In the development of a single-axle drive for electric locomotives, one of the approaches was to use the Buchli drive, as used in Switzerland. The 21 examples of the series initially designated as the Bavarian ES 1 were equipped with it and put into operation by the Reichsbahn as the E 16. They were used by the Bundesbahn until 1980 and were still the only locomotives in Germany with this technical solution. The Buchli drive was characterized by the fact that one traction motor was located above the axle in the locomotive body and its power was transmitted by a one-sided mechanism on the axle. Power was again transmitted between the large gear wheel and the axle via coupling rods. This design is externally recognizable by the cover of the gear wheel. Although the technology was highly complex, the engines could be completely decoupled from the impacts of the ground.

Control was via a new type of linear mechanical tap changer, which had been used shortly before on the E 32. Its further development was later also used in the standard electric locomotives. The chassis of the first five locomotives was designed with two bogies, each consisting of one leading axle and two powered axles. This solution did not work, and so the following locomotives were designed with driving axles in a main frame and Krauss-Helmholtz bogies. The first five were also converted to this form directly afterwards.

The first ten machines were given the Bavarian designation ES 1 when they were delivered in 1926. They had an hourly and continuous output of 2,340 and 2,020 kW and were soon renumbered E 16 01 to 10. Seven more followed in the following year as road numbers E 16 11 to 17. Their output had increased to 2,580 and 2,400 kW respectively. Finally, four more machines were ordered in 1932 with the numbers E 16 18 to 21. Due to technical advances, the output was now 2,944 and 2,655 kW.

Despite their unusual propulsion technology, the locomotives were used for a very long time. Only two were lost in the war, all the rest were taken over by the Federal Railways. There only the E 16 12 had to be retired in 1967 due to an accident, all other 18 locomotives were redesignated in 1968 as class 116. These were retired between 1973 and 1980.

After the electrification of the mountain lines over the Rocky Mountains, the Milwaukee Road also took on the Coast Division in Washington. This required an electric locomotive that could haul heavy passenger trains faster than the steam locomotives available at the time without double-heading. While the Rocky Mountains had many long, straight stretches on the plateaus, here the inclines of the Cascade Mountains had to be negotiated. A total of five of the EP-2 were built in 1919, costing $200,000 each and nicknamed “Bipolar” because of the two-pole traction motors used. They were built parallel to Baldwin-Westinghouse's EP-3 because the US Railroad Administration dictated orders to be split between manufacturers.

A total of twelve powered axles were required to achieve the required power. In order to achieve sufficient running characteristics in curves, the chassis was divided into four groups that were coupled to each other. The two outer groups each comprised a leading and two powered axles, while the two inner groups consisted of four powered axles each. The body consisted of three parts and each was articulated between two chassis groups. The electrical equipment and a cab were located in the outer parts, while a boiler for the train heating was housed in the middle part.

Although only five were built, they were the flagship of the Milwaukee Road, hauling important long-distance trains like the Olympian. Despite being designed for 90 mph, they were only approved for 70 mph, which was sufficient in their area of application. In 1939, the locomotives that previously had the numbers 10250 to 10254 were renumbered E-1 to E-5.

In 1953 the heavily worn locomotives were completely rebuilt. In addition to a modernized electrical system that allowed higher speeds and multiple controls, they were also streamlined. Shortly thereafter, the locomotives were transferred to the Mountain Division. It was found that the last rebuild, which had been carried out by a team not specialized in electric locomotives, had not been carried out optimally. As damage and failures now occurred more frequently, all locomotives were retired by 1960.

After the Coast Division was electrified via the Cascades, the Milwaukee Road procured very large passenger locomotives for the increasingly heavy trains. Due to the allocation of orders between manufacturers made by the US Railroad Administration, a further ten EP-3 from Baldwin-Westinghouse were built in parallel to the five EP-2 from General Electric. Although the EP-3 was heavier, it appeared more graceful in general.

The locomotive body was not split here, which made greater demands on the layout of the chassis. In principle, the locomotives each consisted of two chassis groups, each of which resembled a Pacific steam locomotive and were coupled to one another. Each axle was driven by a double motor, which was mounted in the frame and was therefore not part of the unsprung mass. Power was transmitted via a quill drive, which gave the locomotives the nickname “Quills”. Above the coupling between the chassis parts was the oil-fired oven for the train heating,

Due to the relatively rigid overall design and the lack of flexibility of the axles, the great wear and tear on the wheel flanges soon became apparent during operation, and there were also derailments. In retrospect, the weight-saving design of the locomotives did not prove to be advantageous either, so that the frames broke. Splitting the locomotive body of one of the locomotives into two parts did not help and even several modifications to the chassis and other parts of the locomotives could not eliminate all problems.

