The Deutsche Reichsbahn, also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regional railways of the individual states of the German Empire. The Deutsche Reichsbahn has been described as "the largest enterprise in the capitalist world in the years between 1920 and 1932"; nevertheless, its importance "arises primarily from the fact that the Reichsbahn was at the center of events in a period of great turmoil in German history".
The Deutsche Reichsbahn's Class 52 is a German steam locomotive built in large numbers during the Second World War. It was the most produced type of the so-called Kriegslokomotiven or Kriegsloks. The Class 52 was a wartime development of the pre-war DRG Class 50, using fewer parts and less expensive materials to speed production. They were designed by Richard Wagner who was Chief Engineer of the Central Design Office at the Locomotive Standards Bureau of the DRG. About a dozen classes of locomotive were referred to as Kriegslokomotiven; however, the three main classes were the Class 52, 50 and 42. They were numbered 52 1-52 7794. A total of 20 are preserved in Germany.
The DRB Class 50 is a German class of 2-10-0 locomotive, built from 1939 as a standard locomotive (Einheitsdampflokomotive) for hauling goods trains. It had one leading axle and five coupled axles and was one of the most successful designs produced for the Deutsche Reichsbahn.
Kriegslokomotiven or Kriegsloks were locomotives produced in large numbers during the Second World War under Nazi Germany.
The Prussian Class P 8 of the Prussian state railways was a 4-6-0 steam locomotive built from 1906 to 1923 by the Berliner Maschinenbau and twelve other German factories. The design was created by Robert Garbe. It was intended as a successor to the Prussian P 6, which was regarded as unsatisfactory.
The Deutsche Reichsbahn had a standard passenger train tank engine with a wheel arrangement of 1′C1′ or 2-6-2 and a low axle load, which was designated in their classification system as the DRG Class 64. The Class 64 was developed from 1926 onwards and it was built between 1928 and 1940. Many German manufacturers contributed to the series.
The DRG Class 86 was a standard goods train tank locomotive with the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft. It was intended for duties on branch lines and was delivered by almost all the locomotive building firms working for the Reichsbahn. From 1942 it was built in a simplified version as a 'transitional war locomotive'. The most obvious changes were the omission of the second side windows in the cab and the solid disc carrying wheels.
The Prussian G 8.1 was steam locomotive operated by the Prussian state railways. It was a heavier, stronger development of the G 8 and was initially referred to as a 'strengthened standard class'.
The German Class 41 steam locomotives were standard goods train engines (Einheitslokomotiven) operated by the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DRB) and built from 1937 to 1941.
The DRG Class 89.0 was a goods train tank engine of standard design built for the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DRG).
The German Class 03.10 engines were standard steam locomotives (Einheitsdampflokomotiven) belonging to the Deutsche Reichsbahn and designed for hauling express trains.
Between 1934 and 1941 the Deutsche Reichsbahn (DRG) converted a total of 691 former Prussian-built Class 55.25–56 steam locomotives; the result was the DRG Class 56.2–8. The carrying axle enabled higher speeds and the engine could even be used as a passenger train locomotive. In addition the average axle load was lower, so that these locomotives could also be used on branch lines. The conversion entailed moving the boiler forward and raising it somewhat. The vehicles were given operating numbers between 56 201 and 56 891, although the numbering was not continuous.
The Prussian G 12 is a 1'E 2-10-0 goods train locomotive built for the Prussian state railways.
The Württemberg Class K steam locomotives of the Royal Württemberg State Railways were the only twelve-coupled locomotives built for a German railway company.
The Prussian G 10 was a German goods train, steam locomotive, whose design was based on a combination of the running and valve gear from the Prussian T 16 and the boiler from the Prussian P 8. In developing the G 10, however, the T 16 running gear with side play on the first and fifth axles was modified. The T 16 was also subsequently built with this modified configuration and called the Prussian T 16.1. The G 10 was intended for heavy goods train duties on main lines, but as a result of its low axle load it could be employed more flexibly than its equally powerful cousin, the Prussian G 8.1. The G 10 was occasionally even used in passenger train service.
The Rekolokomotives of DR Class 52.80 first appeared in 1960 in service with the Deutsche Reichsbahn in East Germany as extensive rebuilds of the wartime locomotives or Kriegslokomotiven of the DRB Class 52 built by Nazi Germany. This modernisation, described as 'reconstruction', extended to almost all of the components and systems on the engine.
The Mecklenburg T 4 was a German steam locomotive built for the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg Friedrich-Franz Railway as a goods train 2-6-0T with a leading axle and three coupled axles. In 1925 it was incorporated in the renumbering plan of the Deutsche Reichsbahn as DRG Class 91.19.
The Prussian G 8.2 class of locomotives actually incorporated two different locomotive types: one was the Prussian/Oldenburg G 8.2, for which the Deutsche Reichsbahn subsequently issued follow-on orders; the other was the G 8.2 of the Lübeck-Büchen Railway.
