The first electric locomotive that the GDR developed after the Second World War was a four-axle universal locomotive with a top speed of 120 km/h. For cost reasons, a quill drive was dispensed with and nose-suspended motors were installed. From the E 11, the E 42 was developed with a top speed of only 100 km/h. The production of the E 11 lasted until 1977 and after the reunification there was still a large part of the locomotives in service. DB AG retired the last of the locomotives now running as class 109 in 1998, some of them came to private operators. 