After the Second World War, the EP-4 „Little Joe” took over the duties of the EP-3. While other electric locomotives, badly worn out during the war, had been rebuilt, this was not considered useful for the EP-3. Thus, the seven remaining vehicles were all scrapped between 1952 and 1957.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the Staatsspoorwegen in the Dutch East Indies, the line between Batavia (today Jakarta) and Buitenzorg (today Bogor) was electrified in 1925. The system selected was 1,500 V DC and the required locomotives were obtained from different manufacturers in the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. For use with express trains on the flatter routes, four six-axle locomotives were ordered, the mechanical part of which came from SLM and the electrical part from BBC.

The Java bogie was used for the first time on these locomotives, which SLM later successfully used on several locomotives. In addition to the two driving axles fixed in the middle of the frame, there was one of these bogies at each end of the locomotive, each consisting of a leading and a driving axle. The pivot point was close to the driving axle, so that the one-sided Buchli drive could also be attached to these driving axles.

In the years 1924 and 1927 two of these locomotives were delivered each, which were given the numbers 3001 to 3004. At the KAI they were later given numbers 1 to 4. They stayed in service throughout their lives on the same line and were retired in 1976 after being replaced by Nippon Sharyo EMUs. 

Since the existing B-B electric locomotives of the Midi could not reach speeds of more than 100 km/h, an express locomotive was required. As in other countries at that time, the choice fell on a locomotive with driving axles mounted in the frame and carrying axles which were movable. The design of the running gear came from the E 3100 with a 2-C-2 wheel arrangement and was expanded to include an additional driving axle. 

The first series of six machines was delivered by CEF in 1932 and had a transmission that also came from CEF. Alsthom delivered 18 more in 1935 and 1936. These had the AEG Kleinow spring pot drive, which could be used thanks to German war reparations. Although the electrical equipment was reliable, the chassis design showed deficiencies. Since the centering devices of the bogies were too strong, the rails suffered heavy wear and the running characteristics at speed were poor.

Due to the problems with the chassis, the maximum speed was reduced first to 110, then to 105 and finally to 100 km/h. Thus the locomotives, which from 1938 were used by the SNCF as 2D2 5001 to 5024, no longer had any advantages over their predecessors with the B-B wheel arrangement. From 1939 they were only used in front of normal passenger and freight trains. After attempts to improve the running gear failed in 1951 and the CC 7100 was soon ready for use, they were almost exclusively used in front of freight trains. Their service finally ended in 1969.

For express trains on the line between Paris and Le Mans, the État received 23 locomotives between 1936 and 1938 which were numbered E 501 to E 523. They were directly based on the E 501 to E 550 of the PO, the later SNCF 2D2 5500. The most obvious change was the streamlined body that had been designed by Henri Pacon and didn't have small hoods. With their single headlight, they got the nickname “Cyclops”.

Like their predecessors, they had a 2-D-2 wheel arrangement and Buchli drive. Since they were used on a flatter line, they only had a rheostatic instead of a regenerative brake. The top speed was originally limited to 130 km/h, but was later increased to 140 km/h after the installation of roller bearings.

When SNCF was founded in 1938, they were designated 2D2 5400. In World War II, two locomotives which had been damaged were rebuilt into a new one. When parts of the line between Paris and Le Mans were electrified with 25 kV AC and operated by dual-system locomotives in the sixties, the 2D2 5400 were transferred to the south western region. Withdrawals were between 1975 and 1978.

After many lines in central Germany had been electrified, the 2,800 kW E 17 was used there for the time being. However, these were shifted to the south when the important line between Munich and Stuttgart was also electrified. For this reason, the somewhat weaker E 04 was developed for the relatively flat routes in central Germany.

Like the E 17, the new locomotive was developed by AEG, but was given one less axle to accommodate the lower output. The now three powered axles were located with an asymmetrical wheelbase in the middle of the locomotive and were each connected to the motors directly above via a helical-spring gear. To carry the weight, a leading axle was attached under each end of the locomotive. The speed was initially set at 110 km/h, which was actually sufficient for the planned operations. After the E 04 09 reached 151.5 km/h on a test run with a load of cars, it and all other E 04s were approved for 130 km/h. The E 04 23, which was the last locomotive produced, was the only one to receive push-pull train controls a few years later.

23 examples were built, of which only two did not survive the Second World War. Due to their main area of application, 15 of the remaining vehicles came to the Reichsbahn of the GDR after the war, where they were used most frequently in front of passenger trains in the Halle and Magdeburg areas. The E 04 23 was used between Halle and Leipzig, where it benefited from its push-pull train controls. From 1970 they formed the class 204. Initially, the Bundesbahn had its home in Munich and later in Osnabrück. They became the class 104 in 1968 and remained in service until 1982.

