Prussian G 10

Prussian G 10

Company type	Steam locomotive
Industry	Rail transport
Founded	1910
Headquarters	Germany
Products	Freight and occasional passenger steam locomotives

Prussian G 10

The Prussian G 10 was a German steam locomotive designed primarily for freight services, combining the running gear and valve mechanism from the Prussian T 16 with the boiler of the Prussian P 8. In this design, the T 16 running gear was adapted by adding side play to the first and fifth axles. This modification was later incorporated into the T 16 itself, resulting in the Prussian T 16.1 variant. Originally intended for heavy freight operations on main lines, the G 10's relatively low axle load allowed for more versatile deployment compared to its similarly powerful counterpart, the Prussian G 8.1. Occasionally, it was even utilized for passenger train duties.

Between 1910 and 1924, a total of 2,615 G 10 locomotives were delivered to the Prussian state railways and subsequently to the Deutsche Reichsbahn. An additional 35 units were supplied to the Imperial Railways in Alsace-Lorraine (known as Alsace-Lorraine G 10), and 27 went to the Saar Railway. Beyond Germany, about 350 locomotives were distributed among railway companies in Turkey, Romania, Poland, and Lithuania.

The Deutsche Reichsbahn inherited nearly all of these Prussian locomotives and continued their production until 1924. Following World War I, 222 G 10s were transferred to foreign railways. Initially, under the provisional renumbering scheme of 1923, some units were classified as Class 33; however, by late 1923, newly produced engines received their definitive numbers. The G 10 fleet was assigned numbers ranging from 57 1001 to 2725 and from 57 2892 to 3524. Among these was number 57 1124, originating from Alsace-Lorraine. In 1935, locomotives from the Saar Railways were integrated with numbers 57 2727 to 2763, including copies constructed between 1921 and 1925 (numbers 57 2737–2763). During World War II, additional locomotives were incorporated from Poland (numbers 57 2764–2772 and 57 2784–2804) and Luxembourg (numbers 57 2773–2783). After the war, a former Alsace-Lorraine G 10 operated within East Germany’s Deutsche Reichsbahn as number 57 3551, joined by another unit of uncertain origin designated as number 57 4245.

Following World War I reparations, nine G 10 locomotives were transferred to Italy and absorbed into the Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane fleet as Class 473 (Italian: Gruppo 473).

By 1950, approximately 649 ex-Prussian G 10s remained with the Deutsche Bundesbahn; the East German Deutsche Reichsbahn held around 112 units, while the Saar Railways operated about 81. The Bundesbahn reclassified its G 10s as Class 057 in 1968 but retired them entirely by September 1970—the last being number 057 070-5 withdrawn on September 22 that year. The East German Reichsbahn completed its retirement program for this class by 1972.

Starting in 1916, the Austro-Hungarian military railway (k.u.k. Heeresbahn) acquired twenty G 10 locomotives classified as Class 680, specifically designed for broad gauge operation on Russian Railways tracks. During World War II, several of these were assigned Reichsbahn numbers in ranges including 57 2766–2768 and 57 2789–2792.

Post-war Austria retained approximately 165 Class 57.10–35 locomotives within its borders; of these, ninety-six continued service under the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) as Class 657. The ÖBB withdrew all remaining units by 1968. One locomotive, number 657.2770—acquired from Romania by the Austrian Society for Railway History (ÖGEG)—has been preserved operationally and is used for special excursions.

These locomotives operated with various tender types such as Prussian pr 3 T 16.5, pr 3 T 20, pr 2'2' T 21.5, and pr 2'2' T 31.5 tenders. Additionally, Bavarian bay 3 T 20 tenders—originally paired with Bavarian G 4/5 N and G 4/5 H locomotives—were also employed with some units.

Accidents

On 22 December 1939, a catastrophic head-on collision occurred on the Stahringen–Friedrichshafen railway involving two G 10 locomotives—one pulling a freight train and the other operating a special passenger service. This tragic event, known as the Markdorf rail disaster, resulted in 101 fatalities and left 47 individuals injured.

See also

• Prussian state railways
• List of Prussian locomotives and railcars

References

• Template:Weisbrod-EFA1.5

Further reading

• Template:Hütter-54bis59
• Template:Vandenberghen-SNCB12.2
• Template:Wagner-EFA2.3.2
• Template:Weisbrod-EFA1.2