounted movable. The crossheads were moved far back to keep the connecting rods from becoming too long.

Schematic drawing of the 180.0 with dimensions

Die Lokomotive, April 1911

The boiler was placed as high as possible so that the firebox could rest on the frame. It had two steam domes that were connected to each other to always ensure optimal steam extraction on ascents and descents. At 3.7 percent, the locomotives could transport 190 tonnes at 15 km/h. During test drives on a one percent steep stretch, 600 tons could be pulled at 35 km/h, which corresponded to an output of 1,250 hp. 

A total of 181 examples of the original 180.0 series were built until 1908. From number 95, a modified boiler was used, which had a larger grate but a smaller firebox heating surface. The Südbahn procured 27 locomotives, which were identical to the 180.0 of the state railway and were mainly used on the Semmering and Brenner railway. From 1906, the state railway had another 58 units with steam dryers manufactured, which only had one steam dome and were listed as series 180.500. They were primarily used as pusher locomotives, including on the Arlberg Railway.

Since the main area of operation for the 180.0 was in northern Bohemia, a total of 105 examples came to the CSD after the First World War, where they were listed as the 523.0 series. They were converted into twins, redesignated 524.2 and used until the sixties. During the German occupation they had born the numbers 57 701 to 750. 50 examples of the kkStB and all engines of the southern railway came to Italy to the FS and became Baureihe 477 there. The BBÖ was only able to keep 61 examples and retired most of them until 1938. After the connection to the German Reich, the nine remaining locomotives were given the numbers 57 001 to 009 for the short remainder of their service life.

The class 80 was created by superheating the class 180. At that time, however, Karl Gölsdorf generally designed the superheater surface to be small in order to be able to dispense with the expensive import of special lubricants for higher temperatures. Except for a slightly larger high-pressure cylinder, the differences to the 180 were limited.

The first production batch from 1909 to 1910 consisted of 36 examples, in which the high-pressure cylinder was controlled by a piston valve and the low-pressure cylinder by a slide valve. The next 104 examples from 1911 to 1915 only used piston valves. These two variants are known as 80.0 and 80.100 because of their running numbers.

The 80.179 is today being situated in Knittelfeld

Herbert Ortner / CC-BY 4.0

Between 1911 and 1919 the class 80.900 was built in parallel, which had a simple engine. Both cylinders had the same diameter as the high-pressure cylinder on the 80.0 and 80.100. With 212 vehicles, it reached a significantly larger number than the compound variant. Among them were eight pieces that went to the southern railway.

After the First World War, the BBÖ ordered further pieces of the simple variant and classified them as class 80.300. Five others had Lentz valve gear and a small-tube superheater with a significantly larger area, with the evaporation heating area being reduced. These locomotives were listed as 80.600.

Sectional drawing with dimensions

Die Lokomotive, April 1911

Other states from the former territory of the k.u.k. Monarchy subsequently ordered a larger number of identical locomotives. They were assigned to their fleet together with the locomotives taken over from pre-war production and given different designations. So they were called Tw12 in the PKP, class 28 in the JDŽ and series 50.0 in the CFR.

Since the BBÖ only had a few class 80 locomotives left, some of these were converted into simple locomotives. When the Reichsbahn took over the BBÖ in 1938, the class 80 was assigned to the class 57 according to the scheme. After the Second World War, the ÖBB took up this numbering and classified the compound engines as class 157 and the simple engines as class 57.

The G 10 was a class of freight tender locomotives that, with five coupled axles, was supposed to develop high tractive effort, but could still be used flexibly due to a low axle load. The successful design not only secured its a long production time, but also orders from other railways at home and abroad.

57 3088 in May 1975 in Haltingen

Werner & Hansjörg Brutzer

The design was based on assemblies from other locomotives that had proven themselves and thus saved development costs. The running gear was basically the same as that of the tank locomotive T 16, but the first and last axle were flexibly mounted for better running through curves. This in turn benefited the T 16, which was designated as the T 16¹ with the modified chassis. The boiler was taken from the P 8, it was known for its good evaporation performance.

Locomotive Magazine, June 1914

The procurement extended from 1910 to 1925, so the last machines were put into service directly by the Reichsbahn. A total of 2,615 units were built for the Prussian State Railways and their successors. Other customers with smaller quantities were the Reichseisenbahnen Alsace-Lorraine and the Saarbahnen in the German-speaking area, as well as Turkey, Romania, Poland and Lithuania abroad. More locomotives were built in Romania until 1944 and some of the Turkish engines were built in Sweden at NoHAB.

