The six-coupled G 3 was the standard freight locomotive of the Prussian State Railways for a long time, which resulted in a long building time and high quantities. They were preceded by a total of 285 engines of similar design of the predecessors of the state railway, which were later also designated as G 3. The state railway finally procured 2,068 locomotives of a standard type. The locomotives were designed to be relatively simple for versatility and easy maintenance. Although they were built according to the Prussian standard designs, they showed some differences depending on the year of construction and area of application.
Most machines had inside valve gear, but some were built with outside valve gear. The arrangement of the machinery on top of the boiler also changed over time. Some engines received a feedwater heater in the tender, but this did not catch on. To increase power, some locomotives were built with a boiler designed for a pressure of 12 bar. Eventually these were designated G 41 and built as a separate class. In 1886 the construction of the G 3 was stopped in Prussia in favor of this design.
In addition to the state railways, other machines also went to various railways in Prussia. From 1892, the Mecklenburg Friedrich-Franz-Eisenbahn also procured freight locomotives based on the plans of the G 3. They first referred to them as class IX, but from 1910 they also became the G 3.
The 1923 Reichsbahn renumbering plan contained 523 Prussian G 3, primarily from the later batches, which were to be given the numbers 53 7001 to 53 7522. Most of them were subsequently sorted out, so that finally 158 units actually made it to the Reichsbahn. Since the locomotives no longer met the increased requirements in line service and more suitable locomotives were available for shunting, the remaining machines were also retired by 1930.
Today there is only one machine left, which was first numbered “Cöln 1100” and later “Saarbrücken 3143”. It was preserved in the DB Museum in Nuremberg and today has the original livery.