When the line from Freilassing over Bad Reichenhall to Berchtesgaden was electrified as one of the first in Bavaria, the State Railways ordered a number of locomotives for testing. These had to cope with gradients of up to 4.08 percent and curve radii of 180 metres. Among these were two four-axle locomotives for freight service built by Krauss with the electric part from Bergmann. They were among the first in Germany with single-axle drive and no carrying axles.
Although they became known as EG 1, they were originally called EG 4x1/1 due to the four individually driven axles. With an hourly output of 1,074 hp and a top speed of 50 km/h, they were well suited for freight traffic on this line. Additionally, the absence of leading or trailing axles reduced the total length. After the successful trials, they were put into regular freight service. The Reichsbahn designated them E 730. Their careers ended in 1937 and 1941. 