Since the Hejaz railway from Damascus to Medina also had steep gradients and tight curves, a powerful locomotive was needed for freight trains. The tracks were also light with a gauge of just 1,050 mm, and so six axles were needed to achieve the necessary power. Due to the lack of water along the line, the tender had to be big enough. The order went to Henschel of Kassel, where four Mallets were built to meet these requirements.

The six axles were distributed over two chassis groups, the first of which had only two coupled axles and one leading axle. The first coupled axle could also be moved laterally to improve running characteristics in curves. Additionally, the two chassis groups were coupled to each other, which is not usual with Mallets. The locomotives apparently met the requirements and easily hauled 250-tonne trains over the entire line.