The locomotives of type XI were four-coupled tender locomotives with a leading axle for freight train service, which were procured from 1860 by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways. They were characterized by relatively large wheels, which allowed them to be used in front of passenger trains if necessary. From 1868 it was called V a.

The locomotives were equipped with a Crampton boiler, which protruded beyond the first and last axle. Initially, the saturated steam was only extracted from a regulator attachment directly on the upper edge of the boiler, which at times led to water being fed into the cylinders. Thus, all engines of the later deliveries received a steam dome. 

The wheel sets were mounted within an outer frame, so the power was transmitted via Hall cranks to the first coupled axle. With a driving wheel diameter of 1,524 mm it was ensured that at the top speed of 40 km/h low rotational speeds and smooth running were still guaranteed. The leading axle was rigidly mounted, but in view of the short overall wheelbase and the low speeds, this did not entail any particular disadvantages.

The primary operational areas of the XI were the Baden main line from Mannheim to Constance and the Odenwald line, which branched off from the main line in the direction of Würzburg. In addition to shunting services in the port of Mannheim, the deployment increasingly shifted to secondary routes with the commissioning of more powerful engines, where they benefited above all from the low axle load. In the mid-1890s, the remaining 18 of the 22 examples were withdrawn within a short period of time. One of them was converted into a tank locomotive in 1875, but it was to remain a one-off.