The number of G 10s given away as reparations after the First World War, with 222 units, was relatively small compared to other locomotives, and this meant that in the years that followed they could also be distributed throughout the country outside of Prussian territory. They were classified as class 57^10-35. Despite their relatively low speed of 60 km/h, they were also used in front of passenger trains on secondary lines with fewer curves. Some were given Bavarian type 3 T 20.2 tenders, like those used on the G 4/5 H. Due to their distribution over a large area, 112 of the locomotives remaining in Germany came to the Reichsbahn in the GDR, 649 to the Bundesbahn and 81 to the railways of the Saarland, which initially did not belong to Germany. The decommissioning took place at the Federal Railways until 1970 and at the Reichsbahn until 1972.

The class XI was the first Saxon freight locomotive with five coupled axles. It was manufactured by Hartmann in three different versions from 1905, as the search for the optimal propulsion concept for this type of train was still ongoing. In 1905, eight locomotives were manufactured as XI H with a superheated simple engine and two each as XI HV with two-cylinder superheated compound engine and as XI V with saturated compound engine. In the end, the decision was initially made to use the compound engine without a superheater, but series production of further 106 XI Vs only began in 1909.

In order to achieve good running characteristics in curves, the Gölsdorff system, popular with ten-coupleds, was used in the first examples, in which the first, third and fifth axles could be moved. In the production variant, the middle axle could no longer be moved, which simplified production and still led to satisfactory running characteristics. From 1915, production was switched to the variant with superheated compound engine, so that another 29 XI HV were produced by 1918. 28 pieces of the first series were later equipped with superheaters. 

Superheaded simple variant XI H

Die Lokomotive, September 1912

After the First World War, almost 50 locomotives went to various countries, where some of them remained in use for a long time. Probably the last was a locomotive that was designated 474.001 by the Italian State Railways FS and was only retired in 1948. At the Reichsbahn, the locomotives were designated as class 57^0-2 and were used until the 1930s.

Since the trains on the Geislinger Steige increasingly needed double-headed trains or pusher locomotives, a heavy freight locomotive was developed around 1890 that was supposed to be able to cope with these inclines on its own. The result was the type G, which was only built five times, but was remarkable with its complex construction.

On the route, the limited axle load made five coupled axles necessary to achieve the required adhesive load, but the narrow curve radii represented an obstacle. For this reason, a Klose chassis was installed, the axles of which were articulated by the movement of the tender and thus followed the course of the curve. A lever system ensured that the coupling rods were also adjusted. A three-cylinder compound engine, which acted on the second coupled axle, was used for better power development and smooth running under full steam.

The maximum speed of the locomotives was 45 km/h, like most freight locomotives of the time, and 680 tonnes could still be pulled at 18 km/h on a gradient of one percent. On the Geislinger Steige, where the gradient measures up to 2.25 percent, the G was still able to pull 300 tonnes at 13 km/h. Even if this value seems very low, double-headed locomotives could not do much more at that time. Later, the engines were replaced by the more powerful H type, which was produced in larger numbers. They were retired by 1921.

Since the class G was not built in large numbers due to its engine being overly complex, there were still many six-coupled locomotives in use at the beginning of the century. In order to be able to avoid having to pull heavy freight trains in double in the future, a successor to the G was urgently needed and so the class H was developed. The requirements stipulated a 685-tonne train on a gradient of one percent and radii of up to 274 meters with 20 km/h to be moved, which required a power of about 800 hp. 

In contrast to the complicated chassis of the predecessor, all axles were mounted in the main frame and the first, third and fifth were designed to be laterally shiftable according to the Gölsdorf system. Eight examples were built between 1905 and 1909 with a two-cylinder compound engine using saturated steam technology. A distinguishing feature of these locomotives were the two steam domes, which were far apart and were connected with a pipe. The sandboxes were not on the boiler, but on the running boards. During test runs under unfavorable adhesive conditions, 700 tonnes could be towed at 25 km/h up a gradient of one percent, which exceeded the required performance.

From 1909 to 1920, 26 vehicles of a revised design were procured, which were designated as type Hh. They differed from the first series mainly in having a simple engine using superheated steam. The boiler pressure was lowered from 15 to 13 bars and the heating surface was reduced from 168 to 159 m², which nevertheless resulted in the same output.

The Reichsbahn only took over four of the engines from the first construction lot and assigned them the numbers 57 301 to 57 304. They were subsequently converted to superheated steam. 17 of the newer units were taken over, these were given the numbers 57 401 to 57 417 to distinguish them. Due to the advent of more powerful freight locomotives, all units of the classes H and Hh were retired by 1935.