For the opening of Austria's first steam-powered railway, the Kaiser-Ferdinands-Nordbahn ordered two two-axle steam locomotives from Stephenson in Newcastle. They were of a standard type offered at the time and had a rear driven axle with five foot wheels. The locomotive “Austria” had actually been built in 1834 for an order by an American customer and then been set aside. It was now taken for the KFNB's order and a second locomotive, named “Moravia”, was built new.

After a voyage across the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, they were unloaded in Trieste and transported across the Semmering by horse-drawn carriage. After all, “Austria” was the locomotive that undertook the first test run on the line between Floridsdorf and Deutsch-Wagram on November 13, 1837. It is therefore considered the first steam locomotive that ran in Austria. A memorial in Deutsch-Wagram has been commemorating this journey since 1987.

With their 20 hp, they were soon too weak for most tasks. As a result, they had to hand over more and more services to the three-axle locomotives ordered directly after them. Since the operation of two-axle locomotives in Austria was forbidden after a serious accident in France in 1842 and a conversion to three-axle locomotives was not possible, they were soon withdrawn and scrapped.