SSW and Henschel developed the E 05 as a competitor to the E 04 when the Reichsbahn was looking for a light electric express locomotive for central Germany. This model was also a 1-C-1 locomotive with an output of just over 2,000 kW, which was built in different versions for 110 and 130 km/h. Like the E 04, the three prototypes of the E 05 each received three individually driven axles. The differences lay in the fact that the E 05 had only 1,400 mm large drive wheels, which were also less suitable for high speeds due to their design with nose-suspended motors and cheaper production and maintenance. Because both the main transformer and the traction motors were individually cooled, there were no thermal problems despite the higher speeds compared to the competition.

The different top speeds made it possible to use different complex chassis designs. On the E 05 001 and 002, the carrying axles were combined with the adjacent powered axle to form a relatively simple steering frame. In contrast, the E 05 103 (designated as E 05¹), which had a top speed of 130 km/h, used further developed Krauss-Helmholtz bogies. In addition, the middle axle was designed to be laterally displaceable by 15 mm, while it was still fixed in the frame on the first two machines. In terms of performance, the three machines could keep up with the E 04, but due to the nose-suspended motors and the chassis, the smooth running at high speeds left a lot to be desired in a direct comparison. It remained with the three vehicles, which were hardly ever used in the period that followed and mainly served as a replacement for electric railcars that had failed.

Since all three machines were still in the Central German network after the end of the Second World War, they had to be handed over to the Soviet Union. Two of them returned to the GDR in 1952, where they initially stayed in the scrap yard. Road number E 05 002 remained there until it was retired in 1962, and only road number E 05 103 was rebuilt in 1959. The latter was only in use for a few years, as the use of the single locomotive soon no longer paid off and it was also retired in 1964.

In the first planning phase of standard electric locomotives, the Reichsbahn still thought of models with large motors and rod drive, but at that time there were already different approaches for single-axle drives elsewhere. Thus, five prototypes were ordered for delivery in the years 1926-1928, among which this locomotive was. It was first designated E 18 01, but later redesignated E 15 01. Its sisters in the trials were the E 16 101, E 21 01, E 21 02 and E 21 51.

In the search for the optimal axle arrangement, the use of two bogies was tested in the E 18 01. These each consisted of a leading axle with 1,000 mm wheels and two powered axles with 1,400 mm wheels, with the leading axle being movably mounted within the bogie by means of a bissel frame. A coupling between the bogies was used to better distribute the forces. Instead of the originally planned higher arrangement of the traction motors with reduction gear and quill, the drive was finally designed as a nose-suspended motor with a simple reduction gear. To cool the engines, two fans were housed in the engine room, each of which directed the air to the two powered axles of a bogie. 

From the end of 1927, the test drives took place in Central Germany, especially on the Magdeburg-Halle route. The locomotive impressed with its smooth running and was able to meet its specification of pulling 600-tonne express trains on the flat at 95 km/h. From 1930 it was tested in heavy mountain use in Silesia, where it achieved monthly mileages of more than 10,000 km. The signs of wear on the chassis, which were first observed in the lowlands, increased, which ultimately led to the E 15 not being mass-produced.

Although the production locomotives of the E 17 with their 1-D-1 wheel arrangement that had already been produced in the meantime were more based on the E 16, the E 15 came back to Central Germany and continued to be used there. Since the new express locomotives of the 1930s were to be called E 18 in the future, based on the class 18 Länderbahn steam locomotives, road number E 18 01 was renamed E 15 01 in 1933. After the war it was sent to the Soviet Union as reparation, from where it returned to the GDR in 1952 together with many other locomotives, but due to its very poor condition it could no longer be used and was later scrapped.

The E 17 was the first of a series of electric locomotives for express service, which had a 1-D-1 wheel arrangement and were equipped with quill drives. It thus formed the basis for the E 18 with a top speed of 150 km/h and the E 19, which was produced in smaller numbers and had a top speed of 180 km/h, and each represented a milestone for its time.

After good experiences had already been made with the E 21 with the power transmission by means of a quill drive, this solution was also decided on for the new express locomotives to be developed. At 120 km/h, the maximum speed was in the range that the steam-powered express trains of the time also reached. The four double traction motors acted on drive wheels measuring 1,600 mm and achieved a total of 2,800 kW or a continuous 2,300 kW over an hour. The E 17 was primarily intended for medium express trains, but trains weighing 630 tonnes could also be pulled at 95 km/h on the flat.

The area of operation extended over southern Germany, the area then known as Central Germany and the Silesian routes. Since most of the 38 locomotives were saved to southern Germany shortly before the end of the war, the Bundesbahn subsequently received 26 units. Only a few pieces remained standing in the Soviet occupation zone or in Poland. From a total of three pieces in the later GDR, two were in the USSR until 1952 as reparations. After their return, these were refurbished into two operational locomotives together with the third locomotives. At the Bundesbahn, all E 17s were modernized in 1960/1961 and redesignated as class 117 in 1968. The last of them remained in service until 1980, while the two sisters had already been decommissioned by the Reichsbahn in 1968.