In the experiments with lignite dust due to the lack of hard coal in the GDR, some of the locomotives used were either captured during the war or remained on the Reichsbahn territory after the turmoil at the end of the war. One of them was a French express locomotive of the PO 3700 or 231 E series, which was considered one of the best of its kind with a well-engineered compound powerplant and an indicated power of 2,500 hp. 

It was numbered 07 1001 by the Reichsbahn and was given coal dust firing and a corresponding tender in 1953. Other conversions only affected the equipment in the cab, since the driver is located on the right side in Germany. The engine still worked after the de Glehn principle, which means that the outer high-pressure cylinders acted on the second coupled axle and the inner low-pressure cylinders acted on the first coupled axle. 

Although its permitted speed was not reduced in contrast to the 08 1001 tested shortly before, it was not really convincing in use on the Berlin-Dresden route. In addition, it was a one-off and the engine required very complex maintenance. It was thus retired in 1957 after only running around 50,000